You were involved in a car accident and you knew that you were not at fault and even the other driver admitted that they caused the damage. Yet, by the time the police arrived or you reached the collision reporting centre or you reported the claim to your insurance company, the other driver changed their version of events. Has this happened to you or someone you know?
Due to high auto premiums and the fear of the further increases after making a claim, it is not uncommon for an at-fault driver to alter their version in an attempt to be found not responsible. What usually happens is that the insurance adjusters faced with differing reports for the same accident, will apportion liability between the two drivers, often on a 50-50 basis.
Does the at-fault driver who changed their story benefit when their liability is reduced from 100% to 50%? The answer is no. When calculating premium, an insurance company considers even partial liability to be an at-fault accident and the penalties such as loss of the safe driving discount and/or the free accident and/or an increase in insurance premiums still apply.
As there are tens of thousands of such scenarios reported annually, consider the unintended financial benefit to the insurance companies. Due to the disputed version of the accident, one of which may be wholly false, two premiums increase instead of only one, with the innocent driver suffering the negative consequences.
Remember this if you ever have the misfortune to cause an accident. Unless it is your objective to hurt others financially in the process, be honest and fess up if you are at fault.
Susan Saksida, CIP is an insurance consultant who has held senior positions in insurance companies and brokerage firms. She is currently conducting research into the root cause of consumer misunderstanding of the insurance industry. If you have an auto accident-related story please email it to insurancecompliancematters@rogers.com
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