Auto Insurance Question
12-04-2007, 08:21 PM
#16
Race Car
several years then paying $2000 out of pocket to avoid a $600 insurance bump over 3 years is not the way to go.
I've never had an accident claim but others who have have reported the increase in insurance costs can be very much more than $200/year. Enough so that forking over maybe up to $2000 is better than getting the insurance company involved.
(And keeping points off of one's license is paramount which is why I contest the infrequent but unavoidable bogus speeding ticket which come my way.)
Without going to one's insurance company with a 'hypothetical' friend of a friend question how is one going to know?
Certainly, if one can know/determine beforehand then one can of course work the numbers and see how paying for the claim out of pocket compares to turning it over to one's insurance company and making a cost effective decision.
Sincerely,
Macster.
I've never had an accident claim but others who have have reported the increase in insurance costs can be very much more than $200/year. Enough so that forking over maybe up to $2000 is better than getting the insurance company involved.
(And keeping points off of one's license is paramount which is why I contest the infrequent but unavoidable bogus speeding ticket which come my way.)
Without going to one's insurance company with a 'hypothetical' friend of a friend question how is one going to know?
Certainly, if one can know/determine beforehand then one can of course work the numbers and see how paying for the claim out of pocket compares to turning it over to one's insurance company and making a cost effective decision.
Sincerely,
Macster.
Perfect example if a totaled SUV of mine where insurance paid out $33,000 to me. My annual premium increased $350 for 3 years and then went back to normal.
12-06-2007, 12:23 AM
#17
Drifting
Thread Starter
Thanks for all the input guys!
I faxed my vin#s and info to get a quote to the insurance co. who carries my homeowners and is trying to solicit my auto business yesterday. Soon afterward they called me and asked who was driving several months back when my car was involved in an accident.
Apparently most all insurance companies have access to records regarding any claims made or paid out by other companies. As far as the state is concerned, I have a perfect driving record but as far as insurance companies are concerned, I have an accident on my record with a payout to repair my car and one that it hit. It makes no difference whether I was in, around or no where near the car when the accident happened.
I faxed my vin#s and info to get a quote to the insurance co. who carries my homeowners and is trying to solicit my auto business yesterday. Soon afterward they called me and asked who was driving several months back when my car was involved in an accident.
Apparently most all insurance companies have access to records regarding any claims made or paid out by other companies. As far as the state is concerned, I have a perfect driving record but as far as insurance companies are concerned, I have an accident on my record with a payout to repair my car and one that it hit. It makes no difference whether I was in, around or no where near the car when the accident happened.
12-06-2007, 06:54 AM
#18
Nordschleife Master
Thanks for all the input guys!
I faxed my vin#s and info to get a quote to the insurance co. who carries my homeowners and is trying to solicit my auto business yesterday. Soon afterward they called me and asked who was driving several months back when my car was involved in an accident.
Apparently most all insurance companies have access to records regarding any claims made or paid out by other companies. As far as the state is concerned, I have a perfect driving record but as far as insurance companies are concerned, I have an accident on my record with a payout to repair my car and one that it hit. It makes no difference whether I was in, around or no where near the car when the accident happened.
I faxed my vin#s and info to get a quote to the insurance co. who carries my homeowners and is trying to solicit my auto business yesterday. Soon afterward they called me and asked who was driving several months back when my car was involved in an accident.
Apparently most all insurance companies have access to records regarding any claims made or paid out by other companies. As far as the state is concerned, I have a perfect driving record but as far as insurance companies are concerned, I have an accident on my record with a payout to repair my car and one that it hit. It makes no difference whether I was in, around or no where near the car when the accident happened.
Nope, not a surprise. The only thing they care about is that they had to pay out money for something one of their customers caused.
It will be interesting to see if it makes a difference to your quotes.
12-06-2007, 09:06 AM
#19
Race Car
Nick, Sounds like you got this all sorted by now so I'm probably late to the party but I"ll recap for you.
You won't be able to hide the claim. If your company paid out then it's a claim against you or the Named Insured on the policy at the very least since no Vehicle Operator was likely specified on the claim. Not sure why this company is asking you for a copy of your old policy as when reports are ordered they can now even see what your current coverage limits are for BI and PD on your current policy through these reports.
As far as playing with driver assignment to get a cheaper rate, Some companies got wise to their agents doing this and have put logic in their code to automatically rate the highest risk driver on the higest risk vehicle on the policy. Even if thats not the case it's all up to the adjuster in the event of a claim as to how much of a stickler they want to be.
1999...While you're right most of the time, the Matrix used to calculate insurance has become soo complicated that depending on a slew of other variables a single claim could now make the difference between company placement with a standard carrier or a nonstandard carrier. In that instance premium changes would be dramatically more than $300ish a year. If someone has great credit, high coverages and a clean driving record this really isn't an issue, but for someone with poor credit, state minimum coverages, etc a single claim of $2000-3000 could be a huge hit to their insurance rates if it pushed them to a nonstandard carrier. Funny how it works out that those least likely to be able to pay for an incident like that out of pocket would be the most effected by the scenerio.
Any other questions???
Andy
You won't be able to hide the claim. If your company paid out then it's a claim against you or the Named Insured on the policy at the very least since no Vehicle Operator was likely specified on the claim. Not sure why this company is asking you for a copy of your old policy as when reports are ordered they can now even see what your current coverage limits are for BI and PD on your current policy through these reports.
As far as playing with driver assignment to get a cheaper rate, Some companies got wise to their agents doing this and have put logic in their code to automatically rate the highest risk driver on the higest risk vehicle on the policy. Even if thats not the case it's all up to the adjuster in the event of a claim as to how much of a stickler they want to be.
1999...While you're right most of the time, the Matrix used to calculate insurance has become soo complicated that depending on a slew of other variables a single claim could now make the difference between company placement with a standard carrier or a nonstandard carrier. In that instance premium changes would be dramatically more than $300ish a year. If someone has great credit, high coverages and a clean driving record this really isn't an issue, but for someone with poor credit, state minimum coverages, etc a single claim of $2000-3000 could be a huge hit to their insurance rates if it pushed them to a nonstandard carrier. Funny how it works out that those least likely to be able to pay for an incident like that out of pocket would be the most effected by the scenerio.
Any other questions???
Andy
12-06-2007, 09:28 AM
#20
Race Car
If someone has great credit, high coverages and a clean driving record this really isn't an issue, but for someone with poor credit, state minimum coverages, etc a single claim of $2000-3000 could be a huge hit to their insurance rates if it pushed them to a nonstandard carrier. Funny how it works out that those least likely to be able to pay for an incident like that out of pocket would be the most effected by the scenerio.
I understand what you are saying Andy, however, I have no sympathy for people who have to go to the second tier markets for insurance because of self distructive behaviour such as having a bad credit rating, lots of claims, etc. These are the people who SHOULD be paying the most in premiums and getting the least coverage. Specific to this forum, those here that fall into the high risk category, voluntarily decided to drive a vehicle far beyond what is necessary and therefore, having to pay higher preimiums for insurance was a CHOICE.
I understand what you are saying Andy, however, I have no sympathy for people who have to go to the second tier markets for insurance because of self distructive behaviour such as having a bad credit rating, lots of claims, etc. These are the people who SHOULD be paying the most in premiums and getting the least coverage. Specific to this forum, those here that fall into the high risk category, voluntarily decided to drive a vehicle far beyond what is necessary and therefore, having to pay higher preimiums for insurance was a CHOICE.
12-06-2007, 09:34 AM
#21
Race Car
I'm not going to disagree with you one bit there. It's just suprising how selective even auto insurance has become these days. I havn't been in the industry THAT long but can remember the days when I first started when the only thing that determined your insurance rates was your driving history. It's a completely new ballgame now.
12-06-2007, 09:43 AM
#22
Race Car
I'm not going to disagree with you one bit there. It's just suprising how selective even auto insurance has become these days. I havn't been in the industry THAT long but can remember the days when I first started when the only thing that determined your insurance rates was your driving history. It's a completely new ballgame now.
Alot of it has to due to the increased availability of driver and vehicle information over the past 10 years or so. In addition, the mantatory NOFAULT coverage keeps hurting the industry as more and more clams are filed against uninsured or underinsured drivers hitting more expensive cars .
Whenever something is made mandatory, it's price will always rise.
