There are many add-ons to provide broader and additional coverage to your auto insurance policy, and many people have heard of accident forgiveness, but don’t really know how it would benefit them.

In Massachusetts, if you are found to be at-fault in an accident involving property damage or bodily injury, you receive points on your license which are applied as surcharges on your auto insurance policy. In Massachusetts, these points stay on your license for a length of 6 years, and on average cost about $100 per point, per year. Depending on the amount of money the insurance company pays out, an accident is either 3 or 4 points.

Most auto insurance companies offer Accident Forgiveness which can either be purchased or earned over time depending on the company. If you have accident forgiveness on your auto insurance policy and are found at-fault in an accident, the insurance company would waive the surcharge for that accident. In some cases that surcharge could lead to hundreds of dollars in additional premium that you have to pay each year for your auto insurance.

If you have accident forgiveness and cause an accident, your license still gets the points added on, but your current insurance carrier does not surcharge you for that accident. However, since the points are still on your license, if you went to get a quote from another company you would be surcharged for that accident. This gives you an incentive to stay with the company that is not charging you for that accident.

Each auto insurance company has different rules regarding the accident forgiveness, so it’s important to ask your agent about the specifics. Some companies will forgive one accident per policy in a three-year timeframe, some will forgive one every six years, and some will do one per operator every 3 years, so it’s important that you know what you have.

On average, the cost to add accident forgiveness to your auto insurance policy is about $40 per year, per vehicle, which is well worth the cost. Without accident forgiveness, you could end up paying thousands of dollars more in insurance premium if you’re found at-fault in an accident.

If you would like to know more, or to see if you’re eligible for accident forgiveness, contact your agent today!

For more information about MA Surcharges for Accidents & Violations check out our Blog on the MA SDIP points system. https://www.borawskiinsurance.com/ma-sdip-points-effect-ma-auto-insurance/