No state limits on surcharges
Here is what each large insurer's rate typically does after one at-fault accident, and whether it offers accident forgiveness in Illinois.
| Insurer | Typical rise after one at-fault accident industry_typical | How long industry_typical | Accident forgiveness in Illinois 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 Illinois. |
| USAA | 42% | 3 years | Some states; askUSAA says forgiveness is not available in every state and does not name them; confirm it for Illinois. |
| Nationwide | 59% | 3 years | YesNationwide lists Accident Forgiveness as an optional coverage on its Illinois page. |
| 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 Illinois rate filing; we have not read any insurer's Illinois 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.
No statutory limit in Illinois; carriers typically use 3 years. No Illinois statute or insurance rule we found caps how long an at-fault accident can raise your rate. Industry sources say a rate increase lasts at least three years, and some insurers look back five. industry_typical
Illinois has no law limiting how long an insurer can use an at-fault accident to raise your rate. Insurers set their own surcharge rules and file them with the Department of Insurance.
Your rate is only one of three records. The others:
More on all three: how long an accident stays on your record.
Illinois has no law that limits accident rate increases: no not-at-fault rule, no dollar floor, and no time limit. No Illinois statute or rule limits accident surcharges. IDOI's Private Passenger Auto Review Requirements Checklist (Feb. 2025) lists four surcharge rules, none about accidents.
Illinois has no accident-forgiveness rule. Starting with renewal notices sent on or after July 1, 2027, insurers must warn you at least 30 days before renewal if your auto premium is going up more than 10%. Today, if an insurer drops you, it must give you the specific reasons, and you can appeal to the Director of Insurance.
How forgiveness works, and its catches: our accident forgiveness guide.
If no officer is at the scene, call police by the fastest way you can when a crash hurts or kills someone, or causes more than $1,500 in property damage. The limit is $500 if any vehicle in the crash had no insurance.
Illinois drivers no longer have to file their own crash report with the state. The old law requiring a driver report (the SR-1/SR1B Motorist Report to IDOT) was repealed in 2021. Police still file the official crash report.
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.
We found no Illinois 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 caused the crash, you may also be owed your car's lost resale value after the repair. Illinois diminished value rules cover who pays, the deadline and what happens if you were partly at fault.
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 →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.