Allstate offers optional accident forgiveness coverage to drivers who haven’t had an accident in the past three to five years. Accident forgiveness waives the surcharge for your first at-fault accident while letting you keep other discounts, too.

Allstate offers accident forgiveness in most states.
This is available as an optional add-on to existing car insurance policies.
With accident forgiveness, you could avoid the steep rate hikes that often follow an at-fault accident.

Let’s take a look at how Allstate accident forgiveness works and learn other ways you can save on

car insurance

in this comprehensive guide.

MORE:

All you need to know about Allstate car insurance quotes

Does Allstate offer accident forgiveness for auto insurance?

Yes, Allstate does offer accident forgiveness coverage. It’s available as a coverage add-on, and it’s included in Allstate’s optional Gold and Platinum packages.

With the Platinum package, multiple drivers on the same policy are protected individually—so if you and your spouse get into separate accidents, both could be forgiven.

However, Allstate accident forgiveness isn’t available everywhere, including in the state of California, due to state laws.

What is accident forgiveness?

Involvement in an at-fault car accident leads car insurance providers to jack up your premium by a substantial margin—we’re talking a potential rate hike of 45% or more.

They’ll often cancel a number of discounts, too, like safe driver discounts. It very quickly gets financially ugly.

Accident forgiveness

helps you avoid those headaches. With this protection, Allstate will waive the surcharge they’d normally tack on to your insurance premium after a chargeable accident—an accident resulting in property damage or injuries that you’re deemed more than 50% responsible for.

Allstate will also let you keep a number of money-saving discounts that you’d otherwise lose as a result of that accident. So all told, the savings can be quite significant.

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How Allstate’s accident forgiveness works

Allstate’s accident forgiveness is available as part of their Gold and Platinum packages to drivers who’ve gone accident-free for three to five years. It’s an optional coverage you add to your existing policy.

Allstate’s Gold package coverage grants forgiveness for one accident per policy every three years, while the Platinum package includes coverage for multiple drivers and accidents on the same policy every three years—if driver A has an accident, driver B’s accident a week later could also be forgiven.

MORE: Should I report a car accident to my insurance company?

How much do your car insurance rates go up after an accident with Allstate?

Car accidents are expensive, especially if you’re at fault. You can expect your rates to increase by more than 40%, on average, after an at-fault accident, regardless of your insurance provider.

For Allstate customers without accident forgiveness, rates tend to average around $2,800 per year. And those rates can get exponentially higher after having a second at-fault accident, increasing by anywhere from 95% to 155%, depending on the accident.

In most cases, being involved in an accident when you’re

not at fault

won’t result in a rate hike. That’s not always necessarily true, of course.

It’s also important to note that these surcharges and lost discounts aren’t permanent. In most states, your rate hikes will drop back off after a period of three to five years, and discount eligibility returns after another two years. These incidents fall off as you restore your

clean driving record

What other car insurance companies have accident forgiveness?

Accident forgiveness isn’t exclusive to Allstate. In fact, most major insurance providers offer accident forgiveness or some version of it, including:

Erie

: Customers with Erie for three years qualify for accident forgiveness.

Farmers

: With a clean driving record, you’re allowed one at-fault accident every three years.

GEICO

: GEICO’s accident forgiveness is free for drivers who go five years without an accident, and you can also choose to purchase this if you’re ineligible for free coverage.

Liberty Mutual

: An optional add-on coverage for drivers who go accident-free and don’t pick up moving violations for five years.

Nationwide

: Nationwide waives the surcharge for the first accident or moving violation.

Progressive

: Small accident forgiveness is free for all customers, while large accident forgiveness is offered to customers with Progressive for five years, who’ve been accident-free for the last three years.

Travelers

: Optional coverage that forgives one accident and one minor violation every three years.

USAA

: Available if everyone in the household has been at-fault-accident-free for five years.

How much does accident forgiveness cost?

Accident forgiveness coverage varies in price from one insurance provider to the next, but you’ll generally find it priced between $15 and $60 yearly, which gets tacked onto your existing rates. Some companies, like GEICO and Progressive, offer accident forgiveness free of charge to qualifying customers.

Is Allstate’s accident forgiveness worth it?

Accident forgiveness isn’t always worth the added cost. Get a quote from Allstate and calculate how much extra you’d pay if your rates increased by 45%, then compare that with how much you’re quoted for Allstate accident forgiveness.

You’ll want to keep other discounts in mind as well, like Allstate’s safe driving bonus, their Drivewise tool, and other applicable discounts.

MORE:

Allstate Drivewise vs. Progressive Snapshot: Which is better?

What to do if your Allstate rate goes up

Your rates are going to increase after an at-fault accident if you don’t have accident forgiveness beforehand, and they’ll stay that high for a period of three to five years. Figuring out how to lower your rate from there can get tricky, but there are definitely a few options.

You may want to start by using an insurance comparison shopping app to see if a competitor can offer you a better rate. An at-fault accident is as good a time as any to see if you’re overpaying for car insurance.

The new insurance provider would of course have a record of the accident too, but it doesn’t hurt to check.

MORE:

Is the Jerry app legit?

Coverage limits

Here’s another suggestion: see if you can fine-tune your coverage a little to reduce how much you’re paying.

Of course, you need to meet

your state’s required limits

for

liability coverage

, but you could consider

dropping full coverage

or ditching extras like roadside assistance. Raising your deductible and lowering existing coverage limits are also options.

Just remember that another accident, especially an at-fault one, will leave you paying more out of pocket. So do this carefully, temporarily, and at your own risk!

You should also consider taking a defensive driving course. Not only can this remove points from your license, but car insurance providers will often issue you a discount for having finished one. It may not be a huge discount, but it definitely doesn’t hurt, and you’ll improve your driving prowess, too!

Good driver discounts

Allstate lets eligible drivers enroll in a safe driving bonus program. Allstate’s safe driving bonus sends you a rebate every six months for safe driving, which is applied as an automatic credit on your policy.

Allstate also offers an Allstate Drivewise program, which uses

telematic data

to analyze your driving behaviors. Not only will Allstate offer you a discount for safe driving proven through telematics but they’ll even send you personalized hints and tips to improve your driving safety.

Loyalty discounts

Like many other insurance providers, Allstate offers a loyalty discount of up to 25% if you insure

more than one vehicle

through them, and up to another 25% if you get a second policy with them, such as a

homeowners

renters insurance

policy.

MORE:

How to cancel Allstate Insurance

The bottom line

Most drivers with clean driving records should definitely consider getting Allstate accident forgiveness. It’s also a good idea to do some comparison shopping to see what other rates are out there before you settle on any particular insurance provider.

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to anyone. I’ve almost halved my insurance bill with a new Allstate plan and it took under 10 minutes.” —Leon W.

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FAQs

Is Allstate accident forgiveness free?

No, Allstate accident forgiveness is not free. It’s an optional add-on that costs, on average, between $15 and $60 annually.

Is Allstate accident forgiveness worth it?

It usually is for most drivers. You’ll want to look at the rate Allstate quotes you without the coverage and tack on an additional 45%—the national average of the rate increase that follows an at-fault car accident. If Allstate’s quote for accident forgiveness is less than this rate hike, it may be a good idea to invest in it.

When does Allstate accident forgiveness reset?

Allstate accident forgiveness resets after a period of three to five years, meaning you’ll be eligible again for accident forgiveness and various discounts after that period. Your accident will essentially be forgotten (in a manner of speaking, anyway).

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