Auto Insurance Claims: Collision Damage--premium increase?, state insurance commissioner, mike kreidler

Question
Last week when i am driving i had a flat tire to the car and as i couldn't control it i hit the curb and so there is rear view passenger mirror broken and when i called insurance she have given me an estimate and its marked as collision damage and no one else is involved.Will this effect my premium for next term and also will it have effect on my driving history?

Thanks

Answer
Hi Babburi,

I am going to ask you to consider getting this fixed without involving your insurance.  OR, if the circumstances are right, as noted below, you could use insurance with no risk of raised rates.

You have asked a very good question, and unless you fight to avoid the designation of this as an "at-fault" accident, the insurer might try to use it for purposes of raising your rates.

In most states the insurance commissioner has set rules for when the insurance companies can call an accident "at-fault" and how much it has to be in damages before they raise your rates.  

So, here is what I would do.  First, contact your state insurance commissioner http://www.settlementcentral.com/links.php and figure out what threshold damage payment is required before the insurer gets to label this an "at-fault" accident.

For example, in Washington, the nation's finest insurance commissioner, Mike Kreidler, has set the damage payment threshold at $750.  Hence, if the insurer pays out only $700, then no matter how bad the driving was, they CANNOT tag their insured with a rate increase.

So, you will compare the threshold in your state to the cost of repairing your damages.  But you will also have to factor in your deductible, since they will not pay 100% of the repair costs.

If the body shop tells you that the repair costs are not much more than your deductible, they I would probably just pay it myself.  For example, if you have a deductible of $250 and the mirror replacement is $300, then I would NOT claim on your insurance, UNLESS your state insurance commissioner has set the threshold damage payment for at-fault designation at something more than $300.  In that case, you can make your insurer pay what ever amount above your deductible so long as the total damages do not equal or exceed the insurance commissioner's at-fault threshold figure.  Does that make sense?  

I trust that my time here has produced some information that has been of value to you, and thus I would respectfully request that you take the time to locate the FEEDBACK FORM on this site and leave some feedback for me.

Best Wishes,

Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
http://www.SettlementCentral.Com