Common Auto Insurance Claims That Will Raise Your Insurance Premium Rate
You’re like most folks in that you don’t want to face higher auto insurance premiums than absolutely necessary. You do what you can to drive defensively. You work hard to make sure you obey all of the traffic laws. You even take a refresher safety course every now and again, just to get that little extra discount that your auto insurance company offers. Still, there’s always the risk that you’ll eventually need to file a claim.
Knowing what the most common auto insurance claim types are can help you to make a serious effort to avoid some of those situations. Here are the 7 most common auto insurance claims today:
- Fender benders. A small accident that usually involves another vehicle in which no one is hurt and the damage is under a few hundred bucks falls into this category. Believe it or not, this kind of claim can increase your premiums.
- Whiplash. It’s often the butt of jokes in the movies, but whiplash can involve some serious medical costs. A whiplash collision claim is especially common, as it only requires a jerking neck motion.
- Back injuries. Back injuries are the next most common type of injury claim in an auto accident, after whiplash. Back injuries can range from something as simple as a strained back muscle to something more severe like a slipped disk.
- Windshield damage. Windshield damage can be caused by accidents, or it can happen when a rock goes flying out from under the car in front of you. This kind of claim has a high deductible usually, and is a fairly expensive repair.
- Theft. Many auto insurance companies will give you a discount on your premiums if you install extra security systems, as theft of a vehicle will often lead to a much higher insurance rate.
- Vandalism. Depending on where you live, vandalism might be an issue as well. If reports of vandalism are high in your area, you can expect to pay more for your auto insurance.
- Animal collisions. Even if you don’t live in a rural area, it’s possible to run into a deer or other animal in the road. These kinds of accidents often create tremendous amounts of damage to your vehicle.
While you can’t avoid all of the situations that might lead to these kinds of auto insurance claims, knowing what they are can help put you on the lookout for situations that might lead to these disasters.
Before driving the streets of the Wolverine State, it is important for drivers and future coverage owners to seek out all possible information on purchasing auto insurance in order to have full understanding of their future automobile policy. The protection possibilities in MI do not stop at the three basic parts of a no-fault policy; there is an array of additives that can be included into one’s vehicle coverage. It is first important to note that a basic no-fault policy does not pay to repair or replace a policyholder’s car if it is damaged. In order to get the peace of mind that comes with coverage, owners would have to purchase collision and comprehensive coverage. Collision would take care of costs to a driver’s automobile made from a collision with another car, while comprehensive coverage handles costs involved in damage to a vehicle owner’s car that may be caused by anything from falling objects, fire, or vandalism, to animal confrontations or theft.
Even though Michigan insurance among the most comprehensive in the nation, there are still some that choose to forgo insurance altogether. For this reason, many providers offer Uninsured Motorist Coverage, which ensures that an insured driver will be compensated for possible pain and suffering, as well as any excess wages that were lost because of injuries received during a hit and run accident, or an accident caused by an uninsured motorist. It’s always important to remember that knowing what type of protection to purchase and finding cheap premiums for such policies could end up saving drivers both money and frustration if damage ever came to their automobile.