Understanding Accident Forgiveness Programs
Ordinarily, your car insurance rates go up if you are involved in an accident. This makes sense since the more accidents you are involved in, the riskier the insurance company will consider you to be. Accident forgiveness is a novel concept in which an insurance company "forgives" you for an accident by avoiding a corresponding rate hike.
Note that the term "accident" in accident forgiveness doesn't apply to the strict meaning of the word only; it doesn't apply to car crashes only. It may also apply to other driving violations or infractions such as speeding tickets.
How It Applies
Accident forgiveness usually applies only to the first accident you are involved in; any other accident after that will attract the usual rate increase. The forgiveness typically applies in two main ways depending on the insurance company issuing it. For example, it can either be applied to everyone in your car insurance policy, in which case everyone will be forgiven their first accident, but this is rare. More commonly, only the first accident is forgiven for the whole policy; it doesn't matter who incurs the accident.
How to Get It
There are various ways of enjoying accident forgiveness; here are the four most popular ones:
Being a Loyal Customer
Many car insurance companies reward their clients for being with them for a long time. One way your insurance company may reward you is to offer you accident forgiveness. It is also a way of keeping you locked to the same carrier so that you don't take your business elsewhere.
Being a New Customer
In addition to retaining customers, insurance companies also have to work hard to gain new ones. Again, accident forgiveness provides the insurance company with a chance to entice new customers to sign up with them.
Maintaining a Clean Driving History
The more accident claims insurance companies handle, the more they lose money. This is why auto insurance carriers go to great lengths to encourage drivers to avoid accidents at all costs. Many insurance companies will reward you with accident forgiveness if you drive for a long time without an accident.
Buying It
Many insurance companies include accident forgiveness among their premium products. If your carrier has such a product, then you may be able to buy accident forgiveness, especially if you also have a clean driving history.
If you currently don't enjoy an accident forgiveness program, talk to an insurance agent at companies like Marcus Steven M Inc to see how you can qualify for it. It is one of the best ways of securing good insurance rates for the long term.