While three years is the typical timeframe, it depends on the particular insurance company and the state you live in. Some states and insurers will look back as far as five years. If an offense drops off your record, an insurer can use that to bump up your rates. A lot of states use a points system. It works like so: you'll receive a score based on how severe an incident is. There are different points depending on the claims, accidents, and claims. But unlike many video games, where the more points you receive, the better, the more severe the offense, the greater the number of points.