"If you change auto insurance companies, can you file a claim on an old accident with the new company?

Question

This was an accident where I accidentally scraped a mailbox, putting an indention into the side of my car...it is about a $1,500 repair; my old insurance had a $500 deductible, but I never filed-and now I am wanting to change companies. For lack of a better term, is this like having a pre-existing condition with medical insurance?

Answer 1

You cannot claim it as you were not covered with the new company at the time of the incident.

Answer 2

You will have to file the claim with the insurance company you had at the time of the loss (assuming your premium was paid for). Your new insurance company will not insure you for lossess which occured before or after the policy term. If you still have the same agent but just different insurance company then file the claim with the agent, they will know who to file it with.
You most likely have an occurrence basis coverage. In other words, if a covered accident occurs during the policy period, the claim will be covered, regardless of when the claim is submitted. For example, if the claimant was injured in an automobile accident caused by the insured only a few hours before the policy period expired, the resulting claim would be covered, despite the fact that it might be submitted after the policy expired. Occurence policies do not limit the time period during which a claim can be submitted. As long as the damage occurs during the policy period, coverage applies even to claims made years later. Again, talk to your agent and they should be able to take care of everything for you!

Answer 3

That would have to be filed under the old insurance. The new company is not going to pay out on an accident you had before you moved the coverage.

Yes, it is kinda like a pre-existing condition.

Answer 4

your new insurance company is going to know you had the preexisting damage so they will not cover the damage. so no...you can't file a claim with your present carrier. you may be able to file a claim with your prior carrier. any police report?...this will verify the date of loss which will prove you had an active policy when the accident occured. if you don't have a police report you can still attempt to file a claim with your prior carrier under the policy that was active on the date of loss but there are no guarantees they will accept. part of "your duties" in your policy states you must file a claim in a reasonable amount of time. however, if you want the damaged covered it's still worth a try to report it.

Answer 5

Sure you can.. but it is called Fraud.

If you change your insurance company they one they issue you is valid from a certain date.. and not before. This isn't like health insurance where they take care of itcy rash that you had last week no matter how or when you got it.

You can, however, still make the claim under the old policy, so cowboy up and take the $500 hit. At least you will have your car fixed.

.

Answer 6

you have to file with the company that insured your car at the time of the accident, even if you have changed companies. There is a time limit on how long you can wait, but just changing companies doesn't effect coverage.

Answer 7

You can only file a claim with the insurance that covered you on the date and time of the incident. And depending on how long ago this happened, it may be too late to file, especially if you are no longer a customer of the company.

Answer 8

You cant claim it on your new insurance. Your new insurance company is going to take pictures of the car. Any pre-existing damage on your vehicle wont be covered... Want a tip on how to weasel you way out of it.
File a claim with your current insurance company and as soon as you get the check, switch companies. Usually it will take 30 days for the claim to show up in the claims database so your new company wont know about it. ..meaning they wont charge you for it.
your welcome : )

Oh.. and PS (for all of the people that are gonna give me crap) there is nothing illegal about doing what I said. It's not your fault that the the claim isnt showing up in the system.

Answer 9

you absolutely positively cannot claim it on your new insurance. Thats like if someone had no insurance... hit a small family.. and then go insurance the next day and expected it to cover the medical bills of the family they hit.. how would that be fair? No one would get insurance until they needed it...

Insurance is only for accidents that happen within your policy period. You have to claim under your own policy..

Answer 10

Yes (to your second question)

You can not claim it as the accident happened prior to the effective date of your new policy.

You can still file with the old company (as long as it is within their time frame for claims, 1 yr, 3 yr etc)

Answer 11

Let's say your new insurance policy will go into effect June 1st. Your new company will only cover accidents that happen starting June 1st. So, yes, it is like having a pre-existing condition. The only way around it would be to lie (which I do not reccommend) but then you subject yourself to insurance fraud if caught.