Not gonna lie, I’m still on the fence about accident forgiveness. I get the “one oops and you’re toast” argument, but when I ran the numbers, the extra cost for forgiveness was almost as much as my gym membership (which, let’s be real, I barely use). I mean, if you’re a magnet for fender benders or have a history of “creative” parking, maybe it’s a no-brainer. But for someone like me—first car, mostly short commutes, and a healthy fear of parallel parking—it feels like paying for a pizza I might never eat.
I also checked with my agent and apparently, some companies in Ohio only offer forgiveness after you’ve been with them for a few years anyway. So you’re paying for something you can’t even use right away? That seems a little backwards. Maybe I’ll just keep my fingers crossed and invest in a good ice scraper instead...
Honestly, I’ve had my car for over a decade and never bothered with accident forgiveness. I always figured, why pay extra for something I might never use? The only time I regretted it was after a minor rear-end in a parking lot, but even then, the rate hike wasn’t as bad as I’d feared. Have you checked how much your premium would actually go up if you did have a small accident? Sometimes the numbers aren’t as scary as they sound.
I get where you’re coming from. I used to think accident forgiveness was just another way for insurance companies to squeeze a bit more out of us. But after my wife tapped a mailbox last winter (icy driveway, not her fault, but still an at-fault claim), our premium only went up about $120 for the year. I did the math, and the accident forgiveness add-on would’ve cost us more than that over the same period.
Honestly, unless you’ve got a history of fender benders or a teen driver in the house, it seems like the extra cost isn’t really justified—at least in Ohio. Our agent even said minor claims here don’t always lead to massive hikes unless you’ve got a pattern. I’d rather put that money toward maintenance or a rainy day fund. Just my two cents...
I’ve wondered about this too, especially after my cousin’s little mishap last fall. He rear-ended someone at a stoplight—barely a dent, but it was technically his fault. His insurance bumped him up about $90 for the year. He’d been paying for accident forgiveness for three years, thinking it’d save him from a huge hike, but in the end, he paid more for the “protection” than the increase would’ve cost.
In my experience, unless you’re prone to bad luck or have a new driver who’s still learning the ropes, it doesn’t seem like a great deal around here. Maybe if you’re driving in a big city with higher claim rates, it’s different? I’m just not convinced it’s worth shelling out extra every month when most minor stuff barely moves the needle on your premium. I’d rather keep that cash and use it for gas on my next road trip... or maybe for fixing whatever weird noise my car’s making now.
I hear you on this—I've run the numbers myself a few times, especially since I keep a couple of older cars on the road. Accident forgiveness always sounds good in theory, but in practice, it rarely seems to pay off unless you’re unlucky or have a history of fender benders. Around here, premiums don’t spike much for minor stuff either. I’d rather put that extra cash toward maintenance or, honestly, just stash it for emergencies. Maybe if you’re driving something rare or super valuable it’s worth considering, but for most folks in Ohio? Not really seeing the value.
