Expert: Bennie719 - 1/14/2009

Question
Hello, I recently was in a car accident, and currently my insurance is working out who was at fault. I was told that I could might not get a 0% liability, rather some percentage such as 20/80 or 30/70. My question is, how does this percentage affect my insurance? Does the percentage affect how much my premium will do up? Does is affect how much I pay out of pocket? Does it affect whether I get points on my license and how many? Thanks so much!

Answer
Hi Mary,
If the decision is made that you were 20% at fault and the other party was 80% at fault, it simply means that your company will only be able to recover 80% from the adverse company, they will pay the other 20%  from your policy and you will pay your deductible.

Either your state law or the insurance company rules set a dollar amount for an accident to be considered chargeable for rate purposes.
In most states, that limit is $500-$750.

If the dollar amount attributed to you exceeds the set limit, then it could cause a rate increase.  Only your agent can tell you if there will be an increase and the approximate amount.

A chargeable accident with no injuries is one point against your driving record.  If there were any injuries, it is two points.

I hope that you find this information to be of help.

Your feedback by rating my response will be appreciated.

Sincerely,
Bennie
San Francisco Bay Area