Given a passage and a query based on the passage, generate an unambiguous, concise and simple answer to the query from information in the passage. Note that the answer may not be present in exact form.
Q: How Long Do Accidents Affect Insurance Rates? Reader Question: How Long Do Accidents and Tickets Affect What I Pay for Insurance? Sometimes I Hear Three Years, Other Times I Hear Seven Years. Which Is It? There's a lot of misinformation about how long certain tickets or violations affect your insurance premiums and honestly, there's no exact answer to that. That's because this actually varies greatly from insurer to insurer and state to state, so always ask your insurer how long they'll factor in tickets or violations. However, here are some general guidelines about how long these can affect your premiums regardless of insurer or where you live. The short answer is that the accident or ticket will stay on your record for three years, but the exact punishments you receive for your traffic violation depend on several factors, including: Your insurance company. How long you have been with your provider. Where you live. How old you are. Chargeable Accidents. If you are in an accident that is your fault, most insurance companies will surcharge your policy 25 percent or more for at least three years following the accident. Some carriers do have an accident forgiveness period for the first accident, but again, this is at the discretion of the insurance carrier. The rates vary from state to state, but if you have an accident that is your fault or even one for which the insurance company can take no recourse, such as a collision with a large animal, it will affect the premium you pay for auto insurance. One major ticket can cause a significant increase in your insurance premium, usually for the next two to five years. Major offenses can easily increase your insurance by 10-50% for the first ticket, and subsequent tickets will result in more significant increases. How Long Does an Accident Stay on Your Record? Posted on Nov 10, 2015 If you have just been in a car accident or ticketed for a traffic violation, you may have heard conflicting information regarding how long the accident or ticket will stay on your record and how it will affect your insurance premium. Let's break down what types of accidents and traffic violations do and don't affect your insurance premiums and for how long. First Minor Accident or Ticket Just because you get in a car accident or receive a ticket doesn't automatically mean your record is tainted. Let's break down what types of accidents and traffic violations do and don't affect your insurance premiums and for how long. First Minor Accident or Ticket. Just because you get in a car accident or receive a ticket doesn't automatically mean your record is tainted. When you have an accident it will stay on your insurance record for several years. If the accident was your fault the insurance company may surcharge your policy during that time, thus increasing your rates by 25 percent or more. The short answer is that the accident or ticket will stay on your record for three years, but the exact punishments you receive for your traffic violation depend on several factors, including: 1 Your insurance company. 2 How long you have been with your provider. 3 Where you live. 4 How old you are. 5 The severity of the accident or violation. Query: how long accident impact insurance
A:
Accident or ticket will stay on your record for three years.