The Power of Justice
Will Filing a Car Accident Claim Raise My Insurance Rates?
The answer depends on many factors, including: who caused the accident, which policy is paying the claim, your driving and claims history, and the reason your insurer gives for any future premium change.
In Colorado, an insurer generally should treat their customer the same, regardless of fault. That does not necessarily mean your bill will remain exactly the same at every renewal. Insurance premiums can change for many reasons unrelated to a particular collision.
At Cook, Bradford & Levy, our Boulder car accident lawyers help injured people understand the insurance process, protect their claims, and respond when an insurance carrier attempts to assign blame unfairly.
Will My Insurance Go Up After an Accident That Was Not My Fault?
A not-at-fault accident ordinarily should not result in the type of individual surcharge commonly associated with causing a crash. Colorado law places limits on the ways insurers may use accidents that were not the fault of the policyholder, a household member, or another authorized driver.
That protection matters when someone else runs a red light, rear-ends your vehicle, crosses the center line, fails to yield, or causes another type of preventable collision.
However, there is an important distinction between an accident-related surcharge and a general premium increase.
Your premium could rise at renewal even though you did nothing wrong. An insurer may implement a broader rate increase affecting many customers in the same region. Your price may also change because you moved, replaced a vehicle, modified your coverage, changed your deductible, added a household driver, lost a separate discount, or experienced another change unrelated to the accident.
Therefore, a higher renewal bill does not automatically prove that the insurance company punished you for filing a not-at-fault claim. The insurer should be able to explain the factors behind the change.
Does It Matter Which Insurance Company Receives the Claim?
Yes. A claim against the other driver’s liability policy is different from a claim made under your own coverage.
Filing Against the At-Fault Driver’s Insurance
When another driver causes the collision, you may pursue a third-party claim against that driver’s liability insurer. The claim may seek payment for vehicle damage, medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, disability, and other losses caused by the crash.
Because you are not insured under the at-fault driver’s policy, you are not asking your own insurer to accept responsibility for the accident. The other company is evaluating whether its policyholder is legally responsible and how much it owes you.
The at-fault insurer does not control your insurance premium. Nevertheless, your own carrier will still learn about the accident through industry databases, communications between insurers, repair records, or a related claim under your policy.
Filing Under Your Own Policy
There are several reasons you would want to use your own insurance even when another driver caused the collision.
You might rely on collision coverage to repair or replace your vehicle while responsibility is being investigated. Often times the need to have access to a vehicle is paramount which is why insurers sell property damage coverage. Medical payments coverage may help with out of pocket medical bills and co-pays. Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may apply when the responsible driver has no insurance or does not have enough coverage to pay for the harm caused.
Using your own coverage does not mean you are admitting fault. It means you are requesting contractual benefits for which you paid premiums over the years. Otherwise, you are donating your money to the insurance industry!
After paying a covered loss, your insurer may pursue reimbursement from the responsible driver or the driver’s insurance company. This process is commonly known as subrogation. If your insurer recovers its payment, you may also receive reimbursement for some or all of the deductible you initially paid, depending on the circumstances.
Will My Rates Increase If I Caused the Accident?
An at-fault collision is more likely to affect your insurance price.
Insurance companies evaluate risk. A driver who causes a crash may be viewed as more likely to cause another covered loss, particularly when the accident involves unsafe conduct, a traffic violation, substantial property damage, or bodily injury.
The insurer’s response may depend on several factors, including:
- The seriousness of the collision and the amount paid on the claim.
- Whether the driver received a citation or was convicted of a traffic offense.
- The driver’s previous accident and violation history.
- The insurer’s underwriting guidelines.
- Whether the policy includes accident-forgiveness protection.
- The number and type of claims associated with the policy.
- Whether alcohol, drugs, reckless driving, or another aggravating circumstance was involved.
A carrier may increase the premium, decline to renew the policy, change eligibility for certain discounts, or impose other lawful underwriting consequences. The exact outcome varies by insurer and policy.
An accident also does not have to be entirely one person’s fault. Insurance companies sometimes assign percentages of responsibility to multiple drivers. That decision can affect both the injury claim and the way the accident is recorded.
Can Accident Forgiveness Prevent a Rate Increase?
Accident forgiveness may prevent an insurer from applying an accident surcharge after a qualifying first at-fault crash. Some carriers include it for customers who satisfy specific requirements, while others sell it as an optional feature.
The name can be misleading. Accident forgiveness does not erase the collision, prevent it from appearing in claims records, or require other insurance companies to disregard it. It may simply prevent your present insurer from imposing a particular surcharge under the terms of its program.
Restrictions may apply. The protection might not cover every household driver, every kind of collision, or accidents involving serious violations. It may also protect the base rate while allowing the policyholder to lose a claim-free or safe-driving discount.
Review the policy language rather than relying only on an advertisement or a general statement from an agent.
Can an Uninsured Motorist Claim Affect My Insurance?
Uninsured motorist coverage may apply when the person who caused the collision had no valid liability insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage may also apply when the at-fault driver had insurance, but the available limit is insufficient to compensate you fully.
These claims are made under your own policy, but they remain claims based on another driver’s fault. You are not transformed into the at-fault driver merely because your carrier is responsible for paying benefits.
Colorado law provides specific protection concerning rating discounts following a collision with an uninsured vehicle when the insured driver was not at fault. This can become important if an insurer attempts to remove a safe-driver or similar discount because its customer used uninsured motorist coverage.
UM/UIM claims can still become disputed. Your insurance company may question liability, the nature and extent of your injuries, the necessity of treatment, the value of your losses, or whether the other driver was truly uninsured or underinsured.
Although it is your insurer, the company has a financial interest in limiting what it pays. You should treat requests for statements, medical authorizations, examinations, and settlement documents carefully.
Should I Avoid Reporting a Minor Accident?
No! Failing to report a crash can create problems that are much more expensive than the deductible or premium increase you hoped to avoid.
An accident that initially appears minor may involve hidden vehicle damage. A bumper can conceal damage to sensors, reinforcement components, cameras, or the frame. Physical symptoms can also emerge hours or days later, particularly after the stress and adrenaline of the collision begin to subside.
The other driver may change their account of what happened. Someone who apologized at the scene may later claim that you caused the crash. A driver who said they were uninjured may later pursue a claim against you.
Insurance policies frequently require timely notice of an accident. Waiting too long could interfere with your insurer’s ability to investigate and may create a coverage dispute.
Reporting the crash does not necessarily mean that you must immediately demand payment for every possible loss. It preserves a record, allows the carrier to investigate, and helps protect you if the situation develops differently than expected.
What If the Insurance Company Incorrectly Blames Me?
You do not have to accept an insurer’s fault determination simply because an adjuster announced it over the telephone.
Insurance companies make liability decisions using available evidence, which may include driver statements, photographs, police reports, witness accounts, vehicle damage, video footage, physical evidence, traffic laws, and accident reconstruction findings.
A police officer’s report can be influential, but it does not always provide the final answer in a civil insurance claim. The officer may not have witnessed the collision, may have received incomplete information, or may have reached an initial conclusion before additional evidence became available.
Preserve as much evidence as possible. Photographs of the vehicles, roadway, traffic controls, debris, skid marks, weather conditions, and visible injuries may become valuable. Save dashcam footage immediately so that it is not overwritten. Obtain contact information from witnesses and keep copies of correspondence with every insurance company.
A lawyer can investigate disputed liability, obtain additional records, interview witnesses, examine physical evidence, and challenge an unsupported allocation of fault.
Why Did My Premium Increase After a Not-at-Fault Accident?
When a premium rises after a crash you did not cause, request a detailed explanation from the insurer.
The increase may reflect a change affecting an entire group of policyholders rather than a surcharge directed at you. Auto insurers periodically revise their rates based on repair costs, medical expenses, theft losses, severe weather, litigation expenses, claim frequency, and other actuarial information.
Colorado drivers may be affected by hailstorms, wildfire losses, vehicle theft, expensive technology built into modern vehicles, and rising labor and replacement-part costs. Even relatively modest damage can be expensive when a repair requires recalibrating cameras, radar units, parking sensors, or driver-assistance systems.
Your premium may also change because of:
A Change in Your Address
Rates can differ based on where a vehicle is primarily kept. Moving even a relatively short distance can place the policy in a different rating territory.
A Vehicle or Coverage Change
A newer or more expensive vehicle may cost more to repair or replace. Increasing liability limits, adding comprehensive coverage, lowering a deductible, or adding optional benefits can also raise the price.
A Household Change
Adding a newly licensed teenager or another household driver can affect the premium. The driving records of people covered by the policy may also be considered.
The Loss of an Unrelated Discount
A premium may rise when a bundling, automatic-payment, low-mileage, good-student, or telematics discount ends. The timing may coincide with the accident even though the collision was not the legal reason for the change.
Multiple Claims or Incidents
A history containing numerous claims can create complicated underwriting issues even when some accidents were not your fault. Ask the insurer to identify precisely which incidents and rating factors it considered rather than assuming that every increase is permissible.
How Can I Find Out Why My Rate Changed?
Start by comparing your current declarations page with the documents from the previous policy period. Look at the premium for each vehicle, the listed drivers, coverage limits, deductibles, discounts, endorsements, and rating information.
Ask your agent or carrier these questions:
- Was an accident surcharge added to the policy?
- Was any discount reduced or removed?
- Was the collision recorded as at fault, partially at fault, or not at fault?
- Did the company implement a general rate increase?
- Did my rating territory, annual mileage, vehicle classification, or household information change?
- What procedure can I use to dispute inaccurate information?
Request the explanation in writing. Keep your renewal notices, declarations pages, claim correspondence, and notes from telephone conversations.
You may also want to obtain copies of relevant driving or claims-history records and correct inaccurate information. A mistaken fault designation, duplicate claim, incorrect driver, or outdated vehicle entry can have financial consequences if it remains unchallenged.
Should Fear of Higher Rates Stop Me From Filing an Injury Claim?
Fear of a possible premium change should not cause you to surrender a valid claim without understanding what you may be giving up.
A serious crash can result in emergency treatment, surgery, rehabilitation, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, permanent limitations, and significant pain. The cost of those losses may greatly exceed any potential insurance-rate concern.
Delaying a claim can also make it harder to preserve evidence, document injuries, identify insurance coverage, and comply with legal deadlines. Statements made early in the process can affect the eventual outcome.
Before deciding not to report an accident or not to pursue compensation, obtain reliable information about your rights, available coverage, and potential losses.
How Can Cook, Bradford & Levy Help After a Colorado Car Accident?
Insurance issues rarely end with a single question about premiums. Injured people may have to deal with several carriers, disputed fault, medical bills, repair delays, wage loss, coverage limitations, and pressure to accept an early settlement.
Cook, Bradford & Levy represents people injured in car, truck, motorcycle, bicycle, pedestrian, and other transportation accidents. Our Boulder personal injury attorneys can investigate how the crash occurred, communicate with insurance adjusters, identify available coverage, document damages, and pursue compensation from the responsible parties.
We can also examine an insurer’s explanation when a fault determination appears inaccurate or when the handling of a claim raises concerns.
Every accident presents different facts. The effect on your insurance will depend on your policy, claim history, coverage, insurer, and the circumstances surrounding the collision.
Contact Cook, Bradford & Levy for a free consultation if you were injured in a Colorado accident and need help understanding your options. We are prepared to answer your questions, explain the claims process, and help you move forward with greater clarity.