When you are involved in an auto accident and have to file a claim, you may see your auto insurance rates increase. Some drivers don’t anticipate these kinds of changes to their policies. Auto insurance companies draw up their own rules on policy premium fluctuations. Unless a driver has “accident forgiveness” written into their auto insurance contract, rate hikes are inevitable. Other unclear aspect of accidents for drivers is whether an accident is “substantial” enough to generate insurance rate hikes. Many times with fender benders, insurance companies will excuse the accident and refrain from raising rates.
