Insurance accident how long

ZIP Code. Your not-so-permanent record. What does that mean for insurance rates? States take varying approaches. On a similar note Dive even deeper in Insurance. Explore Insurance. Get more smart money moves — straight to your inbox.

Sign up. The first thing you should do following a car accident is contact your insurance and see if it offers first-time accident forgiveness. For more serious accidents, such as DUIs and hit-and-runs, insurance providers may even elect not to renew your policy when it expires. In short, yes they can.

According to research by the Consumer Federation of America , Progressive is the biggest offender in raising rates for not-at-fault drivers. However, some states have laws in place that prevent this type of rate increase from happening. In particular, California and Oklahoma both have laws to prevent insurance companies from raising premiums for drivers who did not cause the accident in which they found themselves. Some insurance companies offer accident forgiveness for their customers.

This simply means that if a driver gets into an accident, regardless of whether or not they are at-fault, they will not have it reflected in an increase to their premium. The following insurance companies offer accident forgiveness to their customers:. Generally speaking, drivers can expect a car accident to remain on their record for three years from the time the incident occurred.

Drivers who have had many car accidents will pay the highest rates for their insurance; however, first-time offenses may be forgiven if the provider offers accident forgiveness. September 17, Mary Van Keuren. For example, let's say your car door got badly dented while you were shopping at a grocery store. Upon discovering this damage, you took plenty of pictures and even got a copy of the grocery store's surveillance tapes showing another driver parking next to you and slamming his door against yours, clearly causing the dent.

Let's also assume the surveillance footage is time-stamped to prove when the damage occurred and even shows the other driver's license plate number you recognize the license plate as belonging to your neighbor.

For whatever reason, you decide not to immediately file a claim with your car insurance company. However, several months later, the dent starts to bother you, so you call your insurance company and report the damage.

Did you file your vehicle damage claim in a timely manner? Your car insurance company will probably think not. They might argue that you waited too long and therefore, the company's ability to assess the damage and identify the responsible driver is now compromised.

As a result, they can try to deny your claim. Continuing with our example, if you show your car insurance company the video footage, your pictures which show the dent in your door, and explain how they can get in touch with your neighbor, your insurance company may have a difficult time denying your claim. This is because your car insurance company probably wasn't actually harmed or "prejudiced" by your delay in reporting the loss.

In other words, your car insurance company isn't allowed to deny a claim based on the technicality of submitting a claim well after the accident. Only when the late filing of a claim actually results in detriment to the car insurance company can they use the late filing as a reason to deny the claim. Otherwise, the insurer may be liable for bad faith denial of an injury claim.

Is it always guaranteed to work out this way? No, since you have probably violated one of your duties under your car insurance policy. By waiting to file the claim, you have just given your car insurance company a quick and easy justification for denying your claim. Does this mean they're correct and your claim isn't covered?

Not necessarily, but they now have a plausible reason for denying your claim. This means in order for you have your dent fixed, you may have no choice but to sue your car insurance company. But the cost to sue will likely be higher than paying for that dented door yourself. After a car accident, getting the insurance claim process started can be beneficial for everyone, including you the claimant.

That's because:. Especially if you've delayed filing a car insurance claim after an accident that caused you significant injuries, it might make sense to discuss your situation with a skilled legal professional. Having the right lawyer on your side can make a big difference if things get adversarial. Learn more about when to hire a car accident lawyer.