What is one of the first things that you think about when you get pulled over by the police for speeding or some other traffic violation? I know that one of my first thoughts goes to my car insurance and how much my car insurance premium may go up if I get a ticket.
We all understand that tickets affect insurance rates, but many of us do not know how do speeding tickets affect insurance rates and how other violations play into our rates. Now, Insurance.com has done the leg work for you with a new study that they have just published dissecting how much auto insurance rates increase for common driving violations.
Insurance.com analyzed over than 490,000 car insurance quotes from 14 different car insurance companies over a two-year span. They looked at drivers who had 14 of the most common driving infractions and compared them with drivers who had clean driving records.
Their study estimated the annualized premium increase that drivers could expect for certain combinations of driving infractions, and the study also takes into account and controls for personal attributes such as their state, time with an insurer, marital status, age, and other factors to comprise your car insurance premium.
Based on Insurance.com’s study and analysis, here is how much common tickets can impact your car insurance rates on average:
1. Reckless driving: 22% increase
2. DUI first offense: 19%
3. Driving without a license or permit: 18%
4. Careless driving: 16%
5. Speeding 30 mph over the limit: 15%
6. Failure to stop: 15%
7. Improper turn: 14%
8. Improper passing: 14%
9. Following too close/tailgating: 13%
10. Speeding 15 to 29 mph over limit: 12%
11. Speeding 1 to 14 mph over limit: 11%
12. Failure to yield: 9%
13. No car insurance: 6%
14. Seat belt infractions: 3%
While this ranking is not all inclusive of the many possible driving violations that you can be flagged for, it does paint a very interesting picture of what you can expect from your car insurance company if you receive a ticket.
One thing that jumps out at me is that not wearing your seat belt only typically gets you a 3% increase in your car insurance premiums. While things like improper turning and passing can earn you a severe penalty. I would bet that your life insurance company would love to have that seat belt information so they can increase your rates for that policy instead.
Also, keep in mind that many car insurance companies do not always penalize drivers for their first infraction. You may receive a pass for your first ticket in a several year span, but you can believe that you will be hit with higher premiums sooner rather than later if your poor driving continues.
What about you? Do you think that these car insurance rate increases are accurate? Have you been hit with higher premium increases because of a ticket? Is it just me, or is it crazy that a seat belt violation only nets you a 3% increase on average? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comment section.
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