When Accident Forgiveness Is Worth The Extra Money
If you're a driver trying to keep a budget, you want to be careful to spend only what you decide is necessary for car insurance rates, as this is a practice you never have to give up for any reason. Nevertheless, there are some extra policy benefits, such as accident forgiveness, that you might be glad to have under the right circumstances. Before taking action, you should consider what these circumstances are and what it takes to be eligible for accident forgiveness under your state's law, both topics which have opinions that vary widely. Make sure you don't sacrifice good value in your policy to save money in the short term or pay too much because of having something in your policy that seems unnecessary as time goes on.
As a rule of thumb, you must have a good, clean driving record for around five consecutive years before accident forgiveness can be an option. This policy benefit can also keep your car insurance rates from going up by a large percentage, as they likely would otherwise, in the event of an accident regardless of who is at fault. Some individuals have the opinion that having a clean driving record all but defeats the purpose of accident forgiveness unless, for example, you live in a high-traffic area or intend to include someone else in your policy who's more likely to have an accident. In other words, if anyone in your policy, including yourself, seems to have a high risk of an accident, it will probably lead you to decide that accident forgiveness is necessary, and that there's a clear need to include it in your policy. On the other extreme of the risk spectrum, you might be a driver that likes to have accident forgiveness on hand even under highly safe driving conditions simply because an accident is possible.
Whether or not you should have accident forgiveness in your policy mostly depends on your own response to the level of risk anyone in the policy faces while driving. To get a better understanding of the type of policy that gets you the best value, you can consider the advice of anyone you know who drives in the same areas as you. However, don't let their opinions sway you easily. Use your own critical thinking skills. What works for one person won't necessarily work for you. In the event of an accident, car insurance rates that you can afford and let you have benefits you're looking for can get you back on track in a timely manner without allowing financial or health matters to get out of hand.
