How long an accident will stay on your record depends on state law and your insurance company. After a Florida car accident, a crash you caused could affect your insurance for several years. Your rates might increase, but for how long?
The best way to avoid having an accident affect your insurance is to work with a Boca Raton car accident lawyer who will build a solid case to show you did not cause the collision. However, sometimes you are at fault, and even a minor collision could change your insurance rates if the other party files a claim against you.
How Does a Collision Affect How Insurers Manage Your Rates?
Most states have enacted fault-based car accident laws. They hold the at-fault driver liable for any injuries or harm that occurs. Their insurance company pays for the damages its policyholder caused, and it will likely raise that policyholder’s premiums as a result.
How Do Florida’s No-Fault Laws Affect this Process?
Florida is a no-fault state for car insurance. If you suffer injuries in a crash, your Personal Injury Protection (PIP) policy pays for your medical bills and lost wages, no matter who caused the accident. However, your insurance company could assess liability, and its determination could affect your premiums.
If your insurer finds you at fault for the crash (or even partially at fault), it can stay on your driving and insurance record for several years. Additionally, your insurer could raise your rates.
Many Insurance Carriers Look Back Three to Five Years—or Longer
A car accident typically stays on your insurance record for three to five years, depending on the circumstances, such as:
- Your insurance company’s policy
- Whether you caused the accident
- The severity of the accident
- Whether there were injuries or citations involved
Some insurers review driving histories going back five years when calculating premiums. Others look at only the past three years. The effects can last longer when a driver has caused serious accidents or repeated offenses.
In some cases, changing insurance carriers could reduce your rates—especially if your insurer did not reduce your rates within five years of an at-fault collision. Some insurance companies will increase your rate and never reduce it once they determine your risk of causing another crash has decreased.
How Long Will the Accident Stay on My Driving Record?
How long an accident or traffic citation remains on your driving record could significantly affect your insurance rates. Insurance carriers often rely on these records as a critical part of determining your price.
For example, traffic violations and accidents can stay on your driving record with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) for:
- 3-5 years for most violations
- Up to 75 years for repeated DUIs and other serious offenses
- Permanently for some major infractions that bring felony convictions
Your insurance company will check your driving record when you purchase or renew a policy. Thus, how long an accident remains on your driving record could affect your premiums.
How Other States Handle Specific Infractions
These timelines can vary in other states. Some states, such as Massachusetts, have a lifetime lookback period for drunk driving, meaning it remains on your record forever. Thus, you could face decades of increased car insurance premiums or struggle to purchase coverage from many mainstream, traditional insurance companies.
What if I was Not at Fault in the Accident? Will it Go on My Record?
In theory, if you were not at fault for the accident, your insurance rates should not increase. However, some insurance companies still raise premiums after a not-at-fault collision.
Why would your rates increase when you weren’t at fault? Insurance companies use complex computer calculations to determine the risk they are taking by insuring you They will charge you more if you are at high risk for an accident. Some factors this calculation could consider include:
- The number of past claims against your policy
- Who was at fault in the accident
- The severity of the damages
- Whether there were injuries
- How long ago the accident occurred
Each company has its formula, but many consider more recent accidents to carry more weight and older accidents to be less telling of your risk. As time passes and you do not have any additional accidents, the effect on your insurance rates should decrease.
However, this decrease doesn’t always occur. Sometimes, insurance companies do not adjust their rates as time passes, or they continue to consider you an elevated risk because of driving incidents from years before that remain on your driving record.
How to Protect Yourself and Your Finances After a Car Accident
If you are in a crash, you can take steps to protect both your legal rights and insurance record. They include:
- Call the police immediately to get an accident report
- Document the scene with photos and videos
- Exchange insurance and contact info with the other driver
- Seek medical treatment within 14 days (Florida Statutes § 627.736) if you are in Florida
- Notify your insurer promptly, but do not admit fault
- Speak to a personal injury lawyer if you have severe injuries
Knowing the steps to take after a collision can help you prove you were not at fault, allowing you to hold the at-fault driver responsible for their negligence. However, Florida and Massachusetts law require you to establish you suffered serious injuries to file a car accident lawsuit and recover compensation for losses that exceed your PIP policy limits.
Talk to Our Car Accident Team for Free Today
GED Lawyers provides free consultations for victims hurt in traffic accidents in Florida or Massachusetts. As you can see from our case results, we have recovered over $26 million in verdicts and judgments for our clients. We can help you understand your rights, show you were not to blame for your crash, and explain how long the collision might stay on your driving record. Contact us today to learn more.
