No rate rise for an unpaid claim
Here is what each large insurer's rate typically does after one at-fault accident, and whether it offers accident forgiveness in Texas.
| Insurer | Typical rise after one at-fault accident industry_typical | How long industry_typical | Accident forgiveness in Texas 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 Texas. |
| USAA | 42% | 3 years | Some states; askUSAA says forgiveness is not available in every state and does not name them; confirm it for Texas. |
| Nationwide | 59% | 3 years | YesNationwide lists Accident Forgiveness as an optional coverage on its Texas 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 Texas rate filing; we have not read any insurer's Texas 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 Texas; carriers typically use 3 years. No Texas 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
Texas law does not limit how long an insurer can charge more for an at-fault crash. Insurers file their own rates and rating manuals with the Texas Department of Insurance. The only 3-year surcharge cap in the auto law is for DWI-type convictions.
Your rate is only one of three records. The others:
More on all three: how long an accident stays on your record.
Texas has no law that limits accident rate increases: no not-at-fault rule, no dollar floor, and no time limit. No Texas statute or rule bars surcharging a not-at-fault accident, sets a dollar threshold, or caps the years. Tex. Ins. Code § 1953.051(b) bars raising premiums solely for a claim that was not paid or payable, and 28 TAC § 5.7016 limits non-renewal (not surcharges) for not-at-fault claims.
Texas does not regulate accident forgiveness programs directly. Insurers must file their rates and rating manuals with the state. You can ask the insurance commissioner for a hearing on a filing that harms you, and insurers must give you a Consumer Bill of Rights.
How forgiveness works, and its catches: our accident forgiveness guide.
In Texas, you must call the police right away if anyone is hurt or killed, or if a car is too damaged to drive safely. Call city police inside a city, or the sheriff or nearest DPS office outside one.
Texas no longer requires drivers to file their own crash report with the state. The old driver report rule (the CR-2 'blue form') was repealed on September 1, 2017. Some cities can still require a local 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.
In Texas, an insurer's rating plan can't raise your auto premium just because you asked a question or filed a claim that was not paid or payable under your policy.
If the other driver caused the crash, you may also be owed your car's lost resale value after the repair. Texas 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.