Think it'll be much?

Question

Last night I got in a little accident I hit a SUV infront of me and it was a municiple car, but the thing is he had NO damage and the front of my hood. Cops came and did a accident report, so do you resally think this can affect my insurance?

Answer 1

Here's the thing.  Your insurance premium does go up anytime there is a loss. However, the charge in premium depends if he accident is considered not at fault, at fault or a non chargeable at fault accident.  In your case it will be an at fault. Now to determine in what category you would fall in (non chargeable at fault or at afault.

The difference between the at fault and the non chargeable at fault accident is simply how much the company pays out to the other party for their damages and your damages.

If the company pays for the damages, depending on the amount they pay, that will determine how it is listed for underwriting purposes.

In NJ the threshold to charge a person for an at fault accident is $1000 and up.  So if the municipal car files a claim with your company and your company pays more than the $1000 in damages then you will be charged as an at fault accident, which in turn can increase your premium at renewal anywhere from  $400 to $500 yearly.

Now, if the municipal car doesn't file a claim and you don't either, then it will be considered a non-chargeable at fault accident in which case your premium will not go up as much because the insurance company didn't pay our any monies.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, yes, your rate will probably go up when the policy renews. Insurance companies do not raise premiums based on the dollar amount of the accident only if there was an accident.