What Is Accident Forgiveness?

Car accidents are no laughing matter. They can cause injuries, significant property damage, and even death. Each year, many people are unfortunately affected by automobile accidents. If you are in a collision, you may want to consider looking into accident forgiveness to save money on your car insurance policies. Accident forgiveness can help alleviate the anxiety that comes from the possible increase in car insurance rates stemming from a collision.

What Is Accident Forgiveness?

Accident forgiveness is essentially paying a little more for a forgive and forget type of situation if an accident occurs. If your driving record is clean, your car insurance company may not increase your car insurance premiums after your first accident. After you have the accident, some companies may also reward you with lower rates for maintaining a clean driving record after. Driving safe is a benefit to your car insurance rates.

How Do I Qualify For Accident Forgiveness?

How accident forgiveness works can vary from one company to the next. Some companies give accident forgiveness as soon as that first accident occurs, while others require a few years before the crash is forgiven. If you have been in more than one accident, there can be another system for how accidents are forgiven. The best way to understand your insurance company’s policy is to do the research. Sometimes it is available on their website, and other times you will need to talk to an insurance agent directly. How you qualify for accident forgiveness may be in the fine print.

A common question is whether the additional protection that accident forgiveness provides is worth higher rates to get it. The fact is that your rates may jump if you do not have it and get into an accident. And they could jump by a lot. Professionals say rates can rise by between 20% and 100% or more. Each state is different, as is each insurer. Either way, with such a substantial increase in rates that can happen, many professionals do recommend getting accident forgiveness. Other professionals say that while there is a risk if you are a careful driver with an excellent record, you may save money in the long run by not getting accident forgiveness and simply shopping around for the best rates should an accident occur is the best strategy.

With differing opinions, the options that you consider and choose may be impacted by the amount of risk you want to take on yourself. Accident forgiveness decreases the amount of risk that you take on yourself and can protect you from drastically increasing rates. That protection can be valuable. One never knows when they will get into an accident. It is often unexpected; accident forgiveness can be a huge help. Weigh your options and decide if you are a careful enough driver and do not mind the additional risk.

The biggest tip relating to accident awareness is to look at the numbers and analyze them. Compare the perks of what you will get with a company to the amount that your rates will go up if you get into an accident that you are considered at-fault for. Companies have a schedule of charges that can help you determine how these numbers relate to each other. You can ask your insurer for a copy of their surcharge schedule and use that to see if it is worth paying for the premium increase that comes with accident forgiveness coverage.

Other Good Driver Benefits

There are a number of other good driver benefits that people can qualify for. Saving money on car insurance is something to get excited about, and General Insurance is at the forefront of providing excellent rates, fantastic customer service, and many other benefits.

Consumer awareness is critical when it comes to car insurance rates, not only with accident forgiveness but with other aspects of rates as well. By talking to an agent and asking the difficult questions, or doing proper research online, you can come up with the answer that best fits your needs. General Insurance is here to help you find the best policy with the best add-ons. Adding accident forgiveness can be a huge help when it comes to automobile insurance premiums.