You pride yourself on being an experienced, safe driver. You obey all traffic laws and never put yourself or others in dangerous situations on the road. You drive a vehicle that is rated highly for safety and enjoy a relative low car insurance premium. But what happens if despite all your driving experience and precautions, you are involved in a car accident and you are at fault? How much can your New York Car Insurance rates go up after just one accident?

Unfortunately, there is not one simple answer to be given. Because car insurance rates vary from company to company, so does the rate of increase after an accident occurs. If you are lucky, your company may have an “accident forgiveness program” and not penalize you for a first-time accident. Keep in mind that such programs are generally offered to those with good driving records, adequate driving experience and highly safety-rated cars.

 A low premium might look attractive initially but what you may not know is that should you be found to be at fault of an accident, it may skyrocket. Reading all the fine print on your policy is key in order to avoid such circumstances. If a rate looks to good to be true from the onset, it probably is. Seeking a more balanced car insurance rate will generally benefit you the most should you ever cause an accident.

Experts suggest that when looking to obtain a new york car insurance policy, you request a copy of their insurance point plan or surcharge schedule. This plan outlines what fees will be charged if you are ever found at fault of an accident. For example, AAA charges a 30% increase in premium after just one accident and an increase of a whopping 150% after two accidents. Progressive Insurance charges a 29% increase after one accident and 56.2% after two accidents. Make sure to check with your insurer to ascertain exactly what you will be charged if you are ever at fault of a car accident.

The good news is that as you get older, most insurance companies will consider you a lower risk to insure therefore balancing out any rate hikes brought on by previous car accidents. Likewise, younger drivers often times pay the biggest price for being at fault of a car accident.

So what’s the bottom line of this inexact science? By knowing the exact terms of your car insurance policy, you can ensure that if you ever have the unfortunate experience of being in a traffic accident, your New York car insurance coverage is one less thing to worry about.

Start saving up to 40% on your New York Car Insurance Rates Today !

Tags: New York Auto Insurance