Metro Detroit road conditions: How car crashes can impact your insurance in the winter

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Wednesday night’s continuous snowfall and slushy roads led to dozens of crashes. If you’re caught in one, how does it impact your insurance?

Big picture view:

It’s the middle of winter, and Metro Detroit still has more snow coming. FOX 2 spoke with an auto insurance attorney and a sheriff, and they both say drivers should not rush.

"Slow down, slow down, slow down. Four-wheel drive does not increase your stopping power," said Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard.

Bouchard says his deputies responded to 100 crashes today in Oakland County. He says if you’re the at-fault driver, you typically get ticketed, even if the crash was weather-related, such as your car sliding on snow or ice and hitting another vehicle.

What you can do:

Attorney Mike Morse says if you’re ticketed, it automatically impacts your car insurance. And he says even if you’re not at fault, you’re not exactly in the clear.

"If you don’t get a ticket, and it’s for sure not your fault, your insurance company still could raise your rates," Morse said. "There are different types of insurance—collision insurance you can buy. There’s broad form collision. There’s limited coverage collisions. There’s regular collision. And the broad form collision, if you’re not more than 50 percent at fault, and you get into an accident, they’re not supposed to raise your rates. But the insurance companies are sneaky and find ways to raise your rates no matter what. They look at lots of different things. It’s very hard to contest insurance premium rates going up."

That’s why, he says, it’s important to get the best deal and shop around often.

"We have very few good insurance companies here in Michigan. They’re all looking to make a buck. They’re all looking to raise premiums," he said. "They’re all looking to not pay out claims. You have to shop it around often. There are better forms of insurance—like broad form insurance, which is the best form of collision insurance you can buy here in Michigan. Unlimited no-fault PIP benefits are the best, highest form of no-fault insurance you can buy here in Michigan. So there are things that you can do to protect yourself. You want high underinsured and uninsured motorist protection in case you’re hit by an uninsured or underinsured driver."

Mike Morse’s other advice: drive slow and do everything you can to avoid getting into an accident.

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