In this episode I talk about the repercussions of filing an auto insurance claim. I have had a few instances in my career where a client had filed a claim, or had one filed against them and they wanted it withdrawn.

This is the rub of my business. Everyone is paying for a product they don’t want to use.  The fact is, filling an at fault claim can impact what you pay because the insurance company charges you by how risky they think you are using numerous metrics. If you are filing claims you are statistically more likely to file another one and your premiums will go up.

It’s really that simple. This problem is, if a claim is filed and a customer decides to withdraw it and take care of it themselves, they can’t.  Why not Matt?  Why can’t they pay for it themselves? They actually can pay for it and have a $0 payout on a claim.  BUT, the insurance company knows the act of the at fault accident happened and you cannot unring that bell.

Once the cat is out of the bag, it changes the way the insurance company measures your risk and your premiums may increase.  Your policy may have accident forgiveness on it in which case there wouldn’t be an increase.  Or, some insurance companies won’t trigger a premium increase unless they pay out more than $800 on a claim.

In any case, it’s wise to get the full picture before filing a claim and that should start with calling your agent.

Links:

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Music by Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers

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