Reader’s Question:

I am a resident of Cleveland, Ohio. I have been involved in three vehicular accidents this year although none of them was my fault. Will this affect my insurance rates when I renew them?

Maureen

Cleveland, OH

Maureen, nice of you to bring this topic as a lot of people I know are asking this question. Let me just give you a brief interlude about insurance.

As you may know, insurance in general is about sharing risks. If more claims are made by members, it will translate to less profit for the insuring company. The opposite of this also holds true, the less claims members make, the more profit for the insurance company.

With this in mind, insurance companies now, including those in Cleveland, Ohio, are giving benefits to those drivers with good records. What does good record mean in the eye of the insurers? Good records come in the form of minimal to zero accident claims. Traffic tickets also are looked at, so expect higher premiums if you have a lot of tickets. The trend now really is, companies are now giving lower premiums to those members who ideally have zero claims. This pertains particularly to road accidents, and zero traffic tickets.

Maureen, I understand that you may gotten involved in three vehicular accidents but none of them was your fault. Although none of them was your fault, what will matter with your insurer is if you made claims on those accidents. So, if it was not your fault, make sure you make the party at fault make the claim so that your insurance premiums will not be affected, and much more importantly, you can keep your good driving record.

Tags: auto insurance, Car Insurance Company, car insurance rate