How Long Does an Accident Stay on Your Insurance?

Last Updated on December 10, 2025

Car accidents are common on today’s busy, distracted roads. More drivers mean a better chance of a wreck, especially with the rise of distracted driving—texting, using apps, eating, or anything that takes your focus off the road.

Those accidents matter because they directly affect what you pay for coverage. Insurers look at many factors when pricing your policy, but one of the biggest is your driving history. If you’ve had prior accidents, the company expects a higher chance of future claims and may charge higher premiums to offset that risk.

Key Takeaways

1. Most car accidents affect your insurance rates for about 3–5 years, with serious crashes and DUIs often impacting premiums for longer.
2. Insurers weigh fault, accident type, and claim size when deciding how much (and how long) to surcharge you.
3. You can’t erase a legitimate accident, but you can raise deductibles, bundle policies, adjust coverage, and use safe-driver programs to soften the financial hit.
4. Shopping around after a crash is crucial—different insurers treat the same accident very differently, and switching can save you hundreds per year.

How Long Will an Accident Affect Your Premiums?

So, how long does an accident stay on your insurance and affect your auto insurance rates? For most drivers, the answer is around three to five years.

Many companies will look back five years at your driving history, which includes accidents and traffic violations. However, some companies only look back three years. Others may apply shorter surcharges for small claims and longer ones for serious violations.

There isn’t a hard and fast rule that applies to every insurer and every state, but here’s a good general guide:

• Minor at-fault accidents: Often affect your premium for about 3 years.
• More severe at-fault accidents: Can impact your rates for 3–5 years or longer.
• Major violations (like DUIs): May affect what you pay for 7–10 years or more, even if the accident itself has “fallen off” your normal rating period.

There’s also a difference between what’s on your driving record and what’s in your insurance record:

• Your driving record (MVR) is maintained by your state’s DMV and usually shows accidents and tickets for several years.
• Your claims history is kept in insurance databases (like CLUE) and can follow you when you switch companies. Insurers often look at several years of claims when pricing your policy.

One accident might not increase your rates at all, especially if your insurance company offers accident forgiveness or if the claim was very small. But that depends heavily on the insurer, your state, and the rest of your profile (age, vehicle, prior history, etc.).

Multiple accidents, however, almost always increase your rates. Having several at-fault accidents in the last 3–5 years can cause your auto premiums to double, triple, or more—sometimes pushing you into “high-risk” territory where fewer insurers are willing to cover you.

To illustrate the difference in car insurance rates after an accident, Insurify compiled quotes from major insurance companies for a hypothetical driver without an accident, with an accident six months ago, and with an accident four years ago. The comparison shows how rates usually jump right after the crash, then slowly trend back down as more time passes with no new incidents:

Different Degrees of Car Accidents

Just how much your rates go up will greatly depend on the type of accident you had. Insurance companies assign tiers to accidents based on severity, fault, and overall type. Many of them use a points system behind the scenes to help determine what your rates should be.

For example, a DUI-based accident is one of the most severe types of incidents, and this will have a profound effect on your auto insurance. Even if you don’t get into an accident, if you get pulled over for a DUI, expect your auto insurance rates to skyrocket. In many states, a DUI can affect your insurability and rates for far longer than a normal fender-bender.

If you were at fault for the accident, that will usually be assigned a higher point value than a not-at-fault crash. Having even one at-fault accident on your record can cause your rates to increase because the insurance company will determine you to be at greater risk for further accidents in the future.

Not-at-fault accidents are typically assigned a lower tier than at-fault accidents. Depending on the company, not-at-fault accidents can still cause your rates to go up—especially if there are multiple incidents or large payouts. A lot will depend on the severity of the accident, state regulations, and other factors that the company uses.

There are also comprehensive claims that can happen (such as a tree branch falling on your car, hail damage, theft, or hitting an animal). These are usually considered lower-tier than collision accidents involving other vehicles. There is a greater chance of these types of claims not increasing your rates than accidents involving other cars, although frequent comprehensive claims can still add up.

Another factor that insurance companies use in determining your possible rate increase is the amount of money paid out on the claim:

• If a tree branch fell on your hood and the company paid out a small amount (say, a few hundred dollars), they might not raise your rates at all.
• If your car caught on fire, or you had a not-at-fault accident but your car was totaled, the company paid out much more money and will be more likely to raise your rates or keep the surcharge on your policy longer.

What Can You Do To Keep Your Car Insurance Rates Low?

If you’ve had an accident and your insurance company has raised your rates, is there anything you can do? Yes — even though you can’t erase the accident, you can often blunt the financial impact.

There is nothing you can do to remove a legitimate accident from your history; you’ll need to wait 3–5 years and maintain a clean driving record for that accident to stop affecting your rates. That said, you have several levers you can pull in the meantime.

1. Raise Your Deductibles

If you carry comprehensive coverage and collision coverage on any vehicle on your policy, raising those deductibles will lower your overall premium. Consider raising them to $1,000, or even $2,500, to help offset the cost of a higher premium.

Only choose a deductible you could realistically afford to pay out of pocket after a loss. A higher deductible is a great way to save money as long as it doesn’t create a financial crisis if you actually need to use your coverage.

2. Use Multi-Policy and Multi-Vehicle Discounts

If you have a different company for your homeowners or renters policy than you do for your auto insurance, consider using the same company to get a sizable multi-policy discount. Many companies also give extra discounts for motorcycle policies, boat policies, or even RV policies.

You can often stack these discounts with multi-vehicle discounts (insuring more than one car on the same policy) to chip away at the increase from your accident.

3. Prevent Future Accidents From Going on Your Record

If you currently have a clean driving record, check to see if your insurance company offers accident forgiveness. This is an endorsement that you can add to your auto policy that guarantees the company won’t increase your rates after your first qualifying accident. Some companies, like GEICO, even have incident forgiveness, which can forgive minor moving violations (like speeding tickets).

It’s also worth asking about safe-driver or telematics programs that track your driving habits via an app or plug-in device. If you drive safely, you can sometimes earn significant discounts that help offset an accident surcharge.

4. Drop Unneeded Coverage

It’s always smart to review your policy and drop unneeded coverage, especially on older vehicles. The common approach is to get rid of comprehensive and collision coverage on an older, lower-value vehicle because, oftentimes, the cost to repair the damage done eclipses the value of the car.

You can also simply get rid of one of these coverage types (such as collision coverage) if you’re worried about driving around with too little protection. Whatever you do, always make sure you meet your state’s minimum coverage requirements and that you’re comfortable with your risk.

5. Shop Around and Compare Quotes

Not all insurance companies treat accidents the same way. Some are very harsh on any claim, while others are more forgiving. Rate differences can be dramatic, especially after an at-fault accident.

That’s why it pays to compare quotes with several insurers instead of assuming your current company is still the best deal. Insurance marketplaces (like those reviewed in our Insurify article) can help you quickly see how different companies price your situation after a crash.

Frequently Asked Questions About Accidents and Insurance

The Bottom Line: Time and Clean Driving Help Most

Even though one accident might cause your rates to increase, insurance companies usually use a leveled approach. You might see a modest increase after your first accident, with subsequent accidents causing more dramatic increases and longer surcharges.

If you’ve just had one accident, there are things you can change on your policy to help offset the increased cost until the accident falls off in roughly 3–5 years. Focus on:

• Maintaining a clean driving record in the future
• Taking advantage of discounts and safe-driver programs
• Adjusting your coverage and deductibles wisely
• Shopping around so you’re not overpaying

Over time, as the accident gets older and you avoid new tickets and claims, its impact on your car insurance will fade—and eventually, it will no longer affect your premium at all.