When does car insurance go up in relation to an accident?

I was backing out of a parking space, and the car that was parked next to me was closer to me than I thought, and I scraped the side of their car as I backed out.

I left my information, and filed a claim with the insurance. My car was fine, hers was scratched pretty significantly. Anyway, I'm wondering how car insurance works in terms of covering things like this & in terms of increasing rates after an "accident".

Do the rates go up regardless? Do they go up a lot? Or does it depend on the severity of the incident?

FYI I have never had any moving vehicle accidents or tickets.

Any help would be appreciated...I'm kind of in the dark!

vavavoom

If you or someone else claims on your insurance due to an accident that was deemed to be your fault, your premium will go up. Not instantly, but when you come to renew.

Insuranceman

Typically the rate will NOT increase until it is time to renew your policy - and then, depending on your State and company, about 15% increase due to the accident.

If the accident was within the first 60 days of the START of your policy, some insurance companies will cancel you and you will have to start a NEW policy....and then the price would increase at that time.

Good luck, drive RESPONSIBLY and I hope this helps!

graciela

Insurance companies factor in your driving record, if this is your first accident, if you were at fault, and if there was bodily injuries to the other driver. It sounds like it was your fault so you'll have to consider those points and how they relate to you.

I had my first accident a year ago, I don't have any moving violations and my insurance did not go up. I thought that was the end of it. A year later, the other driver claimed "bodily injuries", though my car ended up on the sidewalk and she failed to file a police report because she said she had no bodily injuries. So now my insurance went up significantly. People are shady and you can't trust them. So unless the car you hit was parked and no one was inside, I'd get a lawyer. Seriously. People see a car accident as a money making opportunity.

Howard L

It doesn't always go up. It depends on the nature of the accident and the rating system of the particular insurance company. As the previous responder said, you will be notified at renewal time.

Gabriel

It depends a lot on what happened in the accident. If you killed a bus full of school children and got a DUI and the insurance company had to pay out a million dollars (assuming you had million dollar limits), they'd go up a lot. If you scrape the side of a car when you're backing out, they're probably not going up too much. But, it is still an "at fault" accident so do expect to be rated differently. It also depends on your age, gender, type of car, location your vehicle is garaged and other factors.

No change will happen until the policy renews.

jazman b

You can compare how the insurance quotes would change, for example here - carquotes.fateback.com

pedro7of9

things i learned in 40 yrs of driving
1 insurance rates go up 10 to 15% for a accident
2 "you left information" did you actually talk to the car owner?
3 always best to have a cheap camera with u in car
4 person may not file for multitude of reasons
5 your ins co will open a file but if nothing comes from other person they dont charge you
6 ask your ins co if you can pay for other cars damages out of pocket? may save you years of higher rates...5 to 7 yrs

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