Visitor Question

What’s the affect on personal insurance after accident in a company car?

Submitted By: Suneth (Glen Burnie, MD)

I would like to know what happens to personal insurance premiums and driving records when someone has an accident in a company car in Maryland.

I was involved in a minor car accident while driving the company car (with authorization). Even though the company car is insured by the company, since the accident was so minor we did not file a claim with the insurance. But as per company policies, we had to call police and report the incident to police.

So police came to the location and took the both parties’ insurance information and made a report. I was wondering how this would affect my personal insurance premiums for my own car and driving record in the future? Thank you in advance.

Disclaimer: Our response is not formal legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is generic legal information based on the very limited information provided. Do not rely upon the information in our response, or anywhere else on this site, when deciding the proper course of a legal matter. Always get a personalized case review from a local attorney.

Answer

Dear Suneth,

The State of Maryland is one of only four states which uses the Contributory Negligence Rule. This is a harsh rule in that even if one driver is clearly at fault, if the other driver contributed to the accident by 1% or more, that other driver is wholly barred from recovering compensation from the at-fault driver.

It appears you were in an accident while driving a company car, but instead of filing a claim with your employer’s insurance company, you filed a claim with your own insurance company.

Because the State of Maryland is a contributory negligence state, it is entirely possible if you were even partially at fault you will forfeit your right to compensation from the other driver. In the alternative, if the other driver caused the accident, but you both shared some responsibility for the accident, then he or she will also forfeit their right to compensation from your insurance company.

Learn more about pure contributory negligence.

Whether or not your premiums with your insurance company will rise is entirely up to your insurance company. Each insurance company has its own standards. Certainly, if you had no fault in the accident, and it was entirely caused by the other driver, then your premiums will likely not rise.

Learn more here: Car Accidents During Work

The above is general information. Laws change frequently, and across jurisdictions. You should get a personalized case evaluation from a licensed attorney.

Find a local attorney to give you a free case review here, or call 888-972-0892.

We wish you the best with your claim,

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