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How long accidents and tickets affect your rates
Accidents and tickets run on three clocks: your state driving record, claims databases that keep up to seven years, and the insurer's look-back period.
Most at-fault accidents and minor tickets raise your premium for about three to five years, but three different clocks are running. Your state keeps violations on your driving record for a period set by law, claims databases such as LexisNexis C.L.U.E. Auto hold up to seven years of claims, and each insurer decides how far back it looks when it prices your policy. A DUI usually counts longer on all three.
Three records, three clocks
| Record | Who keeps it | What it holds | How long |
|---|---|---|---|
| Motor vehicle report (MVR) | Your state DMV | Convictions, suspensions, and in some states accidents | Set by state law; California discloses most items for three years and DUIs for 10 |
| Claims history report | Consumer reporting companies such as LexisNexis | Auto claims reported by insurers, at-fault or not | LexisNexis says C.L.U.E. Auto holds up to seven years |
| The insurer's rating plan | Each insurer, under rules filed with the state | Which incidents it surcharges, and for how long | Commonly three to five years for accidents and tickets; longer for major violations |
An item can be on one record and off another. A ticket might drop off your insurer's rating window while still appearing on your DMV record, or an accident might be visible in your claims history after the insurer has stopped surcharging it. The insurer's look-back period is the one that sets your price.
For what each report contains and how to get copies, see Your CLUE report and motor vehicle record explained.
State examples
California. Under Vehicle Code 1808, the DMV discloses accidents and most violations for three years, two-point violations for seven years, and DUI convictions for 10 years. California's good driver discount rules, in Insurance Code 1861.025, look back three years for violation points and at-fault injury accidents and 10 years for DUI.
North Carolina. The state's Safe Driver Incentive Plan uses an experience period of the three years before your application or renewal. For convictions carrying four or more insurance points on or after July 1, 2025 (other than speeding), both the experience period and the surcharge period are five years, according to the North Carolina Department of Insurance.
New York. DMV points count toward suspension for 24 months from the violation date, but the New York DMV notes the violation remains on your record afterward and may still be used by your insurer.
Other states set their own record-retention periods and rating rules; your DMV and insurance department publish them.
When the clock starts
The start date is not always obvious:
- Accidents are usually dated from the day of the crash.
- Tickets may be dated from the violation or from the conviction, which can be months later. New York counts points from the violation date; insurers use their own rules.
- Look-back periods are measured back from the date the insurer prices your policy, at application or renewal. North Carolina's plan, for instance, counts back from the date of application or the date the insurer prepares the renewal.
That last point explains a common surprise: an accident from three years and two months ago may still be surcharged if your renewal was priced a few months before the anniversary.
What counts against you
Not every entry raises your price. Insurers mainly surcharge:
- At-fault accidents, often only above a damage threshold. North Carolina, for example, applies no insurance points for a property-damage-only accident of $2,300 or less when there is no related moving violation and no other convictions or at-fault accidents in the household during the experience period.
- Moving violations, with larger and longer surcharges for major ones.
- Claims frequency, in some insurers' plans, which can include not-at-fault and comprehensive claims, though many states limit surcharges for accidents that were not your fault.
Your claims history can also affect eligibility, not just price: some insurers decline applicants with several recent claims even when each was small.
A timeline example
These dates and percentages are hypothetical. You cause a crash on March 10, 2025, and your insurer, which renews annually in June, surcharges at-fault accidents by 30% for three years.
| Renewal | Accident age at pricing | Surcharge applied? |
|---|---|---|
| June 2025 | 3 months | Yes |
| June 2026 | 15 months | Yes |
| June 2027 | 27 months | Yes |
| June 2028 | 39 months | No, outside the three-year window |
If you switched insurers in 2027, the new company would see the accident on your claims history and apply its own rules, which might be harsher or more lenient.
Getting your rate back down sooner
- Ask about accident forgiveness before you need it. Some insurers waive the surcharge on a first accident for long-time customers with clean records.
- Check your records for errors. A wrongly recorded at-fault determination or a claim that isn't yours can cost you for years; dispute it.
- Know your dates. Write down when each incident should age out of a typical three- and five-year window.
- Shop at each milestone. Not every insurer removes a surcharge or moves you to a better tier automatically; a fresh quote can show what a cleaner record is worth. The renewal rate increase checker helps judge whether a renewal price is in line.
- Keep the rest of your record clean. A new incident during the window can extend how long you pay more.
For how a single ticket works through this process, see how a speeding ticket affects your car insurance.
Key takeaways
- Three clocks run at once: the state driving record, the claims database and the insurer's look-back period.
- Most at-fault accidents and minor tickets affect rates for about three to five years; DUIs count longer, 10 years for disclosure in California.
- Claims history reports such as C.L.U.E. Auto can show up to seven years of claims.
- Look-back periods count from when your policy is priced, so an incident can affect one more renewal than you expect.
- Check your records for errors and shop again as each incident ages off.