Will My Insurance Go Up If Someone Else Hits Me?

WV & OH ONLY

"Another driver ran into me and it wasn't my fault. Will my car insurance go up in West Virginia or Ohio anyway?"

You got hit, and now you're worried about your bill too. That's a rough deal.

Generally no, if the crash truly wasn't your fault, though it depends on your state, your company and how fault gets decided, so nobody can honestly promise it. Ohio has a law limiting increases after a single accident that wasn't your doing. West Virginia's Insurance Commissioner says there will generally not be an increase when someone else was at fault.

If it were up to me, this would never cost you a dime. We want you on the best rate possible, wreck or no wreck.

A crash on your record, even one that wasn't your fault, may not look the same to every company. If your renewal jumps after a wreck, we can look at what happened, and then check 13 companies to see how each one treats it.

I'll be upfront: I wrote this hoping you'd call. If you got hit and now you're watching the mail for your renewal, send it to me when it comes. I'd like to see it.

WV & OH ONLY

Ohio is specific. Under Ohio Revised Code 3937.22, a company can't raise the cost of a private passenger auto policy because of a single accident during the policy period if two things are true:

• What you did wasn't a proximate cause of the loss, damage or injury.
• You weren't convicted of, and didn't plead guilty or no contest to, a violation from that accident.

Section 3937.23 has the same protection when the other driver was uninsured or underinsured.

Notice the word "single." Notice the ticket part, too. If you got cited and paid it, that can change things.

I haven't found a West Virginia statute that works the way Ohio's does. What we do have is the state's own consumer guidance. In its 2024 auto report, the Insurance Commissioner's office says that when someone else was at fault, "there will generally not be an increase in your premium due to the accident."

"Generally" is doing some work in that sentence. So take it as what usually happens, and not as a guarantee.

Not you, and not the other driver. The insurance companies look at the police report, statements, photos and damage. Sometimes they split it. If a company decides you were partly responsible, that's a different conversation than "he ran the light and hit me."

That's why what you do at the scene matters. The steps are in what to do after a car accident.

Because a renewal is made of a lot of things. Your company may have raised rates for everyone. You may have added a car or a driver, or moved. A discount may have ended. Your bill can go up the same year you got hit, for reasons that have nothing to do with the crash.

Ask what changed. It's a fair question and you're owed a real answer.

There's also a federal rule that helps. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, if a company takes adverse action based on a consumer report, it has to tell you and name the reporting company. An increase in any charge for insurance counts as adverse action.

It can. Insurers use claims and loss history from specialty reporting companies, and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lists LexisNexis C.L.U.E. among them, with a free report available. Getting yours is worth doing after a crash, so you can see how it was recorded.

The other driver's property damage liability is the usual place to start. West Virginia and Ohio both set the minimum at $25,000 per accident. If the other driver had no insurance, West Virginia also requires uninsured motorist coverage, including property damage.

You can also go through your own collision coverage if you have it. You'd generally pay your deductible up front, and your company may try to collect from the other driver.

West Virginia's nonrenewal law points at at-fault accidents, such as a second at-fault accident within 12 months, and the company has to give you the specific reason in advance. Getting hit isn't what that section is aimed at. If you do get a notice, read the reason and call me.

Somebody hit you and your renewal went up? Send it to me and let's see what the other companies say.

WV & OH ONLY

Next in the series: Part 17, Why Do You Need My VIN?