Reader’s Question:

Does making a claim mean higher insurance rates in California? How much am I looking at?

Larry

Berkeley, CA

Many factors are involved after your insurance company has decided to raise your premiums. It doesn’t follow any hard and fast rules so you might find yourself getting double- or triple-whammied by your individual circumstances.

Your savings might help offset any increase due to an accident if you turn 40 and enter a lower-risk category, or if you buy a car that’s less expensive to insure.

After your first at-fault accident, many auto insurance companies follow the Insurance Services Office’s (ISO) standard of increasing a premium by 20 to 40 percent of the insurer’s base rate (not your current rate). Base rate is defined as the average amount of claims paid plus the insurance company’s claims-processing fee. According to the ISO, the surcharge is 20 percent of the base rate for multicar policies, and for 40 percent for single-car policies.

What can you do regarding this situation? Some insurance companies have “accident forgiveness” guidelines, but the qualifying variables can vary. You should consult your Berkeley,CA insurance agent when you buy or renew your auto insurance policy or if there is accident forgiveness available in your policy and how to qualify.

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