Best Cheap Car Insurance Company that Gives Accident Forgiveness (2024)

• Most major auto insurance companies have their own version of accident forgiveness
• You may receive protection and save money since your rates do not increase due to an accident with certain policies
• Most companies offer this product to new policyholders as well as long-term consumers
• They typically will consider your entire driving history, not just the time you’ve had with the company overall

Car insurance companies that do accident forgiveness are not hard to find, and the option is offered by top companies. Accidents can happen to anyone, even the safest drivers on the road, so it is always best to be prepared for any circumstance.

Accident forgiveness car insurance is a coverage option that may help you avoid rate increases after your first at-fault accident. Others on your policy can also benefit from accident forgiveness, as well. In some cases, you will have to buy it as an add-on to your regular insurance policy.

Although most insurers advertise accident forgiveness car insurance, not everyone who applies for it will qualify. Your eligibility will be based on your individual situation, including your claims history.

Not every state allows accident forgiveness programs, so where you live matters, too. Check your local state auto insurance requirements for local laws.

Read on to find out more about car insurance companies that do accident forgiveness and see which ones are right for you. Using our free and easy-to-use tool, enter your ZIP code above for a free comparison on auto insurance today.

Affordable Car Insurance Companies That Do Accident Forgiveness

According to Semantic Scholar, accident forgiveness is often considered a “premium insurance” that protects the insured against rate increases if you have an at-fault accident.

Many of the top car insurance companies that do accident forgiveness car insurance quotes, including Allstate and Liberty Mutual, offer several tiers of accident forgiveness coverage that you can qualify for or purchase separately.

These optional coverages may also be already included with your existing policy automatically, so it is best to check what comes with your policy before choosing other additional add-ons.

Allstate Accident Forgiveness Insurance

Allstate offers two levels of accident forgiveness:

1. Gold Plan: which forgives your first accident while insured by them
2. Platinum Plan: which forgives a certain number of accidents until you no longer qualify for the program.

If you add Allstate’s optional accident forgiveness coverage to your car insurance policy, your rates won’t go up after an accident — even if it is your fault. Accident forgiveness protection begins the day you sign up and can keep your rates low.

While Allstate offers affordable accident forgiveness car insurance it does cost you extra. Fortunately, Allstate does offer plenty of discounts to help offset these added costs.

These discounts and rates will vary by state.

Liberty Mutual Accident Forgiveness Insurance

The accident forgiveness Liberty Mutual car insurance includes will look a little bit different from the other companies mentioned.

With this type of policy, whether or not accident forgiveness applies will depend on the details of the accident. That includes the cost for repairs and the severity of the accident.

You may be eligible for this benefit if you have five years of accident-free driving (with any company) and you may also qualify for an even larger discount when you reach five years with Liberty Mutual.

Accident forgiveness eligibility with Liberty Mutual requires that you meet the following:

• No accidents in the last 5 years, regardless of your previous insurance holder
• No violations in the last five years (including reckless driving or DUI charges)
• Drivers 25 and under must total five consecutive clean years before their first accident is forgiven

Read more:

• Do car insurance companies cover DUI accidents?
• How long will a DUI affect my car insurance?

In addition, Liberty Mutual will also forgive two accidents by different drivers on the same policy, as long as they occur in the same year. Liberty Mutual is the only major insurer to offer this two-accident forgiveness perk.

Geico Accident Forgiveness Insurance

Geico’s accident forgiveness program is per policy, not per driver, so multiple eligible drivers on your policy can use this benefit once without it affecting the policy’s rate.

Geico also rewards its policyholders for keeping a clean driving record.

Drivers must be accident-free for five years in order to qualify for free accident forgiveness and, depending on your state, Geico will forgive one accident every three to five years.

Farmers Accident Forgiveness Insurance

For Farmers insurance, accident forgiveness is automatically applied to every eligible insurance policy and will prevent your premium from increasing once every three years. This will only apply to policyholders that qualify.

Customers under twenty-one years old and with less than three years of driving experience will still qualify as long as one parent on their policy qualifies and has maintained a clean driving record for at least three years.

Minor violations like speeding tickets or at-fault accidents will lead to rate increases. The exact amount that your premium will go up after an accident will depend on a few factors, including who was at fault, how much damage was caused, and the policyholder’s driving and claims history.

Progressive Accident Forgiveness Insurance

Progressive provides accident forgiveness that is automatically included with your auto policy in most states. There are two types of accident forgiveness and eligibility will depend on how long you’ve been a policyholder.

Progressive’s accident forgiveness program is not offered in all states, so it is best to check with your local regulations to determine which states qualify. Customers will also lose their safe driver discount after a forgiven accident.

Nationwide Accident Forgiveness Insurance

Nationwide offers accident forgiveness as an optional policy add-on and isn’t included automatically with initial purchase. Claims will not increase your rate as long as you have only one at-fault accident every three years.

In addition, Nationwide also offers minor moving violation forgiveness:

• Prevents one minor citation every three years from increasing your premium.
• Charge must be minor (like a speeding ticket); DUI or reckless driving will not qualify
• This benefit can also be used just once per policy, not once per driver

Minor moving violation forgiveness is considered a separate add-on, so you will need to purchase this separately from accident forgiveness. Unlimited fender benders, as long as they’re under $1,500 per claim, are also permitted.

Since accident forgiveness will need to be purchased separately, Nationwide does offer a variety of discounts to help off-set some of these costs:

• Multi-policy: Earn a discount by combining two or more policies together by bundling
• SmartRide: Earn a discount by joining Nationwide’s usage based insurance program that gives feedback to make safer driving decisions
• SmartMiles: A flexible monthly rate that’s based on how many miles you drive
• Accident free: Earn a discount by maintaining an accident-free driving record
• Safe Driver: A reward for customers who are free of at-fault accidents and major violations with at least 5 years of safe driving

These will also vary by state.

Travelers Accident Forgiveness Insurance

Travelers has a few options available for their accident forgiveness program. Travelers considers these as optional add-ons, so they will not be included with your regular car insurance policy.

The Responsible Driver and Premium Responsible Driver plans both cover your first at-fault accident or minor violation.

Responsible Driver Plan

• Accident Forgiveness: forgives one accident over a specified period and can help protect you from a premium increase due to that accident
• Minor Violation Forgiveness: forgives one minor violation over a specified period, so you won’t pay more for your car insurance solely due to your first minor traffic violation 

Premium Responsible Driver Plan

• Decreasing Deductible: for every six months that all drivers on the policy are accident or major violation free, you can earn a $50 credit up to $500 to be applied toward your deductible in the event of a covered loss; on a year-long policy, for every 12 months that all drivers on the policy are accident or major violation free, you can earn a $100 credit up to $500 to be applied toward your deductible in the event of a covered loss
• Total Loss Deductible Waiver: you won’t have to pay a deductible if your car is totaled

Accidents and violations for other drivers in your household may be considered when qualifying for these add-ons.

State Farm Accident Forgiveness Insurance

State Farm accident forgiveness allows qualifying drivers to avoid penalties to keep their discount. State Farm will waive one at-fault accident every nine years.

While most competitors only require three to five years without accidents to qualify for accident forgiveness, State Farm’s nine year policy is unique among other competitors.

Without accident forgiveness, on average, policyholders with an at-fault accident saw an increase of 25% towards their premium.

Is accident forgiveness worth it?

Accident forgiveness car insurance may seem like a good idea, but it can also be a gamble. Essentially, you will be paying up front for an accident that you may not end up getting into.

Plus, accident forgiveness doesn’t necessarily mean your rates won’t increase even if you do get into an accident.

Every company handles these kinds of policies its own way, and each will have its own procedures for forgiving an accident.

Car insurance companies that do accident forgiveness car insurance rates will typically have some exceptions to the benefit, such as a policy that only forgives an accident when the claim amount is below a certain threshold.

Claim free car insurance discounts can also be a huge benefit to being a safe driver. If you keep a clean driving record, many insurance companies will reward you with lower rates.

Car Insurance Companies That Do Accident Forgiveness: The Bottom Line

Our best recommendation for car insurance companies that do accident forgiveness are Nationwide and Allstate. Both companies, while offering accident forgiveness, each have unique policies that cover multiple different situations for policyholders.

Both companies offer multiple discounts that can be stacked on top of their accident forgiveness policies as well as multiple different types of plans that are able to be purchased to feel more tailor-made for each individual’s unique situation.

Accident forgiveness is not available in every state, and some states have different variations of typical accident forgiveness, so check with your local state regulations and laws before purchasing your policy.

It’s also beneficial to look at multiple insurance companies to compare options. Make sure that you are not purchasing an add-on that is already included within your current policy.

Still not sure which car insurance companies that do accident forgiveness are right for you? Using our free and easy-to-use tool, simply enter your ZIP code below and start comparing quotes today.