How Much Does Car Insurance Increase After an Accident? (2024)

The aftermath of a car accident can be stressful. Not only are you potentially recovering from injuries, but you may also have to take your car to a repair shop — or replace it entirely. Plus, your car insurance premiums will likely increase after an accident.^[1]

But you can still lower your post-accident car insurance rates by searching for discounts, comparing insurance quotes, and exploring telematics programs. Here’s how much your car insurance cost might increase after an accident and what you can do to mitigate it.

How much car insurance increases after an accident

Depending on who’s at fault, the severity of the accident, and how long ago the accident occurred, your insurer may decide to raise your rates by a little, a lot, or not at all. Here are several of the most common factors that can affect your car insurance premiums in the aftermath of an accident:

If you were at fault: 45% increase

If your driving decisions are what caused the accident, your insurance company is likely to raise your rates. People with clean driving records pay an average monthly premium of $104 for liability insurance, while drivers with at-fault accidents on their records pay an average of $151 per month. So your rates will go up by about 45% after an at-fault accident.

If you were not at fault: Varies

What happens if you were driving safely and another driver caused the accident? Even though it may seem unfair, insurance companies will often raise your rates even when you’re not at fault. Insurify data shows that the average driver in a not-at-fault accident pays $114 per month for auto insurance premiums — a nearly 10% increase over the $104 monthly premium that drivers with clean records pay.

California and Oklahoma state laws protect drivers from such rate increases after a not-at-fault accident. In those states, consumer protection laws prevent insurers from raising rates on safe drivers who are in accidents that other drivers cause.

Factors that affect car insurance rates after an accident

Several factors can influence whether your car insurance rates increase — and by how much — after an accident.

Accident severity

The severity of your accident will help determine how much your insurance company decides to raise your rates. For example, a low-speed accident in a parking lot will usually result in a smaller rate increase to your insurance premiums than an accident that caused extensive property damage to multiple cars.

Whether someone filed a claim

If you don’t file a claim, your insurance company will have no reason to increase your rates. This is a common course of action for drivers who are in a single-vehicle accident with minimal damage. For instance, if you scrape the side of your car while backing out of your garage, you might choose to pay out of pocket for the repair, especially if the repair costs less than your deductible.

But if you’re in a multi-car accident, it’s best to report that accident to your insurance company. If you fail to report an accident soon after it happens, your insurance company may choose not to honor your policy.

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Previous incidents

If you have previous incidents on your driving record, like speeding tickets or another accident, your insurer will likely raise your rates more than if you had only one accident on your driving record. The more incidents you have on your record, the higher a risk you are to insure.

How long does an accident stay on your record?

Most insurers will raise your rates for three years after an accident, according to the Insurance Information Institute. If you remain accident-free for those three years, your rates will generally go down again. But your insurance company may keep your premiums high for as long as five years after a major accident.

Insurance companies may also use LexisNexis Comprehensive Loss and Underwriting Exchange (CLUE) reports, which collect auto and property claims data for the past seven years. For auto insurance, insurers provide and aggregate claims information, including policyholder name and birthdate, date of loss, type of loss, amounts paid, and vehicle information.

More than 99% of auto insurers report data to this exchange, so it’s highly likely that your insurer reports your claims information to CLUE.^[3] If you have an accident on your record, it could stay in the CLUE system for seven years, and insurance companies may be able to access it.

When does insurance go down after an accident?

Insurance rates typically decrease three to five years after an accident. For example, the average rate three to five years after an accident is $122 per month but decreases to $113 per month five to seven years after an accident. But the severity of the accident and the cost of damages affect how long your rates stay higher.

Insurify’s proprietary data of more than 70 million quotes can help give a sense of how much your premiums could increase and for how long. Take a look at these average quotes based on the time after an accident:

Average cost of car insurance after an accident by state

Factors like population density, accident rates, and common severe weather events can affect the cost of car insurance in different states. Location can also affect car insurance after an accident.

For example, data in the table below, which shows the state-by-state average monthly car insurance rates after an accident, indicates that drivers in Louisiana pay some of the highest premiums in the country. Louisiana’s location on the Gulf of Mexico means it’s exposed to frequent severe storms that can lead to costly weather damage insurance claims. (Note that not all 50 states appear in the table below.)

How to reduce your car insurance rates after an accident

You can take several steps to reduce your rates after getting into an accident, including:

• 

  Take a defensive driving course

  Many insurance companies offer a premium discount to drivers who complete an approved defensive driving course, which teaches you safe driving techniques and strategies for avoiding collisions. Taking such a course after an accident may not result in a discounted rate, but it could ensure any accident-related rate increase is more modest than it would’ve been.

• 

  Increase your deductible

  Your deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket for a claim before your insurance kicks in. A higher deductible typically means a lower premium. Increasing your deductible can help you keep your post-accident insurance premiums affordable. But this option is only a good idea if you have a robust emergency fund or can otherwise afford higher out-of-pocket costs when you file a claim.

• 

  Reduce your coverage

  Removing some coverage from your auto insurance policy can help lower your monthly rate. Every state except New Hampshire requires drivers to purchase liability insurance. But you may be able to cut other optional coverages, like comprehensive and collision coverage, if you have an older car that’s worth less than its repair costs. Just make sure your policy covers common losses.

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  Shop around for a better price

  Insurers have unique ways of determining your monthly premium, so you may be able to find a rate that fits your budget by switching to a different insurer. While not all insurance companies will insure a high-risk driver — which is how many companies will categorize you post-accident — some companies specialize in such drivers. Getting quotes through a quote-comparison platform can help you identify which one will give you the best deal.

Car insurance after an accident FAQs