A lot cases, probably most auto accident cases, are rear‑end collision cases. Ones where somebody wasn’t paying attention or following too closely or traveling at a high rate of speed, and they ran into the back of the person in front of them.
The common question is from the person who was injured, “Are my rates going to go up because somebody hit me from behind? It wasn’t my fault.” In the state of Missouri, it’s illegal for an insurance company to raise your rates in an accident that you are not at fault.
In a rear‑end collision case, almost 90, 95 percent of the time, the driver in front who absorbs the collision is not at fault. The driver who hits you has a duty to keep their eye out in front of them and watch where they’re going.
If an insurance adjuster or someone, an insurance company, when your policy comes up for renewal, want to raise your rates because of your accident history and you were not at fault for those accidents, you should bring that to their attention. Get in writing why they’re raising your rates, and if they give you a reason that you don’t agree with, contact an attorney.