When riding a motorcycle, you are taking many risks. While riding, you could unfortunately find yourself in an accident. If you get into a traffic accident there are a million questions that go through your head, so I’ll share what I have learned.
Does a motorcycle accident affect car insurance? It depends greatly on the details of the accident whether your insurance cost will go up. If you were completely or partially at fault then yes, your rates will increase. Some insurance companies let customers pay more monthly for accident forgiveness, so if you have this on your policy before your accident then your rates will not be raised.
When riding a motorcycle around, your body is completely exposed to the things around you. In a car, you have a metal frame around you with air bags and a seatbelt to hold you in place. All of these things are to help keep you safe in case of an accident. Unfortunately, in a motorcycle, you do not have these same things. As a result, motorcycle accidents are often much more dangerous and harmful to the rider.
Does An Accident Affect Your Insurance If You Are At Fault?
Due to the potentially extreme costs for motorcycle or car repair as well as medical attention due to any bodily injuries, all drivers are required to have insurance. This insurance will step in to pay for the costs to repair or replace a damaged vehicle. They also will help to pay for medical bills if they are needed. Different states have varying insurance requirements but, in every state, it is required to have some level of insurance coverage.
If you find yourself in an accident and it is one that you caused, will your insurance rates increase? Oftentimes your insurance rates actually will increase if you are at fault in an accident although this is not always the case. Have you ever wondered how the insurance companies calculate how much you should be paying for insurance?
These companies assess the ultimate risk of accident that you pose and how much they expect that to cost them. They do this by first checking your driving record. They check first of all for any traffic violations. Someone who is frequently breaking the law is much more likely to get into an accident. Traffic violations are oftentimes linked to accidents as well so they can tell if you have been in accidents previously and how many.
When you get into a car accident and are at fault, you will almost always receive a traffic violation. As a result, your driving record is no longer as clean as it was. Your insurance company can factor this new violation in and increase your premium.
If you are at fault in an accident, your insurance company will be the one to cover most if not all of the repairs to the other party’s vehicle as well as any medical attention needed. As a result of your company having to pay out money, they are likely to increase your rates.
There are companies that do offer accident forgiveness. This is generally a one-time forgiveness that is extended to policy holders. If they find themselves in their first at fault accident, they can file a claim without any affect on their insurance rates. This varies from company to company and is not always available to everyone.
Does An Accident Affect Your Insurance If The Other Party Is At Fault?
Now if you get into an accident and it is someone else’s fault, will your insurance rate increase? The answer is that usually you will not see any increase at all. If you are to get into a car accident as a result of someone else’s negligence or lack of attention, their insurance will be responsible for paying for your motorcycle repairs and your medical bills.
Your own insurance company oftentimes will not even have to be involved when another driver is at fault, depending on your coverage. If your insurance company does not have to fork out any money, they generally will not raise your rates.
There are times when this is not true though. For those who frequently get into at-fault accidents, even getting in a no-fault accident could increase their premium. This is a result of frequently being involved with car accidents. It also depends very heavily on your own insurance company.
All companies process claims and manage policyholder accounts differently. This is why it is so important that you shop around for good insurance. You can see what insurance policy works best for you by clicking here to compare rates. While some companies may be affordable, others may offer much better benefits, help with claims, and guarantees.
Try to hear other testimonials of how their insurance company either did or did not take care of them in the case of an accident. Spending the time to do this research could help save you hundreds of dollars that could be the result of someone else hitting you.
Can Your Insurance Company Find Out If You Do Not Report A Small Accident?
If you get into a very minor accident, you may think about not reporting the accident to your insurance provider. There are two main reasons that people consider doing this. First of all is that with very small accidents, people often want to try to just work it out with the other party involved rather than bringing the insurance companies into this.
An example of this would be if you backed into someone else’s car in a parking lot and left a scratch or small dent. Rather than getting the insurance involved, you might try to just offer the owner cash for the repairs.
The second reason is very related to the first. Many people are afraid of their insurance rates increasing as a result of that accident. As such, they want to avoid reporting this accident to their insurance company. If you choose to do this, can your insurance company find out that you did not tell them about it?
The truth is that there are times when they do find out about accidents after the fact. Let’s say you got into a small fender bender with another vehicle and neither of you reported it to your insurance companies. The owner of the vehicle that you hit starts looking at their vehicle closely days or even weeks later and notices that the damages are worse than they thought.
Or maybe, they even start experiencing pain as a result of the accident and now need medical attention. Now they file a claim about the accident. Your insurance company will quickly be informed that there is an open claim against you and also will see that you never reported the accident.
You now can find yourself in quite a bit of trouble. For not reporting the accident itself, you might actually get denied coverage in the claim filed against you. That would mean it is up to you to pay for the vehicle repairs and any medical bills that the other party may need.
You may also get fined from your insurance provider for failing to report an accident. That is why it’s best to always report every accident as you never know if it will come back to haunt you down the road.
What Does Typical Motorcycle Insurance Cover?
If you have a motorcycle, you should be paying for insurance. What exactly does this insurance cover? What your insurance covers can vary quite a bit depending on what you have decided to purchase although the general coverages are more or less the same.
Per law, everyone must carry at least a minimal amount of coverage. This amount varies slightly from state to state. It is always required that you have some amount of coverage that will cover repairs and medical expenses for another party in case of an accident up to a certain amount.
This way if you hit someone, your insurance will help pay for their bills. This is generally all that is required although the amount of coverage needed will vary by state.
You can also opt to get insurance that will cover your own motorcycle in case of various events. These could be times when other people hit your motorcycle or it gets damaged due to natural events like hail, wind, flood, etc. This will allow your insurance company to step in for many different types of damage to your bike.
You can also get a wide variety of different services from your insurance provider. These could include free car rentals while your motorcycle is being repaired, roadside assistance, and even mechanical breakdown coverage. Exactly what you get is up to you and your insurance provider.
Not all companies offer the same services or the same prices so it’s always best to shop around and get quotes from various companies to find what is best for you. You can view and compare motorcycle insurance rates by clicking here.