Will my car accident settlement make my insurance rates go up? How much? Will everyone else’s accident claim make my insurance rates go up?
Don’t panic. Someone else’s insurance payment will NOT make your insurance rates go up! Car insurance companies pay settlements and claims for car and truck crashes every single day without making your insurance rates go up. Paying claims is their business! Many of those insurance settlements involve lawyers and lawsuits.
Most people are never in a car or truck accident. Most people never have to hire a lawyer. But, sometimes an injury attorney is necessary, because people will not take responsibility for their actions. Sometimes it takes the judge or the jury to make someone accountable for their actions.
Sometimes it takes an accident lawyer to make the negligent driver (actually his car insurance company) pay for the damage he or she caused.
After a car accident, your medical bills pile up. The billing office might start calling about payments. You may be in pain. A car accident will leave you with injuries, but may also leave you with a wrecked or totaled car. How do you pay for your car after an accident?
Getting your vehicle repaired or paid for so you can buy a new car is sometimes the first thing that needs to be done. If you don’t have transportation, you cannot get to work. If you cannot work after an accident you lose income and wages.
The good thing about a car accident, if there is any good thing about a car accident, is that there should be car insurance to pay for the damages and pay a settlement or jury verdict at trial. Accident claims almost never are brought against the negligent driver, personally.
That is what insurance is for – to pay a settlement or to pay a jury verdict.
If the driver who hit you and caused the accident does not have car insurance, then you can turn to your own car insurance to make an uninsured motorist claim.
The insurance company hires and pays for the negligent driver’s defense attorney, and the insurance company pays for the damage caused by the negligent driver. Even if you go to court, the negligent driver’s insurance company will probably pay all the damages. The money does not come out of the driver’s pocket! That is good and bad. It is good because there is money to pay your damages. It is bad because the negligent driver may not learn his lesson.
The auto insurance company pays the damages. That is what insurance is for. That is why drivers are required to have car insurance. Insurance companies pay claims every day, and those claims do not affect your insurance rates. If they did, your rates would go up every day!
No.
Insurance companies plan on paying claims without raising your rates. Only when someone brings a claim against you – when you cause an accident – should you wonder if your insurance rates will go up.
Again: Someone else’s insurance claim will not make your car insurance rates go up, even a claim that goes to court!
If you or someone you know or love was hurt in an accident, do not hesitate to call a personal injury lawyer. Even if you decide not to bring a claim, at least we can answer your questions. There are exceptions to rules, and your case might be an exception that does not fit what is described here. Call us.
Whether you were in a fender bender with very little damage to your car, or a high speed accident, such as a collision at highway speeds, whether you were hit in a parking lot or hit by a drunk driver, you have rights. The Minnesota and North Dakota personal injury attorneys at the Stowman Law Firm, P.A., can help.
Accident? We have answers.