Most drivers know that points on your drivers license will cause your insurance premiums to go up. But how much of a hike has been up for debate. A recent survey conducted by Insurancequotes.com found that only 31% of drivers over 18 who received traffic tickets in the past year also experience a rise in premiums.
When you obtain a new car insurance policy, your insurer pulls a motor vehicle report (MVR). But if you are over 25, chances are that your insurer, which pays for every MVR it pulls, is not checking your driving records as frequently as your think. Unless you file a claim with your insurance company, it may not know about your ticket for years.
But it is better to be safe than sorry. A study by Insurance.com reviewed 490,000 insurance quotes from January 2009 through January 2011 in order to determine how traffic violations impact rate quotes and found that certain types of violations led to significant increases to premiums. Reckless driving impacted insurance premiums the most, with the average premium for a person with a reckless driving citation being 22% higher than someone with a clean driving record. A first offense DUI hiked up rates 19%. And just one speeding ticket caused premiums to rise up to 15% – pretty significant increases.
In Florida, the average car insurance premium in 2012 was $1654 per year. So one speeding ticket may raise your annual premiums up to $250.
Even if your insurer only pulls your MVR infrequently, if there are points on your record, your premiums may go up eventually. With such a significant rate hike looming, it never makes sense to simply pay a ticket since admitting guilt puts points on your driving record and in Florida, points are there to stay.
The lawyers at the Ticket Clinic have defended over 1 million traffic tickets in Florida, California and nationwide. We concentrate solely on traffic-related offenses, including DUI.
