Questions About Auto Insurance and Accidents

tornado25 · August 2004

I wanted to give a more complete answer, but I accidentally posted before I completed the message. I had to leave and could not come back in time to edit.

What I was going to add is that you MAY indeed encounter some issues over the fact that the other driver and you did not collide. To an extent, the argument is you have to control your vehicle. (And for the record, I realize that means either evading the driver and having another accident or getting hit by him to prove he was at fault and I agree that's a bad deal all around). Part of why this way of thinking exists is collisions are objective evidence. He can't deny he screwed up if he tore your front quarterpanel off. OTOH, drivers can always say "this guy cut me off and if I didn't drive into the ditch, we would have collided". The problem is, "this guy" is never caught.

That's why the driver getting ticketed (and the cops actually witnessing it) are so important. Just let USAA battle it out--SF is good enough to realize when their drivers are in the wrong and they'll pay.

prophet2 · August 2004

I was in the center lane of the freeway approaching a bend beyond which was the off-ramp to my destination. The car in front of me had the same idea and we both switched to the right lane. He had to jam on his brakes as the lane had been coned-off by two idiots who had a flat tire. Instead of driving another 25 feet to an area with a 7' wide shoulder lane strip, they stopped their car in the right lane and used traffic cones which were left by a road crew after work to cone it off.

The police who arrived on the scene noted this and stopped those guys as they were leaving the scene. They were cited for the unauthorized use of traffic control devices and given a lecture by the cops, who gave us their driver and insurance information. I left it to my insurance company to pursue the matter. I had a BMW then and it took 5-1/2 months for the repair (lack of parts availability) and I don't recall ever writing a check to the body shop for the deductible.

KCRam · August 2004

After a LONG absence, GEICO has returned to NJ:

http://www.geico.com/nj/index.htm

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dmoney23 · August 2004

Hi everyone. Looking for some advice on my situation. This past weekend I was driving on the highway to work. It was raining so I was not pushing it. I was in the right hand lane on a 2 lane highway doing about 50mph. A car was passing me in the fast lane, it was about half a car length in front of me, when the car lost control and came over in my lane at an angle a few feet in front of my car. I slammed on my brakes to avoid hitting him. Slid out, and hit the guard rail in the fast lane. The question I have is how likely is it that his insurance will cover this since I am a uninsured motorist. He was clearly at fault, but the state trooper told me that know one was at fault. I have 2 witness that saw the accident and can vouch for me. Could I get a lawyer to pursue his insurance company, or what else can I do. Thank you for your advice.

prophet2 · August 2004

You may have been better off if he had hit you. But, it's human nature to avoid getting hit and your reflexes were quick enough to avoid that hit. But, not the one with the guard rail.

You could give it a shot since you have two witnesses, but you will have a problem finding a legal beagle willing to take the case - they're in the business for money, not "justice." It would have been a lot easier if you did have coverage. Then, you'd get the damages repaired under your policy and the insurer subrogates the claim through their lawyers.

tornado25 · August 2004

It's my opinion that you are entirely out of luck, unfortunately. The insurance company's view is that if you are not hit by another, you have the responsibility to maintain control of your vehicle. I totally understand that it's this other guy's fault, but from the insurance company's perspective, he didn't hit you and your overcorrection is what caused your crash.

As prophet pointed out, had he hit you, then most of the liability would be on that guy, because not only was he so out of control that he hit you, but you also couldn't even avoid HIM. Unforunately, I think it's a tough break all around and I would point out that bombing around uninsured does ZERO to help your cause here.

I'm not trying to be over critical or take sides, believe me--I've got nothing invested in it one way or another. Just trying to add perspective. It sort of brings me back to an adage we use here, where deer hits are probably the #1 loss we have. HIT THE DEER! (Not only is swerving to miss it much more dangerous, but if you do miss and hit the ditch or whatever, then it's collision and it's at fault).

janz · August 2004

as an uninsured motorist. It is a violation of the law not to carry minimum coverages by the state.

No disrespect intended, but regarding Prophets reference to "justice", how can you expect to get coverage for the damages for someone who did not actually hit your car, when you admittedly do not carry your own coverage?

manamal · August 2004

Virginia (where he is from) does not *require* insurance; however, if you are uninsured, there is a fee ($200 I think) that you have to pay.

Frankly, anyone who drives without liability insurance is crazy! (that is not an opinion....that is a fact!).

janz · August 2004

This seems contradictory to me: VA has a law requiring insurance, the $500 fee just allows you to register an uninsured car. Why not simply use the $500 to insure the the car?

4. Meet Virginia's insurance requirements (your vehicle must be insured when you register it)

Virginia law requires the following minimum insurance coverage for all registered vehicles.
$25,000 for injury or death of one person;
$50,000 for injury or death of two or more people; and
$20,000 for property damage.
Or, if insurance is not an option, pay a $500 uninsured motor vehicle fee (UMV). Paying this fee does not provide insurance coverage, but it does allow you to register and operate your vehicle in Virginia for one year.

If you register your vehicle in Virginia and it's not covered by liability insurance and you do not pay the UMV fee, you face a $500 fine, suspension of your driver's license and vehicle registration(s), and higher insurance premiums for the next three years. Whenever you obtain or cancel a liability policy, or add or remove a vehicle from a policy, the insurance company notifies DMV immediately.

dmoney23 · August 2004

Thank you everyone for you advice

tornado25 · August 2004

No, he's pretty much right--aside from the fact the fee is $500, not $200.

Anwyay, WI's law is the "Financial Responsibility Law". Basically, you are held financially responsible if you cause bodily injury or property damage. Failure to pay the amount of the damages (WHATEVER they might be, one dollar or $500,000) or at least establishing a repayment plan results in revocation of your license. Which never stops anybody anyway.

The point is mandatory insurance laws...DO NOT WORK. Study after study has shown that the percentage of uninsured drivers in states without mandatory insurance laws is close to equal to that in states without mandatory laws. Why? Because for the same reason people still speed despite speed limits. There will ALWAYS be a segment of the population who either a) cannot afford even the most basic level of coverage (or claim they cannot, anyway), b) simply doesn't believe in it--(the "I won't have an accident" or "insurance companies suck" types), c) flat out losers who simply do not care one way or another. You cannot legislate against that. People will sign up for a policy and let it lapse, only to sign up again next year when registering the car. Some states have gotten better at catching this, but it's a big struggle to do so.

So in WI, despite not having this wonderful law, uninsured drivers are an issue, but no more so than any other state.

crikkit · August 2004

I know this can be a sensitive subject, and laws vary from state to state, but does anyone know whether I might be able to make a diminished value claim?

The other driver was at fault, and ran into the side of my 2-day-old BMW 330i. Allstate's appraiser estimated the damage at about $1200, but the body shop I took it to yesterday thinks that amount will go up once they get inside the door panels and look at it.

I normally wouldn't give much thought to diminished value, but the fact that I only had the car for two days makes me sick. I certainly would not have bought the car if it had been wrecked, no matter how good the repairs were.

Oh, and I'm in Texas.

janz · August 2004

http://www.dmv.state.va.us/webdoc/moving/newva.asp

"4. Meet Virginia's insurance requirements (your vehicle must be insured when you register it)"

However, evidently this is not mandated.

dardson1 · August 2004

Just sold an '01 Lexus ES with 17k miles, absolutely perfect except for a early on fender-bender requiring a new bumper, fender, and paint. I was told by a friend in the business any car guy worth his salt could see paint and body work in a 2 minute walk-around. He suggested my 3yr. old car would take a minimum $1000 hit. Seems the newer and more luxo the car, the more it hurts.
How ever well the repair is done, you've got a car with paint and body work, and it will be money outta your pocket come trade time. It's a cost of the accident and shouldn't be your expense. Good luck.

rroyce10 · August 2004

....... How did you do on the deal.?

Terry.

dardson1 · August 2004

you were one of the ones who helped me out this spring. . .suggesting without the collision I might be looking at $24k in a private sale. I took $21k. Think I coulda held out for another thousand, but, darnit, time is money and I had a buyer with the cash in hand when nobody else was calling. I figure the oollision costs me 1500+ bucks.

dardson1 · August 2004

BTW, did a search on this thread for "diminished value" and got nada. Will insurance companies negotiate such things without involving lawyers?

njrobert · August 2004

Hi - I hope I am posting in the correct place.

My 1997 Ford Taurus LX sedan was totaled while it was parked. I'm trying to do some research and see what the insurance company is going to pay me - I'm concerned because I still have car payments left to make - not to mention need down payment for another car.

The adjuster called and said that the car needs to be taken to another location to have a value set and they use "ADP" to determine the market value.

The car has many options - power moon roof About 14K miles less than the norm (has 68K not 84K). Leather/power seat, cd changer, keyless entry, new tires (4 months old now) etc.

Any ideas? suggestions? Tips on what to do or say If I don't like their quote? (BTW other drive is obviously at fault and did have insurance)

Thank you in advance very much for any input.

CarMan@Edmunds · September 2004

I am sorry to hear about your accident, njrobert. To determine your vehicle's current value, I suggest that you check out the following section of this site: Edmunds.com - Used Cars. There you can look up its "True Market Value" and get a pretty good idea of how much it is currently worth. You may also want to stop by the "Real-World Trade-In Values" following discussion that appears here on the Smart Shoppers Message Board. One of our most knowledgeable community members, Terry, hangs out there and he is often willing to provide consumers with his opinion of the current value of used vehicles if they provide a detailed description, including what state they are in.

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black_tulip · September 2004

<<...but when you are paying close to $3K a year for a married couple where neither has ever been the cause of an accident or cost their insurance a dime in claims,...>>

That sounds high even by NJ standards. Sounds like you have a few moving violations...

qbrozen · September 2004

Yup. I'm a speeder (twice over 4 years). But my statement still holds true. Never cost them a dime in claims. I'll never understand why 75 mph on the Parkway translates into doubling your insurance, not to mention the state banging down your door for what they call an "insurance surcharge" when its money that never even goes to the insurance company. What a scam! ARRR..... alright, alright, relax ..... ooohhhmmmm.... ohhhhhhhmmmmmmm.... ok, ok, i had to work hard to let this go last year when it happened, and now you got me all riled up again. I'm better now.

bobotheclown · September 2004

Hi,

Can anyone give me the require insurance coverage for a car that's funded via a financial institution in Southern California? Is there a set minimum?

I used Progressive's online quote generator to see how much a 05 Nissan Xterra would cost with 100/300/100 full coverage insurance with a $1,000 deductible and got a quote for $1,055.90/six months. Also, a Scion tC would cost me $950.90/six months. Why are the quotes so high? Am I setting the coverage too high?

I'm 25 yr old male, no moving violations in the last 3 years, no accidents in 5 years and have been driving for almost 8 years.

rumpletzer · September 2004

I don't know what the minimum requirements are in SoCal. I've been blindly accepting the minimums that insurers have been quoting me. They all seem similar to one another, so I feel okay about it.

I'm a 30 year old guy, totally clean driving record, and a 2004 Accord V6. My deductible is $250/$500. My premium is between $900 and $1200 PER YEAR (depending on whether I live in Santa Barbara or Oxnard). Amica (highest rated by JD Power consumer satisfaction and they have an online quote estimator) and AAA SoCal (also well rated but had to call the guy back) gave me the least expensive quotes.

tornado25 · September 2004

Bob,

Honestly, there's no such thing as "setting the coverage too high". I suggest carrying limit as high as you can afford. Further, I'm sure you will find the difference between the state minimums and the 100/300/100 to be much smaller than you think--that is, it's a good idea to go with the better coverage for the little bit of money (unless, of course, you have the misfortune of being subject to NJ rates--as one poster has found).

Most finance companies couldn't care less what your liability limits are--only with a lease will there be required limits--because the lease company is titled owner and they sometimes get dragged into vehicle crash claims with injuries--a big reason most larger companies don't do leases in NY, RI and a couple other states. With a loan, however, you are titled owner and I guarantee you, the bank or finance company only cares about themselves. Thus, most have rules as to how high your deductibles can be, not how low your liability limits can be. (In fact, I would be cautious with a $1000 deduct as most institutions require a deduct at or less than 500).

The state of CA, since I believe it is a mandatory insurance state, in requiring coverage, also likely has a requirement of minimum liability limits, but typically, those laws require absurdly low limits, like 25/50/10 or I've seen states that require 15/30/10. You can check with your DMV on that, but I wouldn't decrease the limits if I were you--I would just continue shopping if you feel the rate is too high. Finally (about time, right?), I would point out that most companies still impose a higher-than-normal type rate for unmarried males under 30. So, although I received a large reduction when I turned 25, I am still paying a higher rate than a guy my age that's married or an unmarried 30 year old.

tornado25 · September 2004

Even though I work in the industry, I tend to agree with you re: the tickets. I understand the premise...getting violations means you are doing "higher than proper" risk driving and that translates over time into higher risk of a crash.

Some tickets are obvious--drunk driving, reckless driving, failure to obey sign (hmm, you're not stopping at stop signs, what are the chances you'll hit someone?) but I could never wrap my head around speeding tickets.

The problem, however, is insurance companies are always trying to match price to risk as best they can. The real easy ones are people with prior accidents--if you have had an accident, you're more likely than the person without an accident to have another. But, what about the bad drivers out there nobody "knows" about? They don't drive drunk, don't have accidents, but they're bad nonetheless. Raising rates for all moving violations is a way of trying to catch those bad drivers when a clue presents itself. I'm not saying YOU'RE a bad driver--but insurance is what it is--a pooling of resources to offset a pool of risk. There's no way to tell the occasional good driver with a ticket from the rest of those that probably are bad drivers that have tickets.

(I would note, too, it's not just bad luck--you have 2 tickets in 4 years). In my own case, I have 1 at-fault loss in my life--I was 18 and turned into someone. A truly boneheaded move, honestly. But, claim free since (age 28, driving since 16 1/2). I have one ticket and that was 4 years ago. Fortunately, n the preferred division of the company I have, the occasional moving violation does not affect my rate.

manamal · September 2004

Be careful when you talk about your clean driving record....Last time I did was at a party on June 29, 2002. I commented that I had not had a ticket in nine years, or an accident in 18 years.

Guess what happened at 5:00 PM on June 30? I turned my 6 month old SAAB into the path of a 4 month old Caddilac (that I think was running a light and was traveling 60 in a 40 zone). in about 1/10th of a second, two cars totalled, with damages aproaching $75000. But, no one was injured.

kyfdx · September 2004

Same here.. I used to drive for a living.. No tickets in ten years, no accidents in ten years.. yada, yada, yada.. One day, pulled right in front of a Honda Civic.. $11K damage to it, mine totaled, and my pride took a very large hit.

Fortunately, no injuries..

bobotheclown · September 2004

Thanks for all the details tornado. While I probably won't go down to a 25/50/10 when I get my new car, I'd probably won't go too high either. Don't want to make insurance payments equal to half my car payment.

Darn I was hoping to get a break when I hit 25 yrs old or 8 years driving experience. I guess I just have to marry a woman that will let me use her as a tax/insurance break and asks for nothing in return.

michaellno · September 2004

When my wife and I got married, she wasn't thrilled about the insurance rates we had to pay.

She has a spotless driving record (I think one ticket in 20+ years, and no accidents), while I, Crash Corrigan (as my parents called me), seemed to average 1 accident every 18-24 months for the first 10 years I was driving, plus a couple of speeding tickets. I've gotten better as I got older (no accident claims in past 10 years and only 2 tickets in the same time frame).

Her opinion changed after her oldest son got his license 2 years ago. 5 weeks later he rolled his Chevy Tracker on a dirt road coming home from school. Car totalled, 3 kids to hospital (one via helicopter) and $37000 in claims. Fortunately, no serious injuries (some stitches and a "moderate" concussion) came about.

State Farm processed the claim with absolutely no hassles.

Wife no longer has a problem with insurance premiums, regardless of size.

qbrozen · September 2004

I would note, too, it's not just bad luck--you have 2 tickets in 4 years

that all depends on your perspective, I guess. I average about 28K miles a year, so I think I'm about twice as likely as the average (12-15K/yr) driver to get caught. Not to mention that spending that much time on the road, I believe, makes you more likely to speed given the likely increased comfort level and the fact that sometimes you "just want to get the hell home."

You're right, of course, about trying to average risk vs price, but the big flaw to the equation is that they don't take the actual crime into account, but merely the points. So they say "ok, 4 or more points and you get a price hike." But that means the guy with 2 minor speeding tickets (me) gets lumped into the same category as, for instance, someone who runs a red light while passing on the shoulder of the road. OR someone who doesn't stop at a stoplight, has an accident, and flees the scene (yup, according to jersey, that's 4 points total - 2 for not stopping and 2 for fleeing the scene). Yeah, its a great system.

tornado25 · September 2004

"You're right, of course, about trying to average risk vs price, but the big flaw to the equation is that they don't take the actual crime into account, but merely the points."

Not necessarily. Tickets of equal points typically are of the same type of thing. (I'll address your point about leaving the scene below a bit later). In WI, most minor moving violations are 4 points. Most majors are 6. Most insurance companies here couldn't care less if it was 62 points, 1 point or none. They DO look at the violation. Period. Of course, this is WI, not NJ.

So they say "ok, 4 or more points and you get a price hike."

They do? You know for a fact that's the way it works? Not, "each ticket equals an increase", but rather, "somebody's looking just at the points"? I doubt it, but as I've said, anything's possible in NJ.

"But that means the guy with 2 minor speeding tickets (me) gets lumped into the same category as, for instance, someone who runs a red light while passing on the shoulder of the road. OR someone who doesn't stop at a stoplight, has an accident, and flees the scene (yup, according to jersey, that's 4 points total - 2 for not stopping and 2 for fleeing the scene)."

If that's the case, you need to find a new carrier. Here, fleeing the scene (and I do not care how many point it is) is a major and grounds for cancellation.

akangl · September 2004

$4005 per year for car insurance here in Alaska. That's 3 vehicles and 1 camper, full coverage on the vehicles and comp/coll on the camper. Hubby has one accident in the past 5 years and I have one speeding ticket that's almost 4 years old.

My 04 Titan is the most expensive to insure, but I can only carry $500 deductables on it too. The 04 Focus ZX3 and the 99 Ram 3500 both have $1k deductables. The camper I'm not sure about, but its only $180/year, so no biggie. We carry 100/300/50 I believe for liability limits and we have uninsured/underinsured on there too.

bobotheclown · September 2004

Well according to the most quotes I've gotten on the internet, if I buy a 05 xterra/frontier/tacoma, and select to have coverage for uninsured drivers and 100/300/50 and $500 deductible, I'd have to pay $2,000+ a year for one car. Think I'll just go for the 50/100/whatever coverage when I buy the new car and buy the side curtain air bags just in case.

tornado25 · September 2004

"Think I'll just go for the 50/100/whatever coverage when I buy the new car and buy the side curtain air bags just in case."

Just in case, what? Just in case you blow the stop sign and t-boned? Then, with the side airbags you will live and can work to pay off the judgement because you didn't carry high enough limits? Don't get me wrong, I see where you're going with this, (the "I'll just get the coverage I need to and use the savings gained in selecting lower coverage to put toward something worthwhile) but I also get the impression you might be wrapping 2 issues into one.

Mind you, despite being in the industry, I can't sell you a policy anyway, don't live in NJ and don't know anyone there. So I gain ZERO by telling you this--it's not a come on--it's practical advice I've gained.

bobotheclown · September 2004

Think you're confusing me with another poster. I live in Southern California. Anyways, did some more research and come to the conclusion that that only difference in cost between the 50/100/? and the 100/300/50 is only like $100 or so more a year. So I probably will go with the higher coverage.

I'm just bitter that I will have to pay $2,000+ a year for insurance. That's almost half a year's worth of car payments.

tornado25 · September 2004

Whoops, you're right. Sorry about that, Bob. I didn't mean to come off hostile.

Anyway, to be nicer, my point is still the same. I'm glad you looked into it and found it to be reasonable.

qbrozen · September 2004

actually, yeah, that's how they do it here. I received the rundown from my insurance company recently, in writing. If you're really interested in exact wording, I can get it for you. But the jist of it is just as I stated. 4 points kicks you into the "high-risk" tier (and there are more categories beyond that for more points, points plus accident, etc). I've gotten price quotes from other places and the best quotes are right around what I'm paying now, so its not just my insurance company. Its because its Jersey. Maybe I'll move to WI.

tornado25 · September 2004

Man, as sympathetic as I am to what undoubtedly is a bad situation no matter what you look at, I'm sure glad I don't live in NJ or have any plans to ever live there. Geez, what a screwed up system. The worst part? The legislature passed all these laws to protect the consumer, supposedly. Even ones that on their face that sound good make it virutally impossible for an insurnace company do good business in NJ and THAT ultimately hurts consumers.

KCRam · September 2004

I carry 250/500/150 liability and deducts of $250 comp and $500 collision. A lot of people slack on that third liability number... property damage. This is the portion that pays for someone else's car if you hit them. With car prices today, just $50K of property damage coverage can be wiped out by a single wrecked luxury car - the rest is on you, out of your pocket.

Increasing liability limits is relatively inexpensive - the consumer has to think "protection", not "cost savings" - everything costs more, and your insurance limits MUST reflect that.

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steine13 · September 2004

Pretty much all drivers with multiple accidents also have speeding tickets.

But not all people with speeding tickets have accidents.

It's like alcohol... it's not that it's really any better or worse than not-paying-attention or driving-while-tired, it's just so much easier to measure.

-Mathias

corvette · September 2004

If you have significant assets or significant income, you can get 100/300 or 250/500 auto liability (depending on your insurer's requirements), ~500? homeowner's liability, and an umbrella policy to cover the difference up to $1M is only a few hundred dollars a year. WORTH IT!

corvette · September 2004

A State Farm Certified First body shop did some shoddy body work to my Altima. Their own claims adjuster identified a dozen corrective issues on two repairs which totalled $1600 at the outset. The estimate for correcting the repairs is $1600-$1700--they did not disclose this to me until I began threatening them. I had already attempted to resolve the corrective issues with the original shop, but I am convinced they are incapable of performing the repairs properly, and it would require travel time of 3 hours each way to return the car to that shop. The adjuster got them to agree to do the corrective work and supply a loaner, but I informed him and the first claims representative that this was unacceptable. The solution I proposed all along was to have a different, local shop perform the corrective repairs. I argued with the first claims rep about whether the body shop was acting as their agent, was or wasn't recommended, and told him if this wasn't resolved I would be unlikely to remain a State Farm customer. I ended our conversation and called back later. I told the new claims rep that, after having considered their solution, if this was the best they could offer, and they were unwilling to use their leverage against the original body shop, I would be filing a complaint against them to my state's board of insurance. He put me on hold for five minutes and told me I could have the corrective repairs done whereever I wanted, and they would handle the rest...

Moral of the story: Insurance companies don't really care about losing a customer. Threatening action from an administrative agency is often the most effective way to resolve a dispute. (Also, from my contracts class: Insurance is not really insurance, it's an agreement to litigate about who's responsible at a later date.)

prophet2 · September 2004

You bring up very interesting points. Don't these "certified" body shops guarantee their work to your satisfaction? Of course, it brings up this point: if you aren't satisfied with the initial repair, why would you even want to trust them to "correct" their mistakes?

Among other insurers, AIG and GEICO also have a list of "preferred" or "certified" body shops who agree to repair the damage according to the estimate by the insurers' adjustor. This smacks a little of "steerage," a practice which is illegal in our state. This does not prohibit the insurers from "suggesting" the use of these shops, with the "satisfaction guaranteed" provision the main thrust. Our laws merely reiterate the right of a claimant to use the "shop of his/her choice." Any disputes about the repair costs are resolved between the insurer and the shop. The claimant is on notice that disputes they may have with the quality of the work will be with that shop, not the insurer.

It may well be that your state may have similar laws about your right to use a shop of your choice. The adjustor was probably trying to convince you to use the original shop until your demand not to forced him to accede.

vsaxena · September 2004

While selling my 1999.5 Pathfinder today to a Nissan dealer I lost $750 after CARFAX showed two accidents. These accidents happened about four years ago. In both the cases, our vehicle was rear-ended at low speed. The primary damage was to the bumper area and the cars were in drive-off conditions. The car was fixed with OEM parts at a body shop attached to the local Nissan dealer.

We had done the sale deal with the local dealer at $12.5K (LE with 52.2K miles). I had signed all the paper work, and had left the car with them. 20 minutes later the dealer called me saying that the CARFAX shows the two accidents and they can not offer me the same price. Their argument was that they heavily advertise CARFAX on their used car sales, and it will be more difficult to find a buyer because of the two accidents.

Though I could have stuck to the signed papers, I agreed to their logic. We finally struck a deal at $11,750.

The question I have for the insurance folks is this:

How could I have defended my interest when the original insurance company settled the claim?

At that point we got them to pay for the repairs and the rental car and that was pretty much it. In retrospect, I should have asked for more money to account for the depreciation.

The car was about an year old when the accidents happened and had less than 10K miles. Common sense dictates that a car with an accident on the record will go for 10% less in the early years. The damage to the value of the car will go down only when the car is worth $5-7K (which can take 7-8 years).

What do local State laws say with regards to this issue? What is the standard policy on this issue?

tornado25 · September 2004

but, in all honesty, it's Saturday night, and it will be beter if I reply later....

aero_smith · September 2004

Hi,

Does anyone know after how many years are insurance points dropped while buying insurace? My insurance company still takes into account 5 points from an accident in May 2001. When will these points go away?

Thanks,

qbrozen · September 2004

well, i'm not sure its mandated by law, to tell you the truth. My company only looks 3 years back for traffic violations (new jersey manufacturers insurance). Not sure about accidents, though. On the other hand, when I went through Geico's online application, they wanted to know the past 5 years of violations. what company are you with?

aero_smith · September 2004

qbrozen,

I am with Liberty Mutual.

KCRam · September 2004

I have First Trenton (Travelers' NJ subsidiary). They only looked back three years when I switched to them from Hanover in Oct 2002.

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prophet2 · September 2004

Three years for all moving violations except DUI, which stays on for FIVE years.

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