How do Traffic Tickets Impact Insurance Rates?

How Does a Traffic Ticket Cause Car Insurance to go up?

Most car insurance policies are for six-month periods. Every time the policy gets renewed, the insurance company checks the driving record of all those insured under the policy. If any of the driving records of the individuals on the policy show a traffic violation, this indicates to the insurance company that the driver is not a safe driver. An unsafe driver means increased exposure to an accident and hence increased exposure to a large payout. If there is increased exposure to liability, the insurance company will raise the premiums to balance out their exposure to liability. This is the long-winded explanation as to why insurance rates go up with traffic tickets.

How Much Will my insurance go up?

Is it almost impossible to get specific information on how much your insurance will increase with a traffic ticket on your record. This is not public information, and it is specific to each person’s unique policy. It is unlikely that your insurance company will tell you if your rates will go up with a traffic ticket, how much they will increase, and for how long.

According to our empirical evidence, a serious speeding ticket will result in higher rates of hundreds of dollars every six months. In general, when insurance companies raise their rates due to a traffic ticket, the increased rates will run for three to four years after the conviction. This means that one speeding ticket will result in thousands of dollars in increased payments to your insurance company.

Car Insurance Can Go Up From Violations That Do Not Have Points.

If you plead guilty or are found guilty of a moving violation, it usually means you will get points on your license. A common belief is that your insurance rates will go up if the violation has points and will not go up if the violation does not have points. This is not true. There are many violations that do not have points, but will go on your driving record, and likely cause increased insurance rates. Some examples include, driving without a seat belt, driving without a license, no inspection, no registration, suspended registration, no insurance, and facilitating an AUO3.

How to Avoid Increased Car Insurance Rates.

The most basic way of avoiding increased insurance rates is to ensure that the traffic violation does not appear on the driving record. There are various ways of achieving this. Sometimes it is easy to avoid a conviction and sometimes it is difficult. It mostly depends on the jurisdiction of the violation and the type of violation. A good traffic ticket attorney has the skills to ensure that you do not get anything on your driving record. If you already pled guilty and changed your mind, there may be an opportunity to go back to court and vacate the guilty plea. If that works, you can go back to your insurance company and get refunded the higher payments.

A knowledgeable traffic lawyer can help in another way. Not all violations that appear on your driving record will automatically cause insurance increases. There are some violations that appear on your driving record and do not have points that are worse, for insurance purposes, than violations with points. Experienced traffic lawyers utilize this intricate knowledge and aim for a specific disposition that ensures their clients avoid the increased insurance premiums.

Benjamin Goldman Law Office

The Benjamin Goldman Law Office is a traffic ticket defense firm. We opened in 2011 and since then our main practice area has been Vehicle & Traffic Law. We have amassed substantial knowledge on the workings of points and how they impact your insurance rates. When retained, our primary focus is to ensure that you do not see increased insurance rates. You can contact us to discuss your ticket. Consultations are free.