In most states, Progressive automatically offers Small Accident Forgiveness for car insurance claims with a total of less than $500, with the option to upgrade to Large Accident Forgiveness later. Purchasing additional Progressive Accident Forgiveness as a coverage add-on allows you to have another qualifying accident forgiven in the same policy period.
QUICK LOOK
- Progressive Small Accident Forgiveness automatically applies to claims of $500 or less.
- Large Accident Forgiveness is available for larger claims, as long as you have had a clean driving record with Progressive for the last five years.
- Additional accident forgiveness can be purchased when you start or renew your policy.
Even the most careful drivers can have an occasional slip-up—but regardless, at-fault accidents can result in steep car insurance rate hikes after the fact. Yet some car insurance providers, including Progressive, offer accident forgiveness to help keep your car insurance rates in check.
Here’s a look at how Progressive’s accident forgiveness works as well as ways you can lower your Progressive car insurance costs, even after an accident.
Does Progressive offer accident forgiveness for auto insurance?
Yes, accident forgiveness is available through Progressive. Drivers in most states are automatically eligible for Small Accident Forgiveness automatically—we’ll go over what that entails below—and you also have the option to purchase accident forgiveness as an additional policy add-on.
What is accident forgiveness?
Accident forgiveness helps you avoid a post-accident surcharge to your car insurance rate that would apply to certain accidents, such as if you were found at fault and it resulted in property damage or injuries.
Convenient as it can be, however, not every state allows accident forgiveness, so where you live may affect whether or not you can take advantage of this benefit.
How Progressive’s accident forgiveness works
Accident forgiveness is available from Progressive in a couple of different forms:
- Small Accident Forgiveness (Loyalty Rewards program): This protects your rate from rising if you have a claim of $500 or less. As of November 2022, Small Accident Forgiveness can be included with your policy as soon as it starts in most states—for free!
- Large Accident Forgiveness (Loyalty Rewards program): This is available in most states after you’ve been a Progressive customer for five years. You’ll also need to have a clean driving record for that whole period of time—which means no accidents or violations up to that point. If you qualify, you also won’t be surcharged for an accident with a claim larger than $500.
- Progressive Accident Forgiveness: Available in some states, you can choose to add this protection when you start or renew your policy. According to Progressive, if you go this route, you can still utilize Small or Large Accident Forgiveness—which means you could be forgiven for more than one accident within a single policy period. Your Loyalty Rewards accident forgiveness will apply first, and if you need to use your upgraded accident forgiveness protection, you can use it on the next eligible claim.
To find out if accident forgiveness is available in your state and whether you qualify for this coverage, contact a Progressive agent.
How much do your car insurance rates go up after an accident with Progressive?
The average annual rate for a Progressive customer after an accident, according to U.S. News, is about $2,470. (For comparison, the average rate across providers is about $2,040.) So accident forgiveness can definitely prove to be a welcome coverage option if it can save you from a costly post-accident surcharge.
It also helps to remember these rate hikes don’t have to be permanent. Depending on your location and the circumstances of the accident, it’s possible you could see your rates cool off again after a few years.
On average, drivers see their rates rise about $670 after a first at-fault accident, according to U.S. News and WalletHub experts. For additional at-fault accidents, rate hikes can become even steeper.
Not every accident will result in a rate increase, particularly if you weren’t at fault, but it can still happen in certain states. The increase is significantly more substantial if you were at fault for the accident.
What other car insurance companies have accident forgiveness?
Many major car insurance providers offer accident forgiveness in some fashion, with State Farm being one rare exception to that rule.
Here’s a list of top insurance providers that offer accident forgiveness options:
- Allstate: Available as an add-on for customers who have been accident-free for three to five years
- Erie: Available to loyalty advantage customers of at least three years
- Farmers: Can apply to one at-fault accident every three years for customers with clean driving records
- GEICO: Available for free to customers who have had a policy for five years without any at-fault accidents, or as an optional coverage add-on for purchase
- Liberty Mutual: Available as an add-on for customers who have had no accidents or violations for five years
- Nationwide: Available for purchase, will waive surcharge after first accident or moving violation
- Travelers: Optional coverage upgrade that can apply to one accident or minor violation every three years
- USAA: Available as optional coverage if all household members have been at-fault-accident-free for five years
How much does accident forgiveness cost?
Like any form of car insurance coverage, the cost of accident forgiveness will vary from provider to provider.
With Progressive, Small Accident Forgiveness for most drivers is completely free—and the same goes for Large Accident Forgiveness for customers who qualify.
The cost of purchasing accident forgiveness as a policy upgrade will vary based on different factors, like your location and level of coverage, but on average, it usually falls between $15 and $60 per year for most insurance providers.
Is Progressive’s accident forgiveness worth it?
Considering Progressive offers Small and Large Accident Forgiveness to qualifying customers at no additional cost, it’s pretty easy to make the case that it’s worth it.
But what about purchasing accident forgiveness coverage for your policy?
That might depend on your budget and your comfort level on the road. Accident forgiveness may be especially worth considering if your local area has particularly high accident rates.
You can also request a quote from Progressive and/or a few other providers to decide whether the additional cost of accident forgiveness coverage is appealing to you.
What to do if your Progressive rate goes up
If your Progressive rate does rise after an accident because you weren’t eligible for accident forgiveness, there are other ways you can trim down the cost of your premium.
Coverage limits
If your car insurance rate hike is putting too much strain on your budget, it might be a good time to reassess your coverage levels. At the very least, you’ll need to meet your state’s minimum car insurance requirements, and you don’t want to put yourself in a financially vulnerable situation by being underinsured in the wrong area.
That said, you can decide whether it’s worth it for you to drop full coverage, adjust limits on existing coverages, or forgo extra options like roadside assistance or rental reimbursement.
Good driver discounts
Progressive offers a range of driver-based discounts that could help you reduce your rate.
One of them is the Snapshot program, which is a telematics program that tracks your driving habits and can adjust your rate accordingly, which could pay off if you’re already a driver with good habits.
But it’s not just about your driving habits—discounts can also extend to other elements of your driver profile. For example, Progressive customers save an average of nearly 10% on their car insurance policies simply for being homeowners—even if they don’t actually insure their homes through Progressive.
Loyalty discounts
According to Progressive, 99% of its customers qualify for at least some type of car insurance discount, so there are plenty of other ways to save on your policy if good driver discount options won’t help you out much.
Bundling policies is one easy way to save if you pay for more than one type of insurance product or policy. Progressive offers both multi-policy discounts and multi-car discounts, which save drivers an average of 5% and 4% on their policies, respectively.
Learn more: Does a no-fault accident go on your record?
The bottom line
Most Progressive customers can enjoy some form of accident forgiveness as a default with their policy, but purchasing accident forgiveness coverage as an optional add-on to your policy can give you extra protection from a steep rate increase after an additional accident.
FAQ
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Will Progressive drop me after two accidents?
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Does Progressive have a deductible?
Melanie Mergen is an insurance writer with more than 8 years of writing, research, and editing experience. She’s covered topics like car insurance, home insurance, finance, and car ownership for Jerry. Her mission in doing so is to help people secure and protect their most important assets while making the best possible use of their finances.
Prior to joining forces with Jerry, Melanie worked as a freelance content writer and editor, a teaching artist, and journalist. She received her Creative Writing MFA from Columbia University.
Kathleen Flear is an expert insurance writer and editor who previously lead up Jerry’s editorial team as director of content. Kathleen empowers drivers to make smart car ownership decisions through best-in-class articles on insurance, loans, and maintenance. Prior to joining Jerry in 2021, Kathleen served as managing editor for a team of SEO content marketing professionals at Article-Writing.co and worked as a freelance writer and editor for a range of digital publications, including Chicago Literati magazine and Golden Words. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from Queen’s University, and a master’s degree in creative writing and fiction from Sierra Nevada University.
