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Accident Forgiveness: Something That Drivers Need

Many people have heard the phrase accident forgiveness in regards to their car insurance coverage but most people do not know what it actually means. Accident forgiveness is a newer program that many car insurance programs have started using. It forgives drivers for the first car accident that they are involved in. The driver then benefits from the program because they do not see their car insurance premiums go up after their insurance claim has been processed.

Does accident forgiveness cost money? Most car insurance companies now offer accident forgiveness coverage as an additional type of coverage so there is an additional fee for this benefit. It is well worth the financial investment though. Many people who are involved in a car accident have their premium rates increase for at least five years.  A recent study found that consumers often have their car insurance premiums go up by more than forty percent after they have been involved in a car accident. This can cost drivers a lot of money so paying a few extra dollars per month can really work out well for drivers in the end.

There are some stipulations for most accident forgiveness programs. For example, most people who have poor driving records, are new drivers, or are under the age of twenty one will often not be able to be enrolled in the program. This is because these drivers are considered riskier to car insurance companies so they rarely offer the coverage for this reason alone.

Drivers need to do their homework regarding accident forgiveness benefits. Most parents with teen aged drivers cannot secure the insurance benefit if they are covering their kids on their car insurance policies. Car insurance companies know that teen drivers are often reckless and do not always drive carefully. The old adage is that the two worst kinds of drivers are new drivers and elderly drivers. Both have the highest rates of car accidents and often have the highest insurance premium rates. Parents who want the accident forgiveness feature may want to consider purchasing their kids an expensive first car and keeping them off of their car insurance policies.

Drivers should have a good driving record with no accidents or speeding tickets in the last five years. This can be hard for some drivers to achieve so it is important to talk directly to an auto insurance agent about how to qualify for the coverage. The key is to shop around for car insurance coverage with this feature. Each car insurance company has separate criteria for how they address their accident forgiveness program. Even if someone gets accepted by one insurer’s program, it does not mean that another car insurance company will deem them worthy of being accepted for the program.

Car insurance rates are very low right now and consumers should jump on the chance to find a great auto insurance company that will offer them accident forgiveness coverage. The odds are that most drivers will be involved in at least one car accident in their lifetimes even if it not their own fault. Having one accident be forgiven reduces the odds that people will have their car insurance rates increase which can save hundreds of dollars per year.

Most people dread even talking about the possibility of being involved in a car accident. However, the fact of the matter is that car accidents happen every day in every state and country in the entire world. It is better to plan ahead instead of being sorry later when your premiums end up costing forty or fifty percent more because of an accident.

Source: Fox Business.com

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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