How an at-fault collision impacts your car insurance rates

This article has been updated from a previous version.  

What’s the most important determinant of whether you’ll see a hike in your car insurance premium after a collision (and subsequent claim)? Fault. 

Typically, after an adjuster completes their investigation, if you're found to be 50% at fault or more for the collision, then the accident is considered "chargeable" and will result in higher premiums. 

That’s because in the eyes of your insurance company, you’re now riskier to insure. But how much can you expect your premium to rise for having an at-fault collision on your record? 

How an at-fault collision can raise your insurance rates 

In order to gain a better understanding of how fault impacts the price you pay for car insurance, we ran test quotes on our auto insurance quoter for a hypothetical 35-year-old male driver living in Toronto who’s financing a 2023 Honda Civic EX 4DR and has a clean driving record. (See the bottom of this post for a more detailed breakdown of parameters used.) 

We then introduced one at-fault collision to see what would happen to the lowest rate he was offered by the partners on our site.  

After we introduced one at-fault collision within the last four years, our hypothetical driver’s lowest rate increased by 47%. 

When we manipulated the test quote to include two at-fault collisions within the last four years, the rate shot up even more. Two at-fault collisions raised this driver’s lowest rate by a whopping 62%. 

If you have a longer string of at-fault collisions, you may be considered too high-risk to insure by some providers. In that case, your best option may be facility insurance, which is designed to protect the riskiest drivers on the road.  

Accident forgiveness coverage can shield you from rate increase for first at-fault collision 

There is one way to protect yourself against a rate increase after an at-fault collision: having accident forgiveness coverage. 

Depending on the insurance provider, this coverage may be purchased as an endorsement/add-on to your existing policy, or come included as part of your policy.  

Accident forgiveness coverage protects you from an increase in car insurance rates after your first at-fault collision.  

However, in the context of insurance, to forgive is not the same as to forget. Even though your rates don’t reflect the at-fault collision, your driving record will still show that you’ve had an at-fault collision.  

This means if you switch car insurance companies, you likely won’t be able to maintain low premiums. Accident forgiveness doesn’t follow you from insurance company to insurance company — and it’s only good for one at-fault collision. 

Important things to remember when it comes to fault and collisions 

Getting into a collision can be overwhelming. If you know you were at fault, either fully or partially, it’s crucial not to assume responsibility — either verbally or in writing — for the crash. 

Leave it to the authorities to complete an investigation and determine fault. And don’t try to settle the damages privately, either, as this can lead to a whole host of issues.  

Take down the other driver’s name, address, phone number, vehicle make and model, licence plate, licence number, insurance information, and submit any other evidence, such as photographs or videos. But let your insurance company make the determination.  

The good news is that an at-fault collision won’t follow you around forever. For every year that you are insured and don’t get into another at-fault collision, the initial incident will have less of an impact on the cost of your premium. Eventually, you should be able to get back to a more affordable car insurance rate.