Question: I live in Montana and have Geico. I’m 46 with a spotless record and great credit history, because I know that matters. Newer Harley lost traction around a corner, only doing 10-15 mph. No ticket, no other vehicles involved, just slid out on loose gravel. Estimate for damages around $1800. Deductible $500. What do you think? Raised insurance rates?

Answer: Most likely not going to see raised insurance rate.  It’s under $5,000 and your driving record is clean and you have a good credit score.  But, you just never know if you will have raised insurance rates or not until you get your renewal.

Q: so i got into my first accident on may 14 2016. i got t boned and the car that hit me is totaled and my truck just had a few dents. will my insurance go up because the officers said it was my fault for the accident

A: With knowing so few details, my first inclination is, yes. Major accident that you were found at fault for will almost certainly increase your insurance premium.

(This was a comment that was posted to a bad review for an insurance company. It was significant enough that we felt it deserved it’s own post.”

Comment: If you had good insurance, your insurance provider would pay you and then go after the other provider. You cant control the other guy but you can get a good policy. Sounds like your insurance is trying to play the blame game. Get a better provider.

Our Response: First, it depends on what you are expecting your insurance company to pay for you. If you have damages to your vehicle but you failed to purchase comprehensive and collision coverage, your insurance company is under no legal obligation to pay for those damages. You didn’t purchase their product, why would they have to pay out a claim for you?

If you did purchase collision coverage and were in an accident, then yes, your insurance company would pay out for the damages and then “subrogate” (go after) the other person’s insurance company to get their money back. However, you will still have to pay for your deductible.  Not fair? Maybe not, but that’s what you agreed to when you signed your insurance contract.

Q: After my vehicle was totaled in a car accident out my insurance company mailed my tags (plates) to from my old car to replace on the new one. Is that proper policy?

A: If you are in a state where you keep your license plate with you for life and just change the vehicle information for what it is being attached to, like in Idaho, yes, this sounds right.

Q: My car was totaled in 2015. I assumed since the company was cashing my monthly payments, I thought I was being covered on my new car. I found out a few weeks ago that my new car was not covered since purchase. Am I due a refund for paying on a total loss car? I’ve since added it after trying to file a claim.

A: You need to talk to your agent or insurance company and figure out exactly what you were paying for.  Tell them you want to see documentation of the coverages for that time period as well as the bills for the premium you were paying.  Hopefully, you have an agent and you can sit down and talk to them about it to find where the problem happened.

If it turns out you told them to put your new vehicle on your policy and they didn’t you are owed the coverage.  You may have to pay the back premium, but it will at least get your total loss covered. On the other hand it was your responsibility to know what you were paying for. If the new vehicle was added you would have received documentation on it that you should have read through. If you didn’t get documentation of the new vehicle coverages a follow up with your insurance company or agent should have been made.