Affects Of A Claim On Your Car Insurance Premiums

Generally, after making a claim your car insurance premiums is expected to rise. The main reason for this is that now you have become a liability for the insurance company. They have to spend a great deal of money each time you have an accident and the insurer wants to ensure that your premiums are enough to compensate for the expenses and at the same time get profit from them.

To what extent your car premiums will go up is really difficult to comprehend. One of major factors is the number of claims you have had already. If your driving record shows instances of past accidents then premiums will increase further. If the frequency of accidents is more then you are considered a driver with high risk, and you may have to pay highly for it.

Your insurance is also affected by how often the car accidents occurred. If you get into two car accidents within a year of each other you can expect your rates to go up much higher. No matter where you look, your insurance premiums will be affected by your driving record this way, although you may be able to find a better deal by searching around.

The highest premiums are saved for young male drivers. Although it is a bit of a stereotype, insurance companies have done research to find the drivers that are most likely to get into an accident. Since their driving record is fairly new, young drivers are instantly more of a liability. If they get into a car accident the premiums will skyrocket until several years afterward with having a clean record.

However, there are some instances when your premiums may not be so affected, mainly if the accident was not due to your fault or if you have had a solid past driving record. Obviously, there are some insurance companies which will anyways increase your premiums, even if the accident wasn?t caused by your mistake.

To know the process of rating cars, you must know a few things regarding the ISO symbols. ISO is the short form of Insurance Services Offices, Inc. and their duty is to assign a certain mark or number to every car. This symbol tells about the worth of the car. This system makes the insurance companies assign just rates for everyone. If you have a high ISO rating then it implies that you vehicle worth more and its fixing costs would be high too. Cars that take more money to get fixed generally have higher premium rates. Regardless of what your ISO rating is, your premiums will escalate if you get involved in an accident.

Your car insurance will of course not be cancelled after accident, but it may increase so much that you may have to terminate it. Even though you call off your insurance after an accident, you will receive the full coverage of your claim. Remember that the accurate time of accident is extremely essential. If the accident took place even after a minute of the expiry of your plan, your claim will become void and you?ll have to bear the costs yourself.

Knowing this you now realize how much a claim affects your premiums. You may therefore see it as unnecessary to file a claim for small accidents, seeing as you may end up paying double or more in higher premiums. In most cases it is better not to file a claim if the damage is under $750 dollars. You may also want to avoid putting in a claim if you have another accident on your record that same year.

Graham McKenzie is the content syndication coordinator for Carinsurancesa.co.za. South Arica?s leading car insurance portal.