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Everyone that has a fender bender gets that feeling of panic and wants to flee the scene.
Take a second to breathe, calm down and think this through.
Tis the season for fender benders. If you've ever experienced hitting a parked car, then you'll know there's an immediate feeling of panic, and an immediate urge is to dash off hoping that no one was looking.
One reader wrote in to say just that:
After 20 years of accident-free (and otherwise virtually spotless) driving, I recently clipped the driver's-side mirror of a parked vehicle with the passenger-side mirror of my own car.
I panicked and left the scene. A witness reported the accident. I co-operated fully with the police, and ended up with a conviction for failing to report a collision.
Now my insurance company will not renew my policy and, according to my insurance broker, I am looking at $369 a month with a company that handles “high-risk” drivers. I am shocked that my insurance company would go so far as to drop me altogether – and that I am now in a group of drivers considered “high-risk” – and forced to pay exorbitant rates.
I am an excellent driver who on the spur of the moment made a bad decision – an event that was highly out-of-character and the likes of which will surely not be repeated. My situation seems to be more in line with people who have either had more incidents, or certainly a conviction for far more serious.
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Is there anything that could be done to help?
Everyone that has a fender bender gets that feeling of panic and wants to flee the scene. Take a second to breathe, calm down and think this through.
The consequences of later being caught far outweigh the benefits of trying to get away with it.
Remember, in today's high-tech world of video cameras, digital cameras and cellphone cameras, it's far more likely that you'll be recorded before you get 20 feet away.
As to your insurance problem: First of all, if your policy is being canceled or non-renewed, you need to know whether it's being done by your broker or your insurance company. This can lead to a lot of confusion for drivers.
Your broker does not need a reason to non-renew you. The reason may be as simple as they no longer do business with your insurance company and they now need to place you with another company.
There are also times a broker may replace a driver they perceive to be high-risk, such as one convicted of failing to report a collision. One reason a broker may do this is to protect their client base, and the insurance company they represent.
Not many people know that it's part of the broker's responsibility to provide the insurance company with a good balance of business. It can be risky for a broker to allow too many high-risk drivers to remain with one insurance company as this may cause that company's losses to skyrocket.
If this takes place, the insurance company may cancel the broker's contract, resulting in all their clients losing these good rates.
If the cancellation has been initiated by your broker, all you need to do is find another broker that represents that insurance company to continue your policy.
To do this, simply call your insurance company and ask them for the name of one of their brokers closest to where you live.
You'll know you're being by your insurance company if you receive a letter by registered mail outlining the reason for their cancellation of your policy.
If your insurer can't find you, don't think that they can't cancel you. The insurance company will send the registered letter to your last known address and, whether it's deliverable or not, their responsibility stops and the cancellation proceeds.
Each insurance company has their own set of cancellation rules, and most are not listed in your policy. All insurance companies must file their conditions for cancellation with the government and the government must approve them, otherwise they can't cancel you.
But even if one insurance company cancels you, another may not. In other words, you may not qualify for one insurance company's rates, but another may insure you at a reasonable price.
Quotes for high-risk drivers differ by thousands of dollars. There are a selection of high-risk insurance companies to choose from: Facility, Kingsway, Coachman, Pafco, Perth and Echelon. Even some standard market companies have rates for higher-risk drivers.
I agree that $369 a month is a lot for a person to pay. Instead, I'd suggest you go online and do your own rate search. Insurance rates are really varied between insurance carriers and, perhaps by adjusting your coverage or increasing your collision or comprehensive deductible, you'll find a rate you can live with.
Don't Go! Take a Look at the:
Lee Romanov