Florida Car Accident Is Not Your Fault, Does Your Insurance Go Up?

Will my car insurance increase if someone hits me in Florida? Generally, your car insurance will not go up after a claim that is not your fault in Florida. This is according to Florida Statutes §626.9541(1)(g)3). Under this Florida law, it would be an unfair or deceptive practice for an automobile insurance company like GEICO, Allstate, USAA, or State Farm to refuse to renew or cancel a policy or increase rates because you made a claim or sought medical treatment. That doesn’t mean your rates may not increase for some other reason, like a speeding ticket or a new driver listed on your policy.

Factors That Affect Car Insurance Rates

What factors affect car insurance rates in South Florida? How do insurance companies calculate rates? While there is no exact formula and every insurance company is different, most insurance companies do consider the following factors:

Age

New drivers pay more than older drivers. This makes sense. New drivers are less experienced and more likely to get into an accident that is their fault. Drivers aged 16 to 25 pay incredibly high rates.

On a side note, it’s important to always disclose anyone living in your home over the age of 15. If you don’t and that person living in your home gets into an accident, your insurance company could deny the claim as a material misrepresentation. You’ll find this requirement to add any persons living in your home over the age of 15 in the fine print of your insurance policy.

Unfortunately, I see it often when clients don’t disclose a person living in their home over 15 to save some money on insurance premiums. Typically, it’s an extended family member or a significant other. Then, someone in the household gets into a crash and the insurance company takes a statement and wants to know who the driver lives with. Then, being completely candid the driver admits someone over 15 is living with them and not listed on the policy. Now, the insurance company has a defense to covering the claim. Don’t do this to try to save a buck. Immediately report EVERYONE living in your house over 15 to your insurance company. Sure, your rates will increase, but what is worse: paying a few more bucks in premiums or getting into a significant crash and finding out you don’t have coverage?

Driving Record

Insurance companies will check your driving record to determine your rate. They will look at prior traffic tickets, speeding tickets, at-fault accidents, and not-at-fault accidents. While speeding tickets and at-fault accidents increase your rates significantly more than not-at-fault accidents, if you have many not-at-fault accidents, this could also increase your rates as the insurance companies will view you as a driver with a high propensity to be involved in car accidents.

I had a past client who was involved in five (5) rear-end car accidents within a short three (3) year span. This man just had some bad luck. Even though he wasn’t at fault for these crashes, his insurance company raised his rates because they viewed him as having a poor driving record. These instances are rare. Typically, you’ll only get dinged by the insurance company for a poor driving record if you have an unusually high number of at-fault accidents, but just being involved in a lot of accidents in a short period can also increase your rates.

Geographic Location

The zip code where you live can impact how much you pay for car insurance. In other words, living in some regions of Florida can mean you’re at a higher risk for a car accident and may pay more for car insurance. For example, live in Broward County, Florida. You’ll likely pay more for car insurance than in rural North Florida. This is because more people (and more cars and traffic) are in cities than rural areas. This is a numbers game.

Occupation

When selecting your insurance rates, insurance companies will also determine your occupation and driving time. High-stress jobs and jobs requiring a lot of driving time will pay higher rates. Typically, doctors, lawyers, real estate agents, and salespeople pay more in car insurance than those who work in other occupations because those professions require you to be in your car longer and commute a longer distance, thus making you more likely to be involved in a crash.

Credit Score

Your credit score may impact your insurance rate. I don’t particularly agree with this, but car insurance companies will look at your credit score. The higher the score, the lower the premium, generally. They figure if you are fiscally responsible, you’ll be less likely to make a fraudulent claim or not make claims for minor collisions. Again, I disagree with this fact, but I’m not the CEO of Allstate, State Farm, Progressive, USAA, or GEICO.

The above list of factors is one of many factors insurance companies use to determine rates. There are many more, and every insurance company is different. If your rates do increase, you should shop around. With so many auto insurance companies around, it’s a competitive market. If your rates increase with Progressive Insurance, check out rates at GEICO or Allstate. By shopping around, you can often save money on car insurance regardless of the above factors.

How Do Auto Insurance Companies Know About Prior Accidents?

You may wonder if insurance companies share information about claims and how they find out about prior accidents. Car insurance companies have access to databases that show your complete driving history and car accident history.

So, when you file a claim, that information gets input into the database, along with the information of all drivers involved. Also, whenever a police report is filed, that information gets input into the database, and insurance companies can obtain access to this information. In other words, even if you decide to not report a claim to your insurance company, there is a strong likelihood your insurance company will find out about it either from the police report or from the other drivers reporting it.

Is It Worth Making an Auto Claim?

Because the insurance companies will certainly know about your crash whether you report it or not, it makes sense to make a claim. This differs from when making a property insurance claim because, as discussed, insurance companies share information about crashes. They already know about it, whereas insurance companies would only know about a property claim if you report it. In other words, if you have a leak in an upstairs bathroom that causes water damage, your homeowner’s insurance would never know about it unless you reported it; on the other hand, if you get into a fender-bender on Flamingo Road and you don’t report it, your insurance company will still likely know about the crash, even if you don’t make a complaint, especially if a police report is filed.

You pay enough for car insurance in Florida, you might as well make a claim!