At fault means 51% or more

California car accident insurance laws

Written by Todd Whittington, Editor·Last reviewed October 19, 2026 Verified 2026-10-19

How long does an accident stay on your record in California? On your rate, an at-fault accident costs you the Good Driver Discount (at least 20%) for 3 years. Your DMV record shows a reported crash for 3 years, whoever caused it. Claims reports keep it up to 7 years.
Does California have accident forgiveness? California law doesn't require it. GEICO, Farmers and Liberty Mutual do not offer it here. It often costs extra or has to be earned, and the big insurers' versions cover one accident.
How much does insurance go up after an at-fault accident in California? About 49% a year on average for full coverage, nationally. Among the big insurers it runs from about 29% (State Farm) to 74% (GEICO). These are national figures; no insurer publishes its California number. A crash counts against you only if you were at least 51% at fault and, with no injuries, damage topped $1,000.

What an at-fault accident costs with each insurer

Here is what each large insurer's rate typically does after one at-fault accident, and whether it offers accident forgiveness in California.

Insurer	Typical rise after one at-fault accident industry_typical	How long industry_typical	Accident forgiveness in California carrier_guidance
State Farm	29%	3 years	No product foundNo State Farm accident forgiveness product page was found (statefarm.com/insurance/auto/accident-forgiveness returns 404). State Farm advises checking whether your policy includes any forgiveness feature.
Progressive	50%	3 years	LimitedProgressive's Loyalty Rewards program, which delivers its free Small and Large Accident Forgiveness, is not available in California. Whether the paid add-on is available there is not stated.
GEICO	74%	3 years	Not offered hereGEICO Claim Forgiveness is not available in California.
Allstate	56%	3 years	Some states; askAllstate says forgiveness is not available in every state and does not name them; confirm it for California.
USAA	42%	3 years	Some states; askUSAA says forgiveness is not available in every state and does not name them; confirm it for California.
Nationwide	59%	3 years	Some states; askNationwide says forgiveness is not available in every state and does not name them; confirm it for California.
Farmers	50%	3 years	Not offered hereFarmers Accident Forgiveness is not available in California.
Liberty Mutual	49%National average; Liberty Mutual isn't in the source table.	3 years	Not offered hereLiberty Mutual Accident Forgiveness is not available in California.
Other / not sure	49%	3 years	Ask your insurerAsk whether your policy has accident forgiveness and whether you qualify.

industry_typical: the rise is computed from NerdWallet's national table of full-coverage rates (one at-fault accident with $10,000 of property damage), not from a California rate filing; we have not read any insurer's California filing yet. The length is the 3-year floor NerdWallet states. carrier_guidance: each insurer's own website, read October 19, 2026; the insurer name links to the page we read. NerdWallet source.

How long an accident affects your rate in California

A principally at-fault accident costs you California's Good Driver Discount for 3 years. Insurers must check your DMV record at least every 36 months. The law does not set a separate time cap on other accident-based rating.

“During the previous three years, he or she has not done any of the following:” — Cal. Ins. Code § 1861.025(b)

“No insurer shall rate or underwrite a renewal policy based upon an MVR older than 36 months at the time the policy is renewed.” — 10 CCR § 2632.5(c)(1)(A)

Your rate is only one of three records. The others:

Your California driving record. Reported crashes go on your California driving record whether or not you caused them. The DMV discloses accidents on your record for 3 years.
Your claims history (CLUE report). Insurers share claims through reports like LexisNexis C.L.U.E., which keeps up to seven years of auto claims. A new insurer will see a claim there even after your current one stops charging for it.

“Three years for accidents and all other violations.” — Cal. Veh. Code § 1808(b)(3)

More on all three: how long an accident stays on your record.

Does California limit accident rate increases?

California's rules, from Proposition 103, decide when an accident can count against you:

Principally at fault means at least 51% of the legal cause.
“unless the driver's actions or omissions were at least 51 percent of the legal cause of the accident” — Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2632.13(b)
$1,000 threshold for property-damage-only accidents.
“for an accident that resulted only in damage to property, the total loss or damage caused by the accident exceeded $1000” — Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2632.13(b)
Six no-fault presumptions.
“rebuttably presumed as provided in Evidence Code Section 603 that a driver is not principally at-fault for an accident under any of the following circumstances” — Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2632.13(c)
Good Driver Discount: 3-year lookback.
“principally at fault that resulted only in damage to property shall receive one violation point count” — Cal. Ins. Code § 1861.025(b)
Good Driver Discount is at least 20%.
“shall be at least 20 percent below the rate the insured would otherwise have been charged for the same coverage” — Cal. Ins. Code § 1861.02(b)

Rebuttable no-fault presumptions (lawfully parked, rear-ended without a conviction, only the other driver convicted, reported hit-and-run, animals or falling objects, unavoidable hazard). The Good Driver Discount (at least 20% off) looks back 3 years and is lost for any at-fault injury accident or more than one violation point (an at-fault property-only accident is one point). Several carriers do not offer accident forgiveness in California.

Does California regulate accident forgiveness?

Before treating you as at fault, your insurer must investigate and send you a written notice explaining why. You then have 30 days to ask the insurer to reconsider, and a different employee must decide.

“The insurer shall provide written notice to the insured of the result of such investigation, including any determination that the driver was principally at-fault.” — 10 CCR § 2632.13(e)(1)-(2)

“Within 30 days of receipt by the insured of a written notice required by Subsection (e)(1), the insured may request reconsideration of the insurer's determination” — 10 CCR § 2632.13(e)(2)

How forgiveness works, and its catches: our accident forgiveness guide.

When you must report a crash in California

To the police

If anyone is hurt or killed, you must make a written report to the CHP (or city police if the crash was in a city) within 24 hours. If you hit an unattended car or property and can't find the owner, leave a note and tell the police without unnecessary delay.

“any accident resulting in injuries to or death of any person shall within 24 hours after the accident make or cause to be made a written report” — Cal. Veh. Code § 20008(a)

To the state

You must file an SR-1 report with the DMV within 10 days if anyone was hurt (even slightly) or killed, or if property damage was over $1,000. This is required even if police made a report, and no matter who caused the crash. If you don't file it, the DMV will suspend your license.

“in excess of one thousand dollars ($1,000), or in bodily injury, or in the death of any person shall report the accident, within 10 days after the accident” — Cal. Veh. Code § 16000(a)

“The department shall suspend the driving privilege of any person who fails, refuses, or neglects to make a report of an accident as required in this chapter.” — Cal. Veh. Code § 16004(a)

“An SR-1 report is required in addition to any other report made to the police, CHP, or your insurance company.” — DMV SR-1 page

“You (or your representative) must file a report whether or not you caused the collision. This applies even if the collision happened on private property.” — California Driver's Handbook, Section 10 (DMV)

Reporting an accident is not the same as filing a claim

Reporting to the police or the state is the law. Telling your insurer about a crash is a condition of your policy: auto policies generally require prompt notice of an accident, even if you never ask them to pay. Filing a claim means asking your insurer to pay for damage. You can report a crash and still pay for your own repair. Not telling your insurer at all can backfire: if the other driver files against you later, your insurer can point to the notice clause.

“If you are involved in an auto accident, you should promptly report it to your insurance company, as well as to the local police department.” — New York Department of Financial Services, Filing Claims Under Your Own Policy

We found no California rule on whether an insurer can raise your rate for a crash you reported but didn't claim. We could not verify this against a primary source. Not verified

If the other driver was at fault

If the other driver caused the crash, you may also be owed your car's lost resale value after the repair. California diminished value rules cover who pays, the deadline and what happens if you were partly at fault.

What this means when you're deciding

File the SR-1 with the DMV within 10 days if anyone was hurt or anyone's property damage topped $1,000, even if police came and even if it wasn't your fault. Skipping it can cost you your license.
Your insurer says you were at fault? It must tell you in writing and why. You have 30 days to ask it to reconsider, and a different person has to decide.
Small crash, nobody hurt? If the total damage was $1,000 or less, it can't count as an at-fault accident on your driving-safety record. Above that, compare the repair bill with losing the Good Driver Discount for 3 years.
Don't count on forgiveness here. Several big insurers don't sell it in California; check the table above.
The other driver at fault? Claim against their insurer, and check whether your car lost resale value.

Your fault, or not sure? File a claim or pay the shop?

The collision calculator weighs what a claim pays after your deductible against what the accident adds to your premium, with your state's rules.

Run the collision calculator →

Not your fault? Check what your car lost in value.

The diminished value calculator runs the insurer's formula on your car and says whether a claim is worth your time.

Run the diminished value calculator →

Other states

Sources

Police report: Cal. Veh. Code § 20008(a). Source. Cal. Veh. Code § 20002(a)(2). Source. Cal. Veh. Code § 20001(a). Source. California Driver's Handbook, Section 10 (DMV). Source.
Report to the state: Cal. Veh. Code § 16000(a). Source. Cal. Veh. Code § 16004(a). Source. DMV SR-1 page. Source. California Driver's Handbook, Section 10 (DMV). Source.
Driving record: Cal. Veh. Code § 1808(b)(3). Source. California Driver's Handbook, Section 10 (DMV). Source. Cal. Veh. Code § 12810(g). Source.
How long an accident can affect rates: Cal. Ins. Code § 1861.025(b). Source. 10 CCR § 2632.5(c)(1)(A). Source.
Reported but not claimed: no California rule found. No CA statute or regulation found that specifically bars surcharges for an accident reported but with no claim paid, an inquiry, or a reimbursed/subrogated claim. Searched Ins. Code 488, 488.5, 491, 1861.025 and 10 CCR 2632.13 and a web search. The closest rules are fault-based: § 491 and 10 CCR 2632.13(b) (51% fault and over $1,000 property damage, already verified). Status unverified because absence was not exhaustively confirmed.
Forgiveness and surcharge rules: 10 CCR § 2632.13(e)(1)-(2). Source. 10 CCR § 2632.13(e)(2). Source.
Rate-increase limits: Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2632.13(b) (source); Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2632.13(b) (source); Cal. Code Regs. tit. 10, § 2632.13(c) (source); Cal. Ins. Code § 1861.025(b) (source); Cal. Ins. Code § 1861.02(b) (source); from our at-fault surcharge dataset.
Insurer figures: industry_typical, NerdWallet; forgiveness, carrier_guidance from each insurer's own site (linked in the table).

We read every cited source on October 19, 2026. We cite statutes, regulations and official state pages, not law-firm or comparison-site summaries. Anything we could not check against a primary source is marked "Not verified". Data: accident-state-rules.json.