Accidents Happen

Sometimes accidents just can't be helped, but in other cases they can be prevented.

According to a CNN report, below are things drivers do that cause car crashes:

Drowsiness - 22.2% of crashes

Dialing hand-held-devices - 3.6%

Talking or listening to hand-held device - 3.6%

Reading - 2.9%

Eating - 2.2%

Applying makeup - 1.4%

Reaching for object - 2.3%

Looking at external object - 0.9%

Insect in vehicle - 0.4%

Don't Be Afraid To Look For A Better Rate After An Accident

Be Fearless: Many drivers are "afraid" to switch insurance companies to get a lower rate, after an accident, mainly because they don't think any other company will want them. They're wrong.

No matter if you have a perfectly clean driving record, or a spotty one, insurance companies target their rates for different profiles. Look at these 2 "shocking" rate examples by the government

(scroll down).

Clean Record vs. A Ticket & Accident

The purpose  of insurance is to put  you back in the place you were in before the loss. Unfortunately, that doesn't include your insurance rate after an accident. Insurance company rates for the same car and driver can be $1,000's of dollars apart and rates can change up to 4 times a year. It's impossible, without a rate guide, for drivers to find the insurance company with the best rates for them at any given time.

Rate Alert:

When you do a rate search on www.InsuranceHotline.com, and get a quote, you can opt in to our Rate Alert service that will re-run your quote automatically every few months to keep you informed of the changing prices.

InsuranceHotline.com automatically shops the top 30 Canadian insurance company rates, for the 3 lowest prices.

Look at these 2 Rate Examples: The Ontario government published these rate comparisons to

encourage drivers to shop before they renew their car insurance. Look at the vast rate differences between 52 insurance companies for a:

1) driver with a clean record.

2) driver with a ticket and accident.

Keep In Mind: Each rate comparison used the same driver, car and policy coverages. If you look at the first example of a driver with a clean record, in Toronto, 56 companies quoted 56 different rates. Changing the postal code produced 448 vastly different quotes for the same car and driver.

Example 1: Toronto Driver Profile - Driver, Clean Record

Lowest For Toronto:  $970	HighestFor Toronto: $4,641
It is critical to note that if one variable changes like the age, car model or postal code, and so forth, company position  and rates change drastically. Look at AXA, for instance, for a Toronto postal code the rate is $1,521, for Ottawa it drops to $936.
Note: Some of these companies listed don't sell to the public. They only sell through specialized groups and employee company plans.
Example 2: Toronto Driver Profiles - Driver, 1 ticket & accident
Lowest For Toronto:  $2,051	Highest ForToronto: $17,468
The amount the insurance company pays for the accident claim does NOT affect the amount by which the insurance company will increase your rate.
In this example if the driver were with Citadel General Assurance Company, their rate would be $8,497, yet other companies' rates are less by half. So why wouldn't you switch? And with a different driver's profile Citadel General Assurance Company could be the best rated company.
Note: Some of these companies listed don't sell to the public. They only sell through specialized groups and employee company plans.