Florida car accident insurance laws: rates, forgiveness and reporting

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 Florida.

Insurer	Typical rise after one at-fault accident industry_typical	How long industry_typical	Accident forgiveness in Florida 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	YesFree Small Accident Forgiveness (first claim of about $500 or less) and free Large Accident Forgiveness (5+ years as a customer, accident- and violation-free) through Loyalty Rewards; a paid add-on forgives one accident per policy period. Paid add-on not available in all states.
GEICO	74%	3 years	YesGEICO Claim Forgiveness waives the surcharge for the first qualifying at-fault loss, per policy (not per driver). Earned free after 5 years accident-free (may not apply under 21), or purchased.
Allstate	56%	3 years	Some states; askAllstate says forgiveness is not available in every state and does not name them; confirm it for Florida.
USAA	42%	3 years	Some states; askUSAA says forgiveness is not available in every state and does not name them; confirm it for Florida.
Nationwide	59%	3 years	Some states; askNationwide says forgiveness is not available in every state and does not name them; confirm it for Florida.
Farmers	50%	3 years	YesOptional paid Accident Forgiveness on Farmers Flex Personal and Smart Plan Automobile policies forgives one at-fault accident every 3 years; Flex customers are offered it free after 36 continuous months.
Liberty Mutual	49%National average; Liberty Mutual isn't in the source table.	3 years	YesOptional Accident Forgiveness: your price won't go up because of your first accident. Requires 5 years accident- and violation-free (5 consecutive clean years for drivers 25 and under); new customers only per the footnote. Cost not stated.
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 Florida rate filing; we have not read any insurer's Florida 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 Florida

Florida insurers may only look at accidents from the last 36 months when charging you more. Any accident surcharge cannot last more than 36 months.

“may not remain in effect in excess of 36 months.” — Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-175.008

“except for the 36 months immediately preceding the effective date of the new or renewal policy as a basis for imposing or requesting an additional premium” — Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-175.008

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

Your Florida driving record. A crash shows on your Florida driving record only if you got a ticket because of it. It then stays as long as that ticket does. Most tickets stay 3 to 5 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.

“Crash entries, when a traffic citation was issued as a direct result of the crash. The crash entry has the same retention as an associated guilty disposition.” — FLHSMV, Questions About Driving Records

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

Does Florida limit accident rate increases?

Florida law limits accident surcharges:

Substantially-at-fault requirement.
“unless the insurer's file contains information from which the insurer in good faith determines that the insured was substantially at fault in the accident.” — Fla. Stat. § 626.9541(1)(o)3.
36-month cap on accident surcharges.
“may not remain in effect in excess of 36 months” — Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-175.008
Discount removal counts as a surcharge.
“such prohibition shall apply equally to insurers removing or eliminating a premium discount or credit because the insured was involved in a motor vehicle accident” — Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-175.002

Only accidents in the 36 months before the policy's effective date may be used, and an accident surcharge may not last more than 36 months. Removing a discount because of an accident counts as a surcharge. The insurer must give the complete proof of fault on request.

Does Florida regulate accident forgiveness?

Florida has no accident-forgiveness law. But when an insurer adds an accident surcharge, it must tell you that you can get the money back if you prove you were not at fault (for example, you were parked or rear-ended). Taking away a discount because of an accident counts as a surcharge.

“shall, in conjunction with the notice of premium due or notice of nonrenewal, notify the named insured that he or she is entitled to reimbursement” — Fla. Stat. § 626.9541(1)(o)3.b.

“such prohibition shall apply equally to insurers removing or eliminating a premium discount or credit because the insured was involved in a motor vehicle accident” — Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-175.002

“A copy of rates, rating schedules, and rating manuals, and changes therein, shall be filed with the office under one of the following procedures:” — Fla. Stat. § 627.0651(1)

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

When you must report a crash in Florida

To the police

If a crash hurts or kills anyone, or causes at least $2,000 in apparent damage, the driver must call the police right away. Inside a city, call the city police. Outside a city, call the sheriff or the Florida Highway Patrol.

“damage to any vehicle or other property in an apparent amount of at least $2,000 shall immediately by the quickest means of communication give notice of the crash” — Fla. Stat. § 316.065(1)

To the state

If police do not write a report on your crash and a vehicle or property was damaged, you must send your own written crash report to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles within 10 days. Skipping it is a traffic ticket, not a license suspension.

“shall, within 10 days after the crash, submit a written report of the crash to the department. The report shall be submitted on a form approved by the department.” — Fla. Stat. § 316.066(1)(e), (3)(a)

“Any driver failing to file the written report required under subsection (1) commits a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a nonmoving violation as provided in chapter 318.” — Fla. Stat. § 316.066(3)(a)

“drivers involved in a crash which does not warrant a law enforcement report are required to submit a written report to the department within 10 days of the crash.” — FLHSMV memo, Driver Self Report of Traffic Crash Form (Oct. 10, 2013)

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

Florida does not have a rule that simply says 'no surcharge if no claim was paid.' But if you were surcharged and you were paid back by the person who caused the crash (or won a judgment against them), the insurer must refund the surcharge.

“Reimbursed by, or on behalf of, a person responsible for the accident or has a judgment against such person;” — Fla. Stat. § 626.9541(1)(o)3.b.(II)

“unless the insurer’s file contains information from which the insurer in good faith determines that the insured was substantially at fault in the accident.” — Fla. Stat. § 626.9541(1)(o)3.a.

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. Florida diminished value rules cover who pays, the deadline and what happens if you were partly at fault.

What this means when you're deciding

Call the police if anyone is hurt or the damage looks like $2,000 or more. That line rose from $500 on October 1, 2026. If police don't write a report, send your own to the FLHSMV within 10 days.
Watch the 36-month clock. An accident surcharge can't last longer than 36 months. If you're still being charged after that, ask your insurer to remove it.
Not your fault? Florida lists cases where your insurer must refund a surcharge once you show proof: you were lawfully parked, rear-ended with no ticket, hit by a hit-and-run driver you reported within 24 hours, or paid back by the driver who caused it.
One at-fault accident can't cost you your policy. Florida bars an insurer from refusing to renew over a single at-fault accident in the current 3-year period (Fla. Stat. § 626.9541(1)(o)3.c.).
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: Fla. Stat. § 316.065(1). Source. Ch. 2026-39, § 7, Laws of Fla. (effective Oct. 1, 2026). Source.
Report to the state: Fla. Stat. § 316.066(1)(e), (3)(a). Source. Fla. Stat. § 316.066(3)(a). Source. FLHSMV memo, Driver Self Report of Traffic Crash Form (Oct. 10, 2013). Source.
Driving record: FLHSMV, Questions About Driving Records. Source. FLHSMV, Driver Record (abstract) information page. Source.
How long an accident can affect rates: Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-175.008. Source. Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-175.008. Source.
Reported but not claimed: Fla. Stat. § 626.9541(1)(o)3.b.(II). Source. Fla. Stat. § 626.9541(1)(o)3.a.. Source.
Forgiveness and surcharge rules: Fla. Stat. § 626.9541(1)(o)3.b.. Source. Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-175.002. Source. Fla. Stat. § 627.0651(1). Source.
Rate-increase limits: Fla. Stat. § 626.9541(1)(o)3. (source); Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-175.008 (source); Fla. Admin. Code R. 69O-175.002 (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.

Florida car accident insurance laws