Does Having Accident Forgiveness on my Insurance Policy Change my Case?
You will need to know what happens to your insurance when you have an accident, especially if the accident was your fault. The insurer won’t let you off lightly and will usually add an amount to your current policy so that your annual insurance premium will be higher. If you were under the influence of alcohol or drugs when the accident happened or committed an offense, you may even be considered to be too high a risk for any car insurance anyway. Raising your premium is slightly different if you have purchased a policy that includes accident forgiveness. This is when your auto insurer is agreeing not to make you pay any additional amount if you are involved in an auto accident as an at-fault driver.
Accident Forgiveness Explained
Accident forgiveness can be offered to all drivers and autos on one policy and just one accident per policy. Just because your premium doesn’t go up it doesn’t mean the accident has been forgotten. Your insurer can still use it when making a decision to allow you to continue or renew your policy at a later date. This part of an insurance policy is currently offered by most of the bigger auto insurers. As it’s considered to be an insurance product you will still have to pay extra to get it included in your policy. Some insurers will add accident forgiveness automatically to those drivers who are considered to be of low-risk but it’s not necessarily an option offered to all drivers especially those in a high risk category. You may decide to take this cover if you consider yourself a good driver but don’t want to be heavily penalized if you have an accident.
Accident Forgiveness and a Personal Injury Claim
If you have an accident and it was your fault your insurer may be required to pay the agreed compensation to the person who is the victim of the accident, once of course all the evidence has been gathered together and the fault has been proven. If this happens and it’s the first time you have had an accident that’s your fault your premiums should not go up as long as you have paid that little bit extra to your insurer to cover you for accident forgiveness. However, you should check with your insurance carrier to make sure you still qualify for accident forgiveness, just in case it has been overlooked. This at least helps to ensure your premiums don’t get out of control.
The Role of an Attorney in Accident Forgiveness
It’s important to you that your insurer sticks to its promise when you have paid extra to include accident forgiveness on your insurance policy. If an accident takes place and it’s your fault and the payout by the insurer is high that doesn’t give it the excuse to raise your premiums. Insurance policies do vary from provider to provider. You may not even be aware that you have accident forgiveness. If you think you are going to experience any problems with your insurer you should contact an attorney and discuss this matter, otherwise you may find the insurer may drop you altogether despite an accident forgiveness agreement.
