Car Insurance Question

[BlancoNino]

A friend of mine is at fault for a car accident. It wasn't a major wreck and the car he hit was an old beater and said he didn't care. However, my friends car is fairly new and has a medium sized dent in the front left fender and his head light is slighty smashed in. It doesn't look too bad, but I know body work can get expensive really quick and usually is.

My question is this. How does one go about asking their insurance company if they can fix a wreck they caused without raising their rates? Do they only raise your rates if you turn in a claim or will they raise them as soon as the customer tells the company they caused a collision?

 

[maximus maximus]

Claim a hit and run? But understand that it would be a fraud.
You should really ask PAB.

 

[KLin]

Dear insurance co,

I caused an accident yesterday and as a result I have a dent in my new car. Can you guys fix it without raising my rates pretty please with sugar on top?

Sincerely,

Blanconino's dumbass friend

 

[EagleKeeper]

If you are responsible for the insurance company spending money, then you should accpet that your rates may go up.

 

[BlancoNino]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
If you are responsible for the insurance company spending money, then you should accpet that your rates may go up.

But isn't that why somebody pays EXTRA for full coverage in the first place?

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
If you are responsible for the insurance company spending money, then you should accpet that your rates may go up.

But isn't that why somebody pays EXTRA for full coverage in the first place?

lol no. You pay for full coverage so your car can be fixed in an accident minus the deductible.

 

[xanis]

If your friend is at fault, then his rates are going to go up if he reports to to his insurance company.

 

[BlancoNino]

Originally posted by: KLin

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
If you are responsible for the insurance company spending money, then you should accpet that your rates may go up.

But isn't that why somebody pays EXTRA for full coverage in the first place?

lol no. You pay for full coverage so your car can be fixed in an accident minus the deductible.

Okay, so somebody pays extra for full coverage, then pays the deductible, and THEN the companies raises the monthly rates again. Which begs the question as to why the company was charging extra for full coverage in the first place if they were going to penalize their customer for using it.

 

[jimmyjam]

I work for State Farm insurance in California and this is how we operate.

If you call us for advice and we don't put in a claim your rates obviously don't change.

If you put in a claim and you are at fault and we pay out more than $750 it is considered a chargeable accident and your rates will most likely go up, unless you have had a clean record for the last 10 years, then we forgive the accident.

If you put in a claim and we pay out less than $750 it is not considered a chargeable accident and your rates are not effected.


Before anyone asks, because we here it all the time: You cannot put in a claim and ask for a check for $749, we either pay for all of the damage or for none of it, you don't get to pick and choose what is fixed to make sure you come in under $750.

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: KLin

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
If you are responsible for the insurance company spending money, then you should accpet that your rates may go up.

But isn't that why somebody pays EXTRA for full coverage in the first place?

lol no. You pay for full coverage so your car can be fixed in an accident minus the deductible.

Okay, so somebody pays extra for full coverage, then pays the deductible, and THEN the companies raises the monthly rates again. Which begs the question as to why the company was charging extra for full coverage in the first place if they were going to penalize their customer for using it.

Welcome to the wonderful world of insurance.

 

[BlancoNino]

Originally posted by: jimmyjam
I work for State Farm insurance in California and this is how we operate.

If you call us for advice and we don't put in a claim your rates obviously don't change.

If you put in a claim and you are at fault and we pay out more than $750 it is considered a chargeable accident and your rates will most likely go up, unless you have had a clean record for the last 10 years, then we forgive the accident.

If you put in a claim and we pay out less than $750 it is not considered a chargeable accident and your rates are not effected.


Before anyone asks, because we here it all the time: You cannot put in a claim and ask for a check for $749, we either pay for all of the damage or for none of it, you don't get to pick and choose what is fixed to make sure you come in under $750.

Do you have an answer to that question though? Why do rates go up when a customer turns in an at-fault collision claim despite the fact that customer was already paying extra a month for that service? Why does the insurance company need that extra money per month?

 

[rob3rt]

the rate that your friend is paying for (i.e. full coverage) is the rate that everyone with similar risk characteristics pay to cover future claims, expenses, etc. once your friend gets into an accident and is at fault, then believe it or not, but he's at risk for getting into more accidents in the future. in other words, people with a driving record statistically show a high loss propensity. since the insurer is bearing this extra risk, it needs to reflect it in an accident surcharge and increase the rate. it doesn't make sense for his rate not to go up, because then that will drive up my rate (and i'm accident free).

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: jimmyjam
I work for State Farm insurance in California and this is how we operate.

If you call us for advice and we don't put in a claim your rates obviously don't change.

If you put in a claim and you are at fault and we pay out more than $750 it is considered a chargeable accident and your rates will most likely go up, unless you have had a clean record for the last 10 years, then we forgive the accident.

If you put in a claim and we pay out less than $750 it is not considered a chargeable accident and your rates are not effected.


Before anyone asks, because we here it all the time: You cannot put in a claim and ask for a check for $749, we either pay for all of the damage or for none of it, you don't get to pick and choose what is fixed to make sure you come in under $750.

Do you have an answer to that question though? Why do rates go up when a customer turns in an at-fault collision claim despite the fact that customer was already paying extra a month for that service? Why does the insurance company need that extra money per month?

Because, by having the accident, you become a riskier proposition for the insurance company. Statistically, you're more likely to have claims in the future. Your rates don't go up to pay for the accident that you claimed, your rates go up to hedge the insurance company against the increased liklihood of your future claims.

ZV

 

[Ronstang]

Tell your friend to stop the text messaging while driving.

 

[doze]

Wanna know what is more jacked up. Health insurance cost will increase every year, even if you never go to the doc.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: doze
Wanna know what is more jacked up. Health insurance cost will increase every year, even if you never go to the doc.

Mine's free. Love my job.

ZV

 

[alimoalem]

you (i'm assuming you're using your friend as a scapegoat and you actually had an accident) pay for the full coverage in case you screw up bad and cause a 10 car pileup, killing 5 people. if you have eastwood's $29 a month insurance they advertise on court TV, good luck getting out of that one. you pay extra as INSURANCE for yourself

 

[BoomerD]

Full coverage merely means that you ARE covered when you are at fault. If you ONLY have liabiltiy, only the OTHER car will get fixed, NOT yours. While it sux to have your rates go up, it's still usually a LOT cheaper than paying the full repair cost yourself...AND, as mentioned, by having an "at fault" accident, the insurance company considers you to be more of a risk, so your rates get increased...

 

[flashbacck]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: doze
Wanna know what is more jacked up. Health insurance cost will increase every year, even if you never go to the doc.

Mine's free. Love my job.

ZV

But doesn't that just mean they're just deducting from your paycheck? Your company may be paying increasing insurance costs every year and as a result you're not getting as big as a raise.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: flashbacck

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: doze
Wanna know what is more jacked up. Health insurance cost will increase every year, even if you never go to the doc.

Mine's free. Love my job.

ZV

But doesn't that just mean they're just deducting from your paycheck? Your company may be paying increasing insurance costs every year and as a result you're not getting as big as a raise.

It is counted as a benefit, but my salary is market competitive.

ZV