Minimizing the Real Cost of a Speeding Ticket-Part II

     In Part I of our discussion on speeding I wrote about the immediate cost and risk to your license of acquiring convictions for speeding and other moving violations.  Now we are going to discuss the effect of moving violation convictions on your ability to be insured at a reasonable rate.     

     Insurance companies base rates on the risk they are assuming in issuing a policy.  A driver’s record is a key ingredient in assessing how much risk a driver poses.  What a driver pays for insurance will be affected by driving history.  When a driver gets one or more speeding tickets, they are labeled “high risk” for rating purposes.  At a minimum, a driver will lose safe driver discounts and experience rate increases of ten percent or more.  The only good news is that these changes cannot take effect during the life of the current policy. So depending on when the ticket is resolved, a driver will have the remainder of the policy period to avoid increases.

     The opportunity to secure the absolute best rates are reserved for those people with no negative information on their driving abstract.  Insurance companies will review driving abstracts when quoting for auto insurance.  Additionally the information will be accessed prior to renewal.

     While each insurance company has its own policy about the level of risk it is willing to accept at different policy levels, you can be sure that even one speeding ticket will affect your cost for auto insurance.  Often times the degree of the violation will influence the rate.  For instance, a ticket for exceeding the speed limit by ten miles per hour will not have as dramatic effect as a ticket for forty miles over the speed limit or some other reckless conduct.          

     Multiple violations, no matter how minor will result in much high rates and could lead to cancellation of your policy.  Bottom-line, if you have received multiple tickets in the last three years you should seriously consider modifying your driving habits.   
     If you get a ticket, seek out the services of competent counsel.  The short-term expense of legal representation will insure your rights are protected and payoff in the long-term by minimizing exposure to fines, penalties and exorbitant insurance rates.