Insurance cost after an accident is quite different from the cost of insurance before anything or an accident. You need to be prepared and that is why in this article, we will be giving you a detailed explanation of the cost of insurance after an accident.
How Insurance Cost After the Accident rate is affected?
When you get into an accident, it can affect your car insurance rates for at least three years, though this can vary depending on where you live and who your insurance provider is. Even if the accident was minor, insurance companies usually see you as a higher risk and will likely raise your rates.
We looked into how much more drivers end up paying for car insurance after an accident. We compared the average insurance rates across the country for 35-year-old drivers who recently had an at-fault crash to those who hadn’t had any recent accidents. We kept everything else the same and used full coverage insurance for a 2020 Toyota Camry. We also assumed the accident caused $10,000 in property damage with no injuries.
|
Type of policy |
Clean record |
One at-fault accident |
|---|---|---|
|
Full coverage |
$2,148 |
$3,164 |
|
Minimum coverage |
$685 |
$1,044 |
Our study discovered that:
- Across the country, if you caused an accident, you might end up paying an extra $1,016 each year, on average, for full coverage insurance compared to someone with a clean driving record.
- In Washington, D.C., and almost every state (except Rhode Island), drivers who caused accidents paid over $500 more each year on average than those who didn’t.
- In 10 states, rates jumped up by at least 50% after an at-fault accident.
- In Michigan, Florida, New Jersey, and Texas, rates shot up by over $1,500 per year on average after an at-fault accident.
However, these numbers are just averages. Your rate might be different based on things like how old you are, where you live, and which insurance company you use.
Cheap car Insurance after an Accident by a Company
Car insurance companies have very different opinions about how much they should raise rates after a crash. In some states, a few companies we studied didn’t increase rates much after a small accident.
On the other hand, we found some companies that charged more than double for a driver who caused an accident compared to one who didn’t. In a couple of cases, rates were over $3,000 higher per year after an at-fault accident.
That’s why it’s important to compare rates from different companies to find the cheapest insurance after an accident.
State Farm, Geico, Progressive, and Allstate are the four biggest car insurance companies in the country, covering more than half of the market. USAA, the fifth-largest, is only available to military members, veterans, and their families.
To see how these big insurers set prices after accidents, we looked at average rates in 44 states and Washington, D.C., where we have data for all four major companies.
State Farm had the lowest average rates for both drivers who caused accidents and those who didn’t. They also had the smallest rate increase between drivers with clean records and those with recent crashes.
|
The company ranked by average % increase |
Average rate before an accident |
Average rate after an accident |
|---|---|---|
|
1. State Farm |
$1,431 |
$1,833 |
|
2. Allstate |
$3,110 |
$4,405 |
|
3. Progressive |
$2,075 |
$3,029 |
|
4. Geico |
$2,009 |
$3,216 |
|
USAA |
$1,120 |
$1,590 |
|
*USAA is only available to military, veterans and their families. |
||
For drivers who can get it, USAA often offers really low rates, both before and after an accident. However, there are times when USAA isn’t the cheapest option anymore after a driver causes an accident.
For example, in Alaska, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Wisconsin, USAA is the cheapest for drivers with a clean record, but other companies have lower rates for drivers who cause an accident.
So, whether you have USAA or another insurance company, it’s a good idea to compare rates after an accident.
Car Insurance Cost After Accident by States
Here’s a list showing the cheapest insurance company and their average annual rates after an accident in each state:
- Alabama: Auto-Owners – $1,950
- Alaska: Umialik – $1,369
- Arizona: Noblr – $1,063
- Arkansas: State Farm – $1,386
- California: CIG – $1,623
- Colorado: American National – $1,095
- Connecticut: State Farm – $1,741
- Delaware: Travelers – $1,952
- Florida: State Farm – $2,194
- Georgia: Auto-Owners – $1,562
- Hawaii: State Farm – $1,326
- Idaho: American National – $664
- Illinois: Hastings Mutual – $909
- Indiana: Hastings Mutual – $669
- Iowa: Hastings Mutual – $692
- Kansas: State Farm – $1,463
- Kentucky: Shelter – $1,762
- Louisiana: Southern Farm Bureau Casualty – $2,439
- Maine: Concord Group – $1,091
- Maryland: Cumberland Mutual – $1,935
- Massachusetts: Preferred Mutual – $1,226
- Michigan: Secura – $1,498
- Minnesota: Farm Bureau Financial Services – $1,092
- Mississippi: Progressive – $1,722
- Missouri: Missouri Farm Bureau – $1,265
- Montana: State Farm – $1,444
- Nebraska: American National – $788
- Nevada: State Farm – $1,885
- New Hampshire: Concord Group – $1,170
- New Jersey: NJM – $1,474
- New Mexico: Central Insurance – $1,256
- New York: Main Street America – $1,303
- North Carolina: North Carolina Farm Bureau – $1,464
- North Dakota: State Farm – $1,306
- Ohio: Hastings Mutual – $640
- Oklahoma: American Farmers & Ranchers – $1,493
- Oregon: State Farm – $1,230
- Pennsylvania: Travelers – $1,365
- Rhode Island: Travelers – $1,751
- South Carolina: American National – $775
- South Dakota: State Farm – $1,268
- Tennessee: Tennessee Farm Bureau – $1,285
- Texas: Redpoint County Mutual – $974
- Utah: Auto-Owners – $1,696
- Vermont: State Farm – $1,053
- Virginia: Auto-Owners – $1,107
- Washington: Pemco – $985
- Washington, D.C.: Erie – $1,429
- West Virginia: State Farm – $1,751
- Wisconsin: Hastings Mutual – $974
- Wyoming: American National – $1,086
To find these cheapest options after an accident, we looked at full coverage rates for a 35-year-old driver with good credit and a recent at-fault accident in every ZIP code across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
We didn’t include USAA in this list because its policies are only available to active military members, veterans, and their families.
Is It Possible To Get Cheaper Rate Afer Accident
Shopping around after an accident is the best way to make sure you’re getting the cheapest car insurance rate. Our study proves why:
Looking for the cheapest car insurance after an accident can save you a lot of money. Our research found that shopping around for the best rate after a crash could potentially save you thousands of dollars each year, depending on where you live and which insurance company you use.
There’s no single insurance company that’s the cheapest for everyone. In all 50 states and Washington, D.C., we found that 26 different insurers offered the lowest rates after an accident.
The insurance company that was the cheapest before an accident might not be the cheapest afterwards. In more than a third of the states we looked at, some drivers who had the cheapest insurance before an accident would need to switch companies to keep getting the lowest rates after the accident.
Even though the big-name insurance companies are well-known, they’re not always the cheapest option. While the top 10 insurance companies make up most of the market, smaller companies often have the lowest rates after an accident. For example, in 34 states and Washington, D.C., smaller companies offered the best rates. Some of these smaller insurers only operate in a few states.