Accident Forgiveness in 2024 (What It Means for Your Coverage)

Accident forgiveness is an essential feature that protects drivers from premium increases after their first at-fault accident, providing peace of mind and significant savings.

Accident Forgiveness Explained

Because an at-fault accident goes on your insurance record, telling insurance companies you’re a higher risk to insure, drivers with at-fault accidents are charged more. Accident forgiveness is when your insurance company forgives you for an at-fault accident, so you won’t face higher rates even though you caused the accident. 

Accident forgiveness may be offered as an automatically-applied perk, or you may need to add it on as coverage to your insurance policy.

There are a few things you should know about accident forgiveness, however. One is that accident forgiveness isn’t offered by every insurance company. In some states, it’s not offered at all due to state insurance regulations, even if the company offers the perk in other states.

There are also specifications to accident forgiveness, meaning it often can only be applied to one accident per policy every few years. So if you have multiple drivers on your policy and two drivers each get into separate accidents, only one accident will be forgiven. 

Accident Forgiveness Cost by Provider

Accidents also aren’t erased from your insurance record, even though they are forgiven at your current insurance company. 

This means that if you switch insurance providers within a year or two of getting into an at-fault accident, you may still get higher auto insurance quotes even though your current company has forgiven the accident. Our article about how to switch car insurance explains more about what common mistakes you should avoid when switching to a new company. 

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Understanding Chargeable Accidents and Their Impact on Premiums

A chargeable accident simply means that you were at fault for an accident, which gives insurance companies the right to charge you more per month due to the increased risk of insuring you. 

Examples of chargeable accidents would be if you backed into a parked car or caused a crash by running a stop sign, as you are clearly at fault for any damages caused to others’ property. Learn more in our article titled, “Cheap Auto Insurance After an Accident.”

If you aren’t at fault for an accident, then you won’t be charged extra for filing a claim. You also wouldn’t see an increase in auto insurance rates as you won’t be labeled as a higher-risk driver. Some examples of not-at-fault accidents would include:

• Someone hit your parked car. 
• Someone hit you from behind at a red light. 
• There was a vehicle defect or malfunction that caused you to crash. 
• An animal ran in front of your vehicle. 

However, if you were responsible for the accident, the claim would be listed as a chargeable accident, and you will see an increase in auto insurance rates. While the amount you pay varies depending on the insurance company and state laws, you can expect the rates to stay high for a few years after a chargeable accident. 

Auto Insurance Companies With Accident Forgiveness

Not all auto insurers offer accident forgiveness, and qualifications vary among those that do. For example, Allstate requires drivers to be accident-free for a few years to qualify. American Family allows drivers to either purchase accident forgiveness or earn it as a reward for safe driving. Auto-Owners requires no accidents or major violations in the last three years, while Erie mandates three years with the company for eligibility.

Farmers offers accident forgiveness for every three years without an accident. Geico allows drivers to purchase accident forgiveness or qualify for it for free if they’ve remained accident-free for a set number of years. Similarly, The Hartford and Liberty Mutual require multiple years of accident-free driving, with Liberty Mutual offering it as an extra coverage option.

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Nationwide and Travelers also allow accident forgiveness to be added as additional coverage, with Travelers including both traffic ticket and accident forgiveness. Progressive provides partial or full accident forgiveness depending on the length of time drivers have been accident-free, and USAA also requires several years of accident-free driving to qualify.

Most companies offering accident forgiveness do not charge drivers extra for the perk, such as at Progressive, but all insurers still require drivers to maintain a relatively clean record for several years to qualify. Even for companies that charge a fee, a clean driving history is essential for eligibility.

Qualifying for Accident Forgiveness

As we’ve mentioned earlier, not every driver will automatically get accident forgiveness. Even if an insurance company offers it for free, drivers still need to meet the insurance company’s criteria for the accident forgiveness perk. 

Generally, insurance companies will have the following criteria for drivers.

• Good Driving Record: All drivers on the policy should have good records, which means no recent accidents or traffic tickets. 
• Long-Term Customer: Some insurance companies may only offer the perk to customers who have been with them for a year or more. 

In addition, keep in mind that only one accident is covered per policy. So only one at-fault accident will be forgiven, regardless of how many drivers there are on your auto insurance policy. 

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The Long-Term Value of Accident Forgiveness Coverage

Even if you have to pay for accident forgiveness to add it to your policy, it is usually always worth it. The cost of adding accident forgiveness coverage to your auto insurance policy is usually low, around $8 per month, and will more than pay itself off if you cause an accident. 

Even if you pay for accident forgiveness for years before you use it, the overall cost will almost always be lower than what you would pay in increased insurance rates after an at-fault accident. 

Look at the table below to see the average monthly rates for full coverage with a clean driving record, compared to rates when the driver has an at-fault accident on record. 

At some insurance companies, you would have to pay for accident forgiveness for over a decade for it even to come close to the cost of increased auto insurance rates you’d pay without it. 

Options Besides Accident Forgiveness

Suppose your insurance company doesn’t offer accident forgiveness. In that case, it may still offer other programs that can help you save money on your auto insurance policy and reward you for being accident-free over time. 

Good Driver Discounts

Even if you can’t get accident forgiveness for being accident-free, you can still earn discounts for being a good driver at your insurance company. You may automatically qualify for auto insurance discounts simply for your clean record, or your insurance company may offer a good driver program that can earn you a discount. 

Your insurance company may also offer discounts to drivers who take defensive driving courses or driver’s education classes. Be sure to check your insurance company’s list of discounts to ensure your good driving skills are earning you as much off of your monthly rates as possible.  

Vanishing Deductibles

Vanishing deductibles may also be offered at your insurance company. A car insurance deductible is an amount you agree to pay towards repairs after a covered claim. This means that if you have $2,000 worth of damages and a $1,000 deductible, your insurance company will only give you $1,000 towards your car’s repairs. 

With a vanishing deductible, your insurance company will reduce your insurance deductible each year you go accident-free. This means that after a few years of safe driving, your $500 deductible could drop down to $200, saving you money if you eventually have to make a claim. 

Understanding the Benefits of Accident Forgiveness

Accident forgiveness is a great feature offered at some insurance companies that will forgive you for your first at-fault accident. This means you won’t have to pay increased rates for years after your accident.

However, you will usually have to be accident-free for a number of years to qualify, and some insurance companies require you to pay a small fee to get accident forgiveness. Discover insights in our guide titled, “How long does an accident stay on your record?”

If you have been in an accident and don’t have accident forgiveness, you can still try to reduce your insurance rates after the fact. The best way to do this is to shop around and get different quotes to see if another insurance company offers cheaper rates. You can use our free quote comparison tool to see if an insurance company in your area offers a cheaper auto insurance rate.

Enter your ZIP code below to explore which companies have the cheapest auto insurance rates for you.

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