New York 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 New York.

Insurer	Typical rise after one at-fault accident industry_typical	How long industry_typical	Accident forgiveness in New York 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 New York.
USAA	42%	3 years	Some states; askUSAA says forgiveness is not available in every state and does not name them; confirm it for New York.
Nationwide	59%	3 years	Some states; askNationwide says forgiveness is not available in every state and does not name them; confirm it for New York.
Farmers	50%	3 years	Not offered hereFarmers Accident Forgiveness is not available in New York.
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 New York rate filing; we have not read any insurer's New York 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 New York

No statutory limit in New York; carriers typically use 3 years. No New York 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

“An at-fault accident can increase your auto insurance rates for at least three years, depending on your state and insurer.” — NerdWallet

New York law does not set a fixed number of years an accident can raise your rate. Each insurer's merit rating plan sets its own 'experience period' and surcharge length, which must be filed with and approved by the state and explained to you. The state says this is generally about 3 years.

“the surcharge level associated with this classification, the duration of the surcharge, the circumstances under which surcharges will be removed” — 11 NYCRR § 169.1(l)

“a surcharge may apply if you have two or more accidents or minor convictions within a certain period of time (generally within approximately 3 years)” — NY DFS consumer FAQ

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

Your New York driving record. Crashes show on the standard New York driving record until the end of the year they happened, plus 3 more years. Every driver in the crash gets it on their record, and it does not mean you were at fault.
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.

“Accidents and most traffic convictions are only displayed until the end of the year in which the accident or conviction occurred, plus 3 additional years.” — NY DMV, Get My Own Driving Record (Abstract)

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

Does New York limit accident rate increases?

New York law limits when, and how much, an accident can raise your rate:

$2,000 property-damage threshold.
“has had an accident that does not result in aggregate damage to property in excess of two thousand dollars” — N.Y. Ins. Law § 2335(a); L.2026, ch. 150
Merit-rating version of the $2,000 threshold.
“An accident that does not result in aggregate damage to property in excess of $2,000 shall not result in the assignment of points or any surcharge” — 11 NYCRR § 169.1(a)
Listed no-surcharge circumstances.
“No points or surcharge may be imposed for an accident occurring under the following circumstances: (i) when the motor vehicle was lawfully parked” — 11 NYCRR § 169.1(d)(1)
Surcharge cap.
“the maximum surcharge that can be added to an insured's premium as a result of merit rating is two times the otherwise applicable premium” — 11 NYCRR § 169.1(e)
Extends Ins. Law § 2335 to June 30, 2029.
“This act shall take effect immediately” — L.2026, ch. 150 (S10582)

No surcharge where at least one third of the property damage was recovered by reimbursement or judgment. Ins. Law § 2335 was set to expire July 1, 2026; L.2026, ch. 150 (S10582/A11367, signed June 26, 2026, effective immediately) extended it to June 30, 2029. nysenate.gov's law page still shows the old expiry.

Does New York regulate accident forgiveness?

If your premium includes an accident surcharge, your insurer must tell you clearly, show the dollar amount, and list the date of each chargeable accident. It must also refund surcharges applied by mistake or for accidents that fall under an exception. Losing an 'accident-free' discount counts as a rate increase under the $2,000 rule.

“the insurer shall state prominently, either on the premium bill, on a notice accompanying the premium bill, or on the declarations page, the total dollar amount of such surcharge.” — 11 NYCRR § 169.1(j)-(k)

“the date on which each chargeable accident occurred” — 11 NYCRR § 169.1(k)

“but also to the loss, or a reduction in the amount, of “accident free” or “careful driver” discounts” — NY DFS Insurance Circular Letter No. 15 (2010)

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

When you must report a crash in New York

To the police

If anyone is hurt or killed, you must give your information to a police officer, or if none is there, report to the nearest police station as soon as you physically can. If you damage a parked car or property and the owner isn't there, you must report it to the police.

“then, he or she shall report said incident as soon as physically able to the nearest police station or judicial officer” — N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 600(2)(a)

To the state

You must send a written crash report (form MV-104) to the DMV within 10 days if anyone was hurt or killed, or if any one person's property damage was over $1,000. If you don't, the DMV can suspend your license until you file.

“any one person, including himself, in excess of one thousand dollars is sustained, shall within ten days after such accident, report the matter in writing to the commissioner” — N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 605(a)(1)

“shall be a misdemeanor and shall constitute a ground for suspension or revocation of the operator's (or chauffeur's) license” — N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 605(a)(2)

“If you do not file a crash report, DMV may suspend your driving privilege until the report is on file.” — NY DMV, File a Motorist Crash (Accident) Report

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

You can't be surcharged for a crash if you or your insurer got back at least one-third of your property damage claim from the other side. If your insurer set aside money for a claim but no claim was filed within 3 years, it must refund the surcharge. And a single crash with $2,000 or less in property damage and no injury can't raise your rate.

“may not be surcharged for an incident for which that insured or the insurer has received reimbursement or a judgment, equal to one third or more” — 11 NYCRR § 169.1(g)

“the insurer has established a reserve, but no claim was submitted for a period of three years after the date of the incident” — 11 NYCRR § 169.1(h)(1)(iv)

“has had an accident that does not result in aggregate damage to property in excess of two thousand dollars” — N.Y. Ins. Law § 2335(a)

“The total dollar amount paid as the result of a claim does not affect the surcharge.” — NY DFS consumer FAQ

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. We haven't verified New York's diminished value rules yet; see the states we have checked.

What this means when you're deciding

File the MV-104 with the DMV within 10 days if anyone was hurt or any one person's property damage topped $1,000. It's a DMV duty, separate from your insurer, and skipping it can suspend your license.
$2,000 or less in damage and nobody hurt? Your insurer can't surcharge you for it, unless it's a second property-damage accident in the plan's period. A small claim costs you less here than in most states.
Check your bill. If your premium includes an accident surcharge, the insurer must show the dollar amount and the date of each accident it charged you for. Ask for a refund if an exception applies, like being lawfully parked or rear-ended.
Got money back from the other driver? If you or your insurer recovered at least a third of the property damage from them, you can't be surcharged for that accident.
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: N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 600(2)(a). Source. N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 600(1)(a). Source. NY DMV, File a Motorist Crash (Accident) Report. Source.
Report to the state: N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 605(a)(1). Source. N.Y. Veh. & Traf. Law § 605(a)(2). Source. NY DMV, File a Motorist Crash (Accident) Report. Source.
Driving record: NY DMV, Get My Own Driving Record (Abstract). Source. NY DMV, Get My Own Driving Record (Abstract). Source.
How long an accident can affect rates: no New York statute or rule found (we checked 11 NYCRR § 169.1(a), (l)); the 3-year figure is industry_typical, from NerdWallet.
Reported but not claimed: 11 NYCRR § 169.1(g). Source. 11 NYCRR § 169.1(h)(1)(iv). Source. N.Y. Ins. Law § 2335(a). Source. NY DFS consumer FAQ. Source.
Forgiveness and surcharge rules: 11 NYCRR § 169.1(j)-(k). Source. 11 NYCRR § 169.1(k). Source. NY DFS Insurance Circular Letter No. 15 (2010). Source.
Rate-increase limits: N.Y. Ins. Law § 2335(a); L.2026, ch. 150 (source); 11 NYCRR § 169.1(a) (source); 11 NYCRR § 169.1(d)(1) (source); 11 NYCRR § 169.1(e) (source); L.2026, ch. 150 (S10582) (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.

New York car accident insurance laws