2 at fault claims in 5 years

[esohe]

I was involved in a major collision 5 years ago (Nov 2018) where I was T boned while making a left turn. My beater 2007 TL was not insured but I had the legally required liability insurance which covered the damages to the other car which was also a very old Corolla - seemed older than my car. Last week (Sept 2023) I backed into a parked car and damaged the front bumper of that car (a Ford transit van) and rear bumper of mine (a 1 year old 4Runner). I left a note on the other car and was not going to file a claim because that person didn’t call me until a week after the incident. Since they called me now, I need to file a claim. Are the 2 claims in 5 years going to cause my insurance to drop me or categorise me as high risk? I do not have any tickets on my driving record.

 

[ifitry]

@esohe your rates are going up as a result of the current at-fault accident regardless of the other one, and they could drop you for it

for your question in particular, wa allows accidents to be charged for 5 years, so if you have a renewal before nov 2023 then both will count against you for your premium in the next policy period (if they don't drop you)

if your next renewal isn't until after nov 2023, they will only factor the current accident into your premium in the next policy period (if they don't drop you)

 

[esohe]

@ifitry My renewal isn’t until Jan 2024. How did you guess WA? Will I be forced to get a high risk insurance if I get dropped? Also my previous claim was with a different provider idk if that will prevent the current one from dropping me or it won’t matter.

 

[ifitry]

@esohe post history

if no standard carriers will insure you, yes, you'll have no choice but to continue with a nonstandard (aka "high risk") carrier

it doesn't matter which carrier covered which accident; all claims are reported in a large national database that all of them have access to

 

[esohe]

@ifitry Cool. Looks like I’m pretty screwed here. Thanks.

 

[ifitry]

@esohe idk how that's the conclusion you came to but okey dokey

 

[esohe]

@ifitry I guess I’m a pessimist and have had nothing but bad news lately

 

[michaela71]

@esohe If your renewal is January 2024 you are probably going to be fine. Yes, the rate is going down go up due to a recent at-fault, but the one from November 2018 will be dropping off.

Some carriers are based on 3 years at-fault, most rate now by 5 years, and Progressive rates based on 7 years

I'd just find a good broker and have them run your quote through multiple carriers, you'll be absolutely fine.

 

[esohe]

@michaela71 Thank you

 

[bebop516]

@esohe How did this turn out? I’m in a similar situation?

 

[esohe]

@bebop516 The other party hasn’t reached out yet so I haven’t filed a claim yet. The damage to their vehicle was minor and I was planning to settle it outside of insurance.