Car insurance premiums typically increase after a claim, depending on who’s at fault, your insurance company, and if you have accident forgiveness coverage.
Alani es una escritora independiente especializada en finanzas personales. Su objetivo es hacer que los temas complejos sean más accesibles a través de contenidos divertidos y digestibles.
Background working with banks and insurance companies
Sarah enjoys helping people find smarter ways to spend their money. She covers auto financing, banking, credit cards, credit health, insurance, and personal loans.
Updated December 17, 2024 | Reading time: 4 minutes
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After an accident, you may need to file a claim to help pay for damages or injuries. But before filing a claim, it’s important to know that your auto insurance ratesmay increase with your current insurer or the next time you shop rates. When determining rates, insurers often look at your claims history, plus other factors like your age, location, driving history, vehicle type, and more.
Here’s a closer look at how insurance claims affect your premiums.
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How do claims affect your insurance premium?
Insurers typically see you as a more high-risk driver after you file a claim — especially if the claim is for an at-fault accident. And they may raise your rates to counteract this risk. Filing a claim can raise premiums by as much as 35%, Insurify data shows.
For example, a full-coverage car insurance policy costs an average of $202 per month for a driver with a claims-free history. But drivers with one or more incidents on their record often pay upward of $260 per month for full coverage.
Claim severity, frequency, and quantity
During the underwriting process, car insurance companies analyze various data points to assess risk factors that affect rates. Insurers pay close attention to your claims history.
Insurers typically evaluate your claims history based on three key factors:
Quantity: The total number of claims you’ve filed
Frequency: How often you file claims within a specific time period
Severity: The cost of each claim
These factors help insurers assess your risk and calculate your premiums. When the number, frequency, and severity of your claims increase, you’ll likely pay more for insurance.[1]
Types of claims
Some claim types have a greater effect on your policy rates than others — particularly when you’re at fault. A minor fender bender will likely raise your premiums less than a multi-car accident with extensive car damage. Meanwhile, a claim for a broken windshield may have little to no effect on your rate.
In short, the more your insurer pays out during a claim, the more your premiums will increase.
At-fault vs. no-fault claims
Some states are tort (or at-fault) states, while others are no-fault states. In tort states, each person’s insurer works together to evaluate the incident and assign fault. The at-fault driver’s insurance company must cover the affected people’s injuries.
In a no-fault state, your insurance company covers you and your passengers’ medical costs — regardless of fault. Since no-fault claim payouts are usually higher, insurers often charge higher premiums in no-fault states than in tort states.[2]
Average car insurance rates for drivers with an incident
Drivers with past incidents generally pay higher rates than people with a clean driving record. The table below shows the average monthly cost of a full-coverage and a liability-only auto policy for various driving profiles.
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.
Other factors that affect auto insurance premiums
Besides claims, other factors that influence your auto insurance cost include your:[3]
Age and gender: Because women and older drivers get into fewer accidents than men and younger drivers, they typically pay lower insurance rates.
Driving history: Insurance companies consider people with more DUIs, speeding tickets, at-fault car accidents, and claims filed as higher-risk drivers. These drivers tend to have higher car insurance rates.
Vehicle: Characteristics such as your vehicle’s make and model, age, and safety features influence your costs. Safer vehicles and cars with lower repair costs generally have cheaper premiums.
Coverages: If you purchase more car insurance protection, you’ll pay higher premiums. Also, a lower deductible (what you pay before receiving your claim payout) leads to higher premiums, and vice versa.
Location: ZIP codes with increased claim risks have higher premiums. Insurers assess urban versus rural and weather risks — as well as the cost of living — to calculate your rates.
Credit history: In some states, insurance companies can use your credit-based insurance score to predict your likelihood of filing a claim. Good credit indicates you may have a lower probability of filing a claim, which leads to cheaper premiums.[4]
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How can you lower your premium after an accident?
Seeing your rates increase after an auto accident can be frustrating. The good news is that you can take action to reduce your policy costs.
Here are some things you can do to reduce rates:
Improve your driving record
One of the best ways to lower your rates is by staying violation- and claims-free. Taking a defensive driving course can help you become a safer driver and may even result in a discount.
Shop around for a better price
Companies calculate premiums differently, so switching to a different insurer may help you find more competitive rates. A quote-comparison tool generates multiple quotes at once to find the best deal on the coverages you need.
Increase your deductible
A higher deductible can keep insurance premiums low after an accident. Before boosting your deductible, be sure you can afford the increase if you need to file a claim.
Get accident forgiveness
Many companies offer this optional coverage to keep your premium from increasing after your first accident. But you must have purchased it before the incident to qualify.
Reduce your coverage
Consider removing comprehensive and collision coverage if you can pay for your vehicle repairs out of pocket or you own an older car worth less than its repair cost. This can help reduce your monthly rate.
Insurance after a claim FAQs
Insurance premiums often increase after a claim. The specifics of the increase — like how much and how long — depend on various factors. Check out the additional information below about car insurance rates after a claim.
How much does insurance increase after a claim?
Filing a claim can raise your premiums by up to 35%. But your rate of increase depends on other factors, like your driving history, age, location, and insurance company.
Does your insurance go up after a claim that isn’t your fault?
It’s possible. Sometimes car insurance rates go up after a claim that isn’t your fault. But this depends on the nature of the incident, your insurance company, and state laws.
Should you get an estimate before filing a claim?
It ’s a good idea to get an estimate before filing a claim. An estimate can help you determine if you can pay for car repairs out of pocket instead. By not filing a claim, you’ll avoid a potential premium increase and paying a deductible.
How much does car insurance go down after one year with no claims?
It depends. How much your car insurance decreases after a year with no claims hinges on various factors, like your claims and driving history, your insurance company, and more. In general, having more driving experience without more moving violations can lead to better rates.
How long do claims affect insurance premiums?
Insurers typically raise rates for three years after an accident. But some insurance companies may increase premiums for as long as five years after a major accident.[5]
Methodology
Insurify data scientists analyzed more than 90 million quotes served to car insurance applicants in Insurify’s proprietary database to calculate the premium averages displayed on this page. These premiums are real quotes that come directly from Insurify’s 50+ partner insurance companies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quote averages represent the median price for a quote across the given coverage level, driver subset, and geographic area.
Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for drivers between 20 and 70 years old with a clean driving record and average or better credit (a credit score of 600 or higher).
Liability-only premium averages correspond to policies with the following coverage limits:
Bodily injury limits between state-minimum rates and $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
Property damage limits between $10,000 and $50,000
No additional coverage
Full-coverage premium averages correspond to the same bodily injury and property damage limits in addition to:
Comprehensive coverage with a $1,000 deductible
Collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible
Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.
Alani Asis is a personal finance freelance writer with nearly three years of experience in content creation. She has landed bylines with leading publications and brands like Insider, Fortune, LendingTree, and more. Alani aims to make personal finance approachable through fun, relatable, and digestible content.
Alani has been a contributor at Insurify since January 2023.
Background working with banks and insurance companies
Sarah enjoys helping people find smarter ways to spend their money. She covers auto financing, banking, credit cards, credit health, insurance, and personal loans.
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