Auto Insurance Claims: TWO ACCIDENTS IN ONE WEEK, insurance company, windshield

Question
Monday I was driving down the highway and a dog ran out in front of me, I hit it, and it caused $900 damage to front of my car. Then on Wednesday, I was driving down the road and the vehicle in front of me flipped a rock into my windshield and cracked my windshield bringing my estimate up to $1300. Will these raise my rates? Should I claim one accident or the other? Or should I claim them together? Also, how long do I have to report this to my insurance since I am so lost on what I should do?

Answer
Hi Micah,

Each accident will be treated as a seperate event. You will have to set up 2 different claims and will be responsible for paying 2 different deductibles. Depending on the amount of your deductible, you may want to simply pay for the damage yourself and not make a claim at all.  If you have a $500.00 deductible, the insurance company will only pay $400.00 of the $900.00 claim.  Your windshield will likely cost less than $500.00 and in that case the insurance company will not pay anything.  Of course you should recalculate this based on your actual deductible.

If you make 2 claims against your insurance, it will likely raise your premium rates for the next 3 years.

I hope this helps
Richard Hixenbaugh