Sponsored feature: Will my car insurance premiums increase if I wasn’t at fault?

Different car insurance providers work in different ways, each with different rules and requirements, however, in most cases it’s unlikely your premiums will increase if you are not at fault in an accident. You can learn more about specific policies at the HBF website.

If you are in a single accident and you are not at fault, then your premiums really shouldn’t increase. As long as you follow the steps as required by your car insurance provider, and hand over the details of the person who was at fault, your premiums should stay the same. On the other hand, if you’re involved in multiple accidents or collisions, then you may indeed see an increase in your premiums – even if you were not at fault. Insurance is all about risk, and premiums are calculated on how much of a risk your insurer thinks you are.

Even if you’re not at fault, if you have a lot of accidents, you may be thought of as accident prone – which may make you seem higher risk, and may increase your premiums.

Higher Premiums

There are other instances that may cause your premiums to rise even when you are not at fault. This can include getting hit by an uninsured driver. Because your car insurance provider is not able to recoup its losses from the uninsured driver, you will usually have to make a claim on your policy.

Your premiums may also rise if you can’t provide the details of the person who was at fault – again, your insurer won’t be able to recover damages from the other party, and so you will need to make a claim.

Depending on your car insurance provider and your policy, you may also find your premiums increase if your car was stolen, if your car was damaged maliciously, or if it was damaged by fire, weather or an animal.

However, many insurers allow you to purchase higher levels of insurance to protect against these types of events. Weigh up the extra costs of this protection with the likelihood it will actually happen.

What do you need to do if you’re in an accident?

Make sure you get the details of the other person involved. You will usually need their name and address, their car insurance details, and sometimes their vehicle registration number. You may also need to file a police report.

Then you will need to contact your insurer. Even if the incident was not your fault, it’s advisable to contact your insurer to advise them of what happened, and to give them the details of the other party.

Your insurer should let you know what will happen next. This may involve telling you where to take your car to get it repaired. Your insurer will usually arrange to collect the damages from the other party’s insurance provider.

If you want to find out more about how your car insurance provider deals with this, you may want to contact them, or visit their website. It’s always a good idea to read the terms and conditions of the policy before you sign up, to make sure you have the level of cover you need.