Will your insurance go up if the accident was not your fault?

If you were at fault for the accident, speaking to your insurance company is the correct step to take because it is the at-fault driver’s insurance policy that the claim will be processed against.

• However, if the accident was not your fault, calling your own insurance company is not the most beneficial first port of call you can make. Calling your insurance first initiates the accident claim against your own insurance policy.
• As a result of this, your insurance company will usually attach a pending claim against your own insurance policy instantly.
• Once this occurs, an active level of risk is added to your insurance policy as a pending claim. In other words, if the at-fault driver’s insurance policy does not provide a 100% payout of the claim, your own policy is at risk of taking on some, if not all of the claim costs, expenses and losses.

• The pending claim has concluded in finalising liability to the at-fault driver’s insurance company.
• All costs have been agreed upon and covered.

If your renewal is upcoming during this pending stage, the renewal price will usually reflect this risk through an increased premium.

An accident claim can be known to take up to many months or more to conclude, depending on the circumstances.

For a lot of drivers this is a nasty yet common surprise; especially considering that the accident was not your fault.

The solution to this issue that non-fault drivers can choose to make in order to avoid this insurance rate increase is to work with an Accident Management Company (also known as a Credit Hire Company.

• For non-fault drivers, contacting an Accident Management Company is a much more beneficial and better-informed decision.

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An Accident Management Company provides professional, independent, on your side claims management services. You are provided with non-fault expert advice and are also provided with a vehicle replacement while your vehicle is being repaired. This is known as Credit Hire and is at no cost to you.

This process removes the need to pay your insurance policy excess to initiate a claim, but most importantly means that you don’t need to initiate the claim via your own policy.

• The Accident Management Company liaise with the at-fault driver’s insurance company on your behalf to process the claim and claim all costs, expenses and losses directly on your behalf.

Accident Claims Management Services provide non-fault driver benefits, which include:

• No costs for you to pay (including your policy excess)
• A comparable replacement vehicle while yours is off the road
• Manufacturer-approved repair garage options (Rather than insurance-approved repair garages)
• Access to a 400+ UK wide garage repair network
• Your claim is managed by non-fault accident experts
• No risk to your no claims bonus
• No risk to your insurance premiums
• Independent and on your side

To understand how processing a non-fault claim through an accident management company compares to your insurance company, read our Accident Management VS Your Insurance Company comparison table.

Your claim, although declared as not your fault, will still be documented and additionally stored in different insurance databases, such as the Claims and Underwriting Exchange (CUE).

Claims, even non-fault, are still considered when insurance renewals are due for up to 5 years after they take place.

• After the claim conclusion, the risk is calculated based on the non-fault accident circumstances. Some insurance companies believe that, as you were in a car accident, it is possibly more likely for you to be in another one compared to someone who has not been in one.

If your car was hit while parked on a road that you park on frequently…

• This road could now be considered a slightly more dangerous road and by your car being parked there still moving forward, the risk of this happening again could be just as high as it being struck the first time.

Another example might be if your non-fault accident occurred on your usual route to work in rush hour traffic.

• There is a possibility that your morning route is now classed as a more dangerous route than previously considered and therefore the risk associated with your policy involves an increased premium.

It is said that a non-fault claim shouldn’t affect your insurance in this way.

However, if you are involved in a non-fault accident and later notice an increase in your premiums once the claim has been concluded, it is encouraged to challenge your current insurance provider about the increase.

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If your insurance provider can’t provide a reasonable reason for the increase, can’t help to bring down the quotation or directly link it to your non-fault accident claim; it might be a good idea to shop around for a better offer.

The insurance market is a highly competitive market and it’s very likely that you will quickly and easily be able to find a quotation for your annual car insurance for a better price; especially by using insurance comparison website such as: