How much does insurance go up after an accident with AAA?

Accident forgiveness resets after 3-5 years with most insurance companies. Loyalty-based accident forgiveness, which does not cost extra, normally requires drivers to go five years without at-fault accidents to get an accident forgiven, while accident forgiveness policies that drivers can purchase usually take three years to reset. Timeframes vary by insurance company, though.... read full answer

How Long Accident Forgiveness Takes to Reset, by Company

• Progressive: 3 years
• Farmers: 3 years
• Travelers: 3 years
• Allstate: 3 years
• Geico: 5 years
• Liberty Mutual: 5 years
• USAA: 5 years
• State Farm: 9 years

The time it takes for accident forgiveness to reset can differ from the time it takes to qualify for accident forgiveness originally. For instance, although Progressive accident forgiveness resets after three years, drivers must be a Progressive customer for five years to qualify in the first place.

Policies from the same company aren’t always handled the same way, either. For example, Allstate’s Gold auto insurance package includes accident forgiveness that resets every three years, while its Platinum package forgives an unlimited number of accidents.

A car accident stays on your record for insurance for three to five years, depending on the state and insurance company. After that period, an accident no longer appears on a driver’s record for insurance purposes and will not affect car insurance premiums directly.

Just remember that even if the record of the accident goes away after three years, it could take as long as five years before a driver is able to once again qualify for good driver discounts. For example, Geico requires drivers to go five consecutive years without an at-fault accident in order to qualify, while drivers with State Farm can requalify for an accident-free discount after three years.... read full answer

Overall, first-time car accidents increase premiums by an average of 50%, depending on the state and resulting damage. But it’s possible that an accident won’t affect your rates at all.

For example, hit-and-runs committed against you don’t usually affect your insurance costs. And if an accident is a first offense on an otherwise spotless record, your insurance company might offer accident forgiveness, which would prevent your rates from going up. However, not every company offers this perk, and some only offer it as an add-on coverage option.

On the other hand, if you commit a hit and run or cause an accident due to DUI, the accident could stay on your insurance record for up to 10 years or longer. It will also lead to a significant increase in the cost of insurance.

AAA is so cheap because the company offers a wide variety of discounts that almost anyone can get. A minimum coverage policy from AAA costs an average of $66 per month, and AAA premiums can be made even cheaper by taking advantage of discounts such as paid-in-full discount and safety inspection discount. Plus, AAA rewards customer loyalty with discounts for insuring more than one car and bundling multiple policies, such as home and auto.... read full answer

Average Monthly Rates for AAA vs. Top Competitors

Note: Premiums are representative of a 45-year-old good driver in CA; individual premiums will vary.

AAA is especially cheap for safe drivers in particular. That’s because AAA has special savings opportunities for drivers in this category, such as discounts for driving responsibly while using the AAADrive telematics program.

Your final premium is based on a variety of factors, though, such as your driving record, insurance history, and more. Every insurance company determines their rates differently, so even though AAA is among the cheapest car insurance companies, the only way to confirm you’ve found the lowest price is to compare quotes from multiple companies.

To learn more, check out WalletHub’s review of AAA and see AAA’s full profile.