Insurance points from an accident

www.kisslinglaw.com

I received a call today from a friend whose insurance company, GEICO. wanted to raise their insurance rates as a result of an accident.  The accident was an at fault accident but the total property damage was less than $1,500.  The question was can they raise their rates.  Based upon the charge below, the insurance company could not raise their rates since the total property damage was less than $1800 and they had no claim.

Insurance companies will often try to raise your rates even if they are not allowed to unless you push back and tell them you will report them to the department of insurance if they raise your rates.

Below is a general chart on insurance point.  Each point will raise your rates approximately 25%.

SURCHARGE RATES

Points	% of Rate Increase	Points	% of Rate Increase
1	25%	7	160%
2	45%	8	190%
3	60%	9	225%
4	80%	10	260%
5	105%	11	300%
6	130%	12	340%

The table below shows the amount of insurance points certain offenses carry, as well as the insurance points for certain motor vehicle accidents.
INSURANCE POINTS

Points	Convictions and At-Fault Accidents
12	Manslaughter Prearranged highway racing Lending a car for prearranged hwy racing Hit-and-run resulting in bodily injury/death Driving with blood alcohol level .08 more Driving commercial vehicle blood alcohol .04 more Driving While Impaired Transporting illegal intoxicating liquor for sale
10	Highway racing Lending a car for highway racing Speeding to elude arrest
8	Driving during revocation or suspension of license or registration Aggressive Driving
4	Reckless Driving Hit-and-run resulting in property damage only Passing a stopped school bus Speeding in excess of 75mph when the speed limit is less than 70mph Speeding in excess of 80 mph when the speed limit is 70 mph or greater Driving by a person less than 21 after consuming alcohol or drugs
3	At-fault accident that occurs before Jan. 1, 2004, resulting in death, or bodily   injury* in excess of $1,500 or property damage of $2,500 or more** At-fault accident that occurs on or after Jan. 1, 2004, resulting in death, or bodily injury* in excess of $1,800 or property damage of $3,000 or more**
2	Illegal passing Following too closely Driving on the wrong side of the road At-fault accident that occurs before Jan. 1, 2004, resulting in property damage in excess of $1,500, but less than $2,500** At-fault accident that occurs on or after Jan. 1, 2004, resulting in property damage in excess of $1,800, but less than $3,000** Speeding more than 10mph over the speed limit provided the total speed is in excess of 55 mph, but less than 76 mph Speeding 10 mph or less in excess of speed zone of 55 mph or greater
1	All other moving violations At-fault accident that occurs before Jan. 1 2004, resulting in bodily injury* of $1,500 or less, or property damage in of $1,500 or less** At-fault accident that occurs on or after Jan. 1, 2004, resulting in bodily injury* of $1,800 or less, or property damage in of $1,800 or less** Speeding 10 mph or less in excess of speed limit of less than 55 mph
* No SDIP points will apply for Bodily Injury if the insured furnishes proof that costs were solely for diagnostic purposes. ** The greatest number of points will be applied for at-fault accidents resulting in Property Damage and Death or Bodily Injury

Certain Special Exemptions apply, that can be used to reduce what you pay for insurance. They include:

• Speeding 10 mph or less over the posted speeding limit if
  • You weren’t speeding in a school zone; and
  • You have no other speeding ticket or moving violation for the Experience Period (excluding a single Prayer for Judgment Continued (PJC) in the entire household)
• A single PJC per household every three years, but a second PJC may cause insurance points to be assessed for both the first and second offenses.
• Some car accidents if
  • You have no property damage;
  • The damage is $1,500 or less;
  • You have no conviction for a moving violation with connection to the accident; and
  • Your household has no convictions or at-fault accidents during the Experience Period.

After a conviction that carries insurance points, your insurance company can deem you a high-risk driver. That means they may sell your insurance policy to the North Carolina Motor Vehicle Reinsurance Facility. The Reinsurance Facility exists to insure drivers that an insurance company or companies don’t want to insure. The rates the Reinsurance Facility charges can be significantly higher than the rates an insurance company would offer to a non-high-risk driver. In addition, they’re allowed to multiply by any appropriate surcharge percentage (see Surcharge Rates table).