There is good reason to ensure your auto insurance is up to date. Insurance’s main purpose is to protect you from having to pay out of pocket if you are involved in an accident that was your fault and you injured victims and damaged property.
If you had forgotten to pay your insurance premiums and you have an accident, you can’t just go out and buy insurance to cover you for an accident that has already taken place. You must have an active insurance policy at the time.
If you have been injured in a car accident and it wasn’t your fault, you will usually be covered by the insurance policy of the at fault driver. However, a personal injury claim will need to be filed and to be effective you will need help from a personal injury attorney.
What Happens if You Use a New Policy for an Earlier Accident?
If you take out a new auto insurance policy and you try to file a claim for an accident before that policy came into effect this is considered to be insurance fraud. If an insurance investigator finds your damage claim is older than the reported accident date, your claim will be denied. You may even find your insurance policy will be canceled too.
How to Get Auto Insurance Following an Accident
If you file a claim on your current policy it could affect your premiums especially if you caused the accident. If you have made a lot of claims on your current policy you could risk your policy being cancelled by your insurer.
This makes it far harder to get another car insurance policy. However, once you have secured one, which with a bit of effort can be done you may find you are expected to pay higher premiums than you are used to for a while at least.
Once you have built up your reputation for being a safe driver again your premiums will decrease. You could also keep your rates lower by increasing your insurance deductible.
At the very worst you can get assigned risk insurance from an assigned risk carrier. This kind of policy is reserved for those drivers who can’t get insurance through the standard insurance providers.
You May Want to Use a Personal injury Lawyer
If you have been involved in a car accident and it’s not your fault you will need the help of a personal injury attorney to file a personal injury claim from the at fault driver’s insurer. It takes an experienced personal injury attorney’s expertise to ensure you get the settlement you deserve. To get started, complete the Free Case Evaluation on this page.
