daring-kestrel-3405/12/2026

Two totaled cars in one year and now insurance wants an arm and a leg — what do we do?

I honestly don't even know where to start because this past year has been one hit after another (literally).

Early last year my partner got rear-ended on the highway during a bad storm — their car was a total loss. We scraped together enough for a used sedan, nothing fancy, just something reliable to get back and forth to work. Then about four months later, someone ran a red light and T-boned that same car while my partner was heading home from a night shift. Total loss again. The other driver's insurance dragged their feet for weeks and we ended up with less than we felt the car was worth, but we were exhausted and just took it.

Since then we've been limping along in a relative's old hand-me-down SUV. It's got high miles, the AC doesn't work, and I'm honestly nervous every time my partner takes it on the interstate. We've been trying to shop for something a little newer and safer — nothing fancy, maybe a mid-2010s compact — and when we called our insurance company to get a quote, they basically laughed at us. The rate they quoted was more than our rent.

We think the two claims in the same policy year are killing us, even though neither accident was our fault. Is that actually how it works? Can they penalize you for not-at-fault claims? We're not sure whether to shop around with other carriers, wait a certain amount of time, or try some kind of assigned-risk pool thing I vaguely remember reading about.

Has anyone been stuck in this same spiral? What actually helped you get out of it? We're not in a position to go without a car — public transit here is basically nonexistent.

8 replies

Most helpful first

quick-dove-9605/12/2026
Ugh, this is way too familiar. We had two not-at-fault claims close together and watched our premium nearly double. What actually helped us was calling an independent insurance broker instead of going straight to carriers ourselves. They can shop your situation across like 20+ companies at once and sometimes find ones that weigh not-at-fault claims differently. It's worth a call — most of them don't charge you anything.
- silent-wolf-8345/12/2026
  Yes, unfortunately insurers absolutely can raise your rates after not-at-fault claims in most states. It's infuriating but legal. They frame it as 'increased risk exposure' even though you did nothing wrong. Don't just accept the first quote your current carrier gives you — they're banking on you being too tired to shop around. You clearly have reason to be tired, but even 30 minutes on the phone with a broker could save you a lot.
- plain-owl-3775/12/2026
  Former auto claims adjuster here. A couple things worth knowing: first, some states have laws specifically prohibiting rate increases tied to not-at-fault accidents, so it depends where you are. Second, when you shop around, be upfront about your claims history — carriers will pull it anyway via a CLUE report, and if you try to hide it and they find a discrepancy, it can cause bigger headaches. Third, older vehicles with liability-only coverage (no comp/collision) will dramatically drop your premium if the car's value doesn't justify full coverage. Just something to think about on that older compact you're looking at.
bold-heron-2245/12/2026
Quick thing on the not-at-fault claims — if the other drivers had insurance and those claims were paid out through their policies, your insurer may still flag them, but you might have a better argument to push back on any rate increase. Keep documentation of both accidents showing the other parties were found at fault. If your current insurer can't give you a clear written explanation for why your rate is what it is, you can actually file a complaint with your state's department of insurance. It doesn't always fix things fast but it does create a paper trail and sometimes gets a response.
- genuine-stoat-0385/12/2026
  Three things: 1) Get your CLUE report so you can see exactly what insurers are seeing when they look you up — it's free once a year. 2) Look into usage-based or pay-per-mile insurance programs if your partner doesn't drive a ton of miles. 3) Liability-only on an older car is going to be a fraction of the cost of full coverage on something newer. I'd honestly drive something older and boring for 12-18 months just to get some clean policy history built up, then revisit.
calm-newt-5095/12/2026
I'm so sorry you're dealing with all of this. Two total losses in one year and neither one your fault — that's just cruel. I hope you find a path through it soon. Sending you and your partner some good vibes because you clearly deserve a break.
- quiet-heron-8395/12/2026
  One thing I'd want to know — were both prior claims settled and officially closed, or is one of them still open in the system? An open claim can affect your rate way more than a closed one, and sometimes they just sit there unresolved on the backend even after you think everything's done. Might be worth a call to confirm the status before you assume the quotes are based on accurate info.
bold-newt-4625/12/2026
I know this feels like a nightmare right now, but honestly the fact that you know to shop around and ask questions puts you ahead of a lot of people who just accept whatever quote they get. You're going to figure this out. And once you've got 12 months of clean history under a new policy, rates tend to come back down faster than people expect.