Free tool · Massachusetts At-Fault Surcharge Appeals
What will your surcharge cost you?
An at-fault accident or violation in Massachusetts adds points under the Safe Driver Insurance Plan, and those points can raise your premium for about six years. Enter your situation below for a quick estimate — then see how to appeal.
A rough number is fine — you can use last year's total.
Pick what happened and enter your annual premium to see an estimate of what an at-fault surcharge could cost you.
How this estimate works
Massachusetts assigns surcharge points under the Safe Driver Insurance Plan (211 CMR 134.00): a minor at-fault accident (claim $1,000–$5,000) is 3 points, a major at-fault accident (over $5,000) is 4 points, a minor traffic violation is 2 points, and a major violation is 5 points. Points generally follow a driver for about six years.
There is no single official figure for how much a point costs. The calculator uses an industry rule of thumb of roughly 15% per point — but this is only an estimate. Per mass.gov, the real impact depends on your insurer's merit rating plan, and insurers are not even required to use the SDIP, so your actual increase may be lower.
The important part: an at-fault finding is a rebuttable presumption. You have 30 days from your surcharge notice to appeal to the Division of Insurance Board of Appeal. If the Board agrees you were not more than 50% at fault, the surcharge comes off. Start a free intake →