Traffic Violations and Your Auto Insurance
Published on - June 14th, 2011 (Modified on - June 20th, 2011) (by April Dykman) This post is from staff writer April Dykman.
California newspaper The Daily Breeze recently published an article about a man who was issued a $35 ticket for failing to come to a complete stop, which became a $234 ticket after added penalties. (State legislators have been adding new penalties, such as a “state conviction fee,” since 2009, thanks to a $10 billion budget deficit. The base fine for running a red light is $100 in Los Angeles County, for example, but after added penalties the ticket will cost a grand total of $480.)
Even if you live in a state without these hefty additional penalties, the cost of a traffic violation doesn’t end with the cost of the ticket. If you want to keep the infraction off your driving record, there’s the added cost of a traffic school fee and the cost of the traffic school course. If you choose to pay the ticket and not attend driver’s ed, your ticket might get even more expensive — you’ll incur the long-term costs of higher auto insurance.
Violations can raise premiums by 50%
According to an Insurance.com analysis of more than 32,000 insurance policies, drivers who purchased a one-car, single-driver policy in 2010 and had one violation on their record paid about 18% more on average than drivers without any violation. Drivers with two paid 34% more for their policy, while drivers with three violations paid a staggering 53% more for auto insurance than those with zero violations.
The following are the average annual premiums paid, according to the analysis:
- No violations: $1,119
- One violation: $1,318
- Two violations: $1,497
- Three violations: $1,713
Violations aren’t equal in the eyes of the insurance company, of course. A speeding ticket might not bump up your premium much, but two in quick succession could and might even get you dropped by some insurers. More serious offenses, such as driving while intoxicated, will send your rates up even more. The Insurance.com analysis lists the following as violations that can raise your insurance rates:
- Speeding
- Driving under the influence
- Reckless driving
- Running red lights
- Failure to yield or stop
- Fleeing from police
- Driving the wrong way
- Improper passing
- Illegal u-turn
- Failure to use proper child restraint
The cost of each type of violation will vary by state, insurance company, and driving record. Also, not all traffic violations will affect your insurance rate. More than likely, tickets for offenses like talking on your cell phone while driving (a violation in some states) and parking citations won’t raise your premium.
What to do if your insurer raises your rates
If your rates go up after a traffic violation, take steps to see if you can lower your premium, such as the following:
- Shop around to compare several car insurance quotes. It’s easy enough to compare quotes from different companies to find the lowest rate. First, figure out how much auto insurance you need. Compare it to your current coverage and rate, then start making calls for quotes.
- Don’t discount your current insurer too quickly. Shopping around is always a good idea, but if the savings turns out to be negligible, there are good reasons to stay put. First, some violations will affect you more if you’re shopping for a new insurance policy than if you stay with your insurer. Why? A prospective insurer will pull your driving record, but your current company won’t necessarily check to see if you’ve had recent violations because it’s simply too costly to check up on every customer every year. Second, some insurance companies offer accident forgiveness policies and will waive accident surcharges for their long-time customers. If you find much lower rates with another company, however, you’re probably better off switching.
- Complete a defensive driving class. In some states you can expunge marks on your record, called ticket masking, if you take a driver’s safety course. If you live in one of these states, your insurance company might be required to lower your rate after you’ve successfully completed the course. Note that you can only take defensive driving to expunge points once in a set time period (usually 18 months). If you get another ticket within that time period, your rates will probably increase.
- Increase your deductible. If you’re willing to take on more risk, you can lower your annual premium by raising your deductible. This means you’ll need enough money in savings to pay the deductible, so consider your financial situation carefully before deciding if it’s the right move.
- Maintain (or improve) your credit rating. The majority of auto insurers consider a low or bad credit rating a sign of greater risk when it comes to auto insurance, and hike rates accordingly. While there doesn’t seem to be solid evidence of the link between the two, the bottom line is that bad credit likely means a more expensive car insurance premium. Maintaining or improving your credit score can save you money on auto insurance.
Even if you have a few points on your record, you should be able to find a policy, though it’ll be a more expensive policy than if you had a clean driving record. There also are additional tips in this past GRS article on lowering car insurance rates, such as removing extras like towing and car rental from your policy.
I think a combination of luck and being a decently cautious driver have spared me from many a ticket. To date, I’ve had one speeding ticket, and I took an online defensive driving course to keep my driving record clean. (Despite being online, it was still a time-consuming experience that I don’t want to repeat!)
Do any of you have experience with lowering your premium after a traffic violation? Leave your tips in the comments!
GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve your financial goals.Savings interest rates may be low, but that’s all the more reason to shop for the best rate.Find the highest savings interest rate from Ally Bank, Capital One 360, Everbank, and more.
This article is about Cars, Insurance
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through American Express Affiliate Program.
Discover is a paid advertiser of this site. Reasonable efforts are made to maintain accurate information. See the Discover online credit card application for full terms and conditions on offers and rewards.
SEARCH FOR RECENT ARTICLES
Great article! I’m really interested in the correlation between “bad driver” and “bad credit score.” I read the Bankrate article that April linked to in her article, and it really doesn’t explain the correlation, either.
loading....
My husband is an insurance agent and his company uses credit checks. The companies have studied the relationship between poor credit and high claims (bad driving). Basically it boils down to those who generally don’t take care of their financial items are more like to not take care of their driving record (also relates to property ie home insurance).
loading....
I’ve done a lot of statistical analysis over the years, and credit score is one of the best predictors of behavior that’s available. It applies to almost everything in a person’s life.
A few years ago Suze Orman used it to predict the winner of The Biggest Loser – just because it has a pretty good correlation with how responsible and dedicated a person is. Even with insurance companies, the credit rating can determine 50% of the premium charged.
Also, in addition to checking your credit rating, I recommend checking your C.L.U.E. report, which insurance companies will pull when getting an insurance quote. It contains a record of your past insurance claims, and since it’s part of the FACT Act, you can check it for free every 12 months.
loading....
One of the best ways to save on auto insurance is not buying a new car every three years. I drive an 11-year-old Infiniti. It’s a great car; I make sure it’s well maintained, so it’s trouble-free. Not only do I save money by not making car payments, but also it’s not that expensive to insure. It still looks great and I love driving it. Why would I want to trade it in and increase my insurance rates?
BTW, I once turned right on red in an unfamiliar area where it wasn’t legal. I didn’t see the sign until I was well into the turn. That goes on your record as running a red light. Seriously!
loading....
Not always true about keeping the old car. I just replaced my husband’s 2002 Hyundai Elantra, with a 2011 Mini Cooper Clubman S (yes, that’s considered a sports car).
I had just liability on the Elantra (250,000/500,000/250,000), and I saved $56 for the year adding the new car with complete coverage.
Why? Because the old car didn’t have certain safety features of the new car.
loading....
This has been my experience as well. Most older cars don’t have electronic stability control, but newer models (like your Mini Clubman do), and getting a car with electronic stability control lowers the risk of a deadly crash by 33% and single-vehicle rollover by 73%. Insurance companies know this and often discount their premiums because of it. (source)
loading....
I replaced my 2000 Honda Civic with a 2008 Ford Escape (brand new, prior to getting smart about money), and my insurance actually went down. One of the reasons I was told was because the foreign car’s replacement parts would be more expensive if it had to be repaired. I belive the Civic was also at the top of the list of most frequently stolen cars.
loading....
Interesting that your Civic was labeled as “foreign.” I’m not 100% sure about Honda, but I know that Toyotas are almost entirely built in the US and therefore essentially US cars despite the foreign ownership.
loading....
I think the theft jacks up the Honda prices more than the foreign issue. Even old (early 1990s) Hondas in the neighborhood where I go to school get jacked.
loading....
Definitely consider hiring an attorney who defends moving violations (civil infractions). They know the rules the police must follow in charging drivers (e.g., calibrating radar guns, etc.), and many have high success rates in getting tickets dismissed entirely. For a flat fee, you might be able to avoid the expenses that follow a ticket, no driving school required. I don’t do this type of work but know an attorney who has a 100% success rate on behalf my coworkers and acquaintances.
loading....
And some municipalities are more ticket-prone than others. Chicago is out of control! They have reduced the timing of yellow lights to 1.5 seconds (this is far shorter even than the suburbs, which is short by national standards). In SF people park any which direction, but in Chicago if your car is facing the wrong direction that’s proof of a violation. My hefty, and seemingly unavoidable, fines were one reason I finally gave up my car. No car, no car insurance!
As for the credit score link, I’ve known that for years and what a pity. Surely there must be some companies that use common sense and can take other metrics as proof of responsibility.
loading....
Cutting yellow light times is illegal, and also seriously unsafe. It will lead to more red light running, which, when coupled with people too stupid to check traffic before entering the intersection when the light turns green, will lead to injuries and deaths. It will also lead to a lot more rear-ending collisions.
Definitely get an attorney for those! Although you can videotape the light yourself, and check state statutes on how long the light must be yellow and skip the attorney.
loading....
Studies have already shown that the red light cameras in Chicago cause more accidents. But no one cares about safety, it’s about revenue. I haven’t heard of anyone fighting the tickets successfully – it’s been all over the news and people are pissed, but I think it’s legal.
loading....
Megan: Frankly I think the insurance companies linking a customer’s credit score to their driving skills is an example of them finding ways to squeeze more money from their customers. Unfortunately short of getting the legislature in each state to change the laws (unlikely since the Insurance industry has more money to throw at the politicians) there is little that can be done to object to this practice.
loading....
We recently contact our car insurance provider to ask some questions about moving violations that our college aged kid has (trying to determine if they “stay” with us or “go” with him should he buy his own car/policy).
Anyway – one thing I discovered is that since we’ve been with this company (State Farm) for so long, and have used them for our home AND auto insurance, we have a no-longer-offered Guaranteed Renewal status. They will not drop us unless there is criminal activity.
If you have been with your insurance provider for a long time (I think my first State Farm policy would have been in 1983 or 1984), you may want to be clear on what you are giving up should you shop for a better price.
loading....
With State Farm, my experience was that different offices gave me different answers – I had one awful office that wanted to charge me for citations my little brother got when we were both on my mom’s insurance, but didn’t credit me for those years as a customer. Switched to another State Farm agent, they took the bad marks from my brother’s driving off AND gave me a discount for having been with the company 10 years.
loading....
Sounds to me that the first office you spoke to was just bad at their job. Why would anyone be charged for a sibling’s citations?
We’ve never had problems with State Farm, but perhaps we’ve just had good agents.
loading....
I actually paid the higher premium a few months, before I thought to really check into what they were doing. And they wouldn’t refund the difference when I discovered the errors, even when I escalated it to the office manager and threatened (and then followed through with) going to a different agent entirely.
So when I moved the next time, i checked 3 different offices – each one gave me a different quote. They all had the same information in front of them. I don’t know how to explain it, but I’m wary now.
loading....
I’ve only been ticketed once for speeding (65 in a 60…grrrr…), but Texas does let you take defensive driving like April mentioned. Woot for no record, lol.
Keep in mind that if you take a defensive driving course to simply lower your insurance rates, even if you get a ticket the next week, you can take it again to have the ticket “masked”. You just can’t take it to get rid of tickets more than once every 18 months like April said.
loading....
And the timing of ticket masking frequency varies from state to state (and, in Washington state, penalties and whatnot vary by county). I masked a ticket there a few years back, and it’s something like 5 years before I could do it again.
loading....
I recently received a speeding ticket. The fee is $360. If I attend traffic school it’s $445! It’s an outrageous amount of money.
loading....
Between my husband and myself, we’ve been driving for over 60 years. Neither of us has a speeding ticket.
Not speeding is probably the best way to save money on this topic. Much like having an “emergency fund” brings you peace of mind, choosing not to speed brings you peace of mind that you won’t incur the time and expense of such a violation.
As someone who doesn’t speed, I’m not concerned about the cost to those that do..and get caught.
loading....
I’ve always been a very defensive driver. I was taught to assume that all drivers would make the worst possible decisions rather than expect them all to drive well–it’s an approach that’s had me labeled as a fuddy-duddy because I won’t do things like pull out onto a road if I’m not sure I have clearance, and because I’ll take a little extra time to make a series of right turns if it’s safer than trying to cross left against traffic. But the one thing I always used to do was speed.
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of long-distance commuting through an area with an inordinate amount of speed traps. I’ve discovered that I actually prefer driving rather close, if not below, the speed limit, because it doesn’t really add that much time and it is saving me money not getting pulled over for tickets. (I live in the Northeast, where tickets tend to be in the $300 range) It’s also safer when the weather is bad, because I’m not trying to push my speed. This past winter there was a day where the roads looked clear, but were actually quite treacherous. The cars that passed me might have thought they were going to get to their destinations quicker, but they had loooonnnng waits for the tow trucks to come pull them out of the median when they spun out!
loading....
Great points, ladies. On top of all that, slower speeds give your car better fuel economy. The average car uses 28% more gas at a speed of 80 mph vs. 55 mph. The time saved doesn’t make up the difference. Drive slow homies! You’ll save money all around!
loading....
Don’t forget there is such a thing called “going with the flow of traffic”. If you’re going significantly slower than the traffic around you then you can become a danger to other drivers AND be ticketed in some cases (like if there is a long line of cars piled up behind you). If you’re going 55mph in a 65-70mph zone (for whatever reason), please put your hazard lights on to help the traffic around you. Also, if you’re on a highway with 3+ lanes, please try to stay to the center as much as you can to keep from interrupting oncoming and exiting traffic.
loading....
Unless you drive so slowly that people driving the speed limit are liable to crash into you. I cannot tell you how many times one person has caused a total cluster*%&$ on the highway near me by driving 45 mph in the middle lane under absolutely safe weather conditions.
loading....
Not all states require driving school attendance to keep a ticket off your record. So even if you don’t want to go through a driving program it would be helpful to call an attorney (or the court clerk yourself) and see if there is a way to keep the ticket from getting sent in. Sometimes there is an additional fee but sometimes a prosecutor will agree to defer the ticket if the regular fine amount is paid, depending on your driving record.
loading....
I received a speeding ticket a couple years ago but it didn’t impact my insurance rates. My best guess is that the state I got the ticket in doesn’t share information with my home state.
loading....
This article is just a great reminder; I often think about “how will this or that affect my credit?” but don’t often consider how it will affect my insurance. My insurance rates are good; this article just reminds me to keep them that way!
loading....
Switching is not always as easy as getting a better auto insurance quote with another company. I have an umbrella policy which is added on top of auto insurance. I cannot get the umbrella policy without the auto policy, so when I am shopping for quotes I need to get quotes for both coverages and determine if the total is better than others competitors quotes.
Six months ago I switched to a national auto insurer because their umbrella coverage was half that of my previous carrier. The auto coverage was about the same. Six months later (this month), they have decided to raise the auto coverage because of more claims in my area which makes the change of carriers less of an advantage to me.
One thing not mentioned in the article is that getting a quote from an insurance carrier is counted as a “soft hit” which means your credit score is not affected.
loading....
And then there’s the times where there wasn’t much you could do….
I had a spin out and roll over of my car a few months ago. I got a $100 ticket for going “too fast for conditions” (since I rolled, ANY speed would have been too fast) AND I totaled my car. The damage hasn’t hit my insurance yet but I doubt shopping around will help me since a major accident and ticket like that will raise anyone up. The worst part? I was 3 months away from my 5 year accident forgiveness….
Now I take the bus more. It takes longer but no chance of my crashing!
loading....
One of the best ways to save on insurance is to switch vehicles or switch insurance companies from time to time.
For instance, when you buy a car, they set a rate. Does that rate really ever go down? Five years down the road, your car is worth a fraction of what it was when you first insured it, yet they are still charging you the same insurance rate.
I once had a 2001 Camaro Z28. I had it for ~3 years. I got tired of it, and wanted a manual, so I traded it for 2002 Camaro Z28 with a 6-speed with almost exact mileage/options.
My insurance dropped almost $40 a month for a 1 year newer car.
loading....
Some years ago I “invested” (ha ha) in a radar detector ($300). I’m not a crazy speeder, but I was doing long road trips and you never know what’s behind the next hill just as you’re passing a row of 18-wheelers. Handy.
And here in GRS is where I first found out about Cockeyed, and beating a traffic ticket in court. Enjoy: http://www.cockeyed.com/lessons/court/traffic_court.html
loading....
There are a number of studies that successfully link someone’s credit score to their propensity for receiving a traffic violation. Insurance companies use that to rate their policies more fairly, giving breaks to people who are lower risk and charging more for people who are higher risk. To me it just makes logical sense but I know a lot of people find it controversial. Here is a link to one such study but there are plenty of other ones out there.
http://www.progressive.com/shop/EPIC_CreditScores.pdf
loading....
It’s worse than the article states. We live in NC. Two adults on a policy with one older sedan and a small SUV. No infractions on either license. Our auto insurance was ~$950/year. We were in a 70 mph zone in VA and were pulled for going 81 mph. It doesn’t matter that we were less than 15 mph over the speed limit; once you hit 80 mph, it’s considered reckless driving. We went to court, I think it got taken down to under 80 mph for the infraction, and the guilty took a safety course on top of that. Our insurance still went up to ~$1400/year, for two years. Unbelieveable. I think the next time our insurance renews, this infraction will FINALLY be off our premium. Bottom line: DON’T speed! The costs are ridiculous.
loading....
Didn’t Joni Mitchell say it best?
“Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.”
As young adults, we fail to realize the full consequences of driving recklessly or damaging our credit score. Unfortunately, we end up paying for this our entire lives!
Our society is structured around easy credit. Americans pay for cars, clothes, homes, and travel on credit. But with a low credit score, you pay MORE for all of these items, including car insurance.
The total student loan debt has surpassed credit card debt in this country and is about to top 1 Trillion dollars. Our country’s debt is over 14T.
Rating agencies like S&P wait until now to downgrade Greece’s credit rating. It makes it clear that the US should have already been downgraded. But because nobody wants to incite a panic, we won’t be downgraded until it’s far, far too late.
Credit CAN BE a dangerous sword. Our young people (as well as Wall Street bankers and White House officials) in the US need to be taught to respect its power and learn to calculate risk.
That’s why I love GRS. The principles are to live simply, manage your personal finances, and learn from the folks around you.
Great article! This is just additional motivation to get out on my bike!
~Nick
loading....
You can find out when certain infractions will stopped being counted against you. I had a really bad driving record it was stupid stuff compounded by stupid decisions and my insurance was $220/month for a 12 year old car.
I couldn’t get insurance from any of the major insurers. BUT It finally came off and I shopped around. Now I’m paying less than $30/month.
Also consider if you have other insurance that can be bundled with your car insurance. For example I get an extra discount because I have renter’s insurance and auto insurance through the same people.
As for driving – you have to pay attention even when you think there aren’t any police around. I live in a more rural area, and I came up to a 4 way stop. Stopped completely, and a of sedans came to the cross road. The first car – paused, before rolling through.
The second car – the police officer turned on the lights and siren and pulled the first car over.
Looked like there was no police around…but you never know.
loading....
I find it surprising that insurance companies typically don’t consider talking/texting/distracted-driving a rate-hiking factor. Surely that’s more dangerous, and a better statistical indicator of future accidents, than something like a minor speeding infraction?
loading....
The laws are so new for this sort of thing that there probably *isn’t* a correlation to future accidents. If you have a “driving while texting” ticket, you almost certainly got it fairly recently. Even if that makes you highly prone to have an accident in the future, chances are that you haven’t gotten into one yet.
loading....
I find that if you can pay for your insurance 6 months at a time you will save money, too. In addition, when I switched to Progressive (after searching online) I saved about $30. If you choose to raise your deductible, then save the difference in case you do get into an accident and will need to pay the higher deductible.
loading....
This site has given a lot to me int eh past so I will give back now.
On Easter Sunday, A state trooper pulled me over. I was going the same speed I have gone down the road outside my neighborhood for 10 years. He was driving in the opposite direction. In my younger days I was no stranger to tickets. He calmly explained how to pay and I simply said “I know the drill, I’m a frequent flyer” and that was that.
The next morning, on the way to work, the same trooper caught me speeding down another road where, again, I have driven the same, safe speed for 10 years… unfortunately the safe speed is higher than the speed limit
I thought I would get the trooper back. I drove to the clerks office with my 2 tickets in hand and stated that the court date was on a day I would be out of town (total lie) and could I get the court date changed? My theory was I would do this 2 or 3 times until the trooper was unable to keep up with the court date changes and eventually wouldn’t show up at the court hearing. I mentioned to the clerk I would be interested in driving school…
She handed me a blank sheet of paper and a pencil and said “ask the judge”. So I wrote a serious, heart-felt letter to the judge. I never did get to ask for my court date to be changed.
A week later I got a letter in the mail from the judge saying he approved the driving school for me, that I had to pay $40 for the class and pay both tickets. The good news is they won’t go on my record
loading....
I was ticketed in another state as I was traveling. Because of the conditions I had to show up in court. I did my research, even called my insurance (which said my rates would not go up for this one infraction – yay!) and dressed up for court. Because I was well dressed (in the Alabama court most were dressed very poorly for the occasion) and clearly communicated my side of the story, the judge threw out the infraction and did not even charge me the standard court fee of $125 (which should have been there reguardless of the outcome of the court). By showing up to court prepared I save several hundred dollars worth of fines, extra fees, and a worse infraction on my record. Always do what you can in these situations. It might seem easier the pay the fine and walk away, but if you just spend a little time and effort you can make a big difference (especially with insurance prices now).
loading....
I have been humbly lucky. I received a DUI 6 years ago and my rates did not go up at all. I still dont know why my insurance didnt find out. I pause my breath whenever I think about it. Other than that life learning episode, I am a pretty decent driver and I never speed. The older I get (41 now) the more I feel things like speeding are not even worth the thought.
loading....
Just wanted to chip in my two cents on fighting tickets in court. DO NOT DO IT. You will lose. While in law school, I worked at a county court and have seen hundreds of traffic court cases. It is like shooting fish in a barrel.
Some people will claim that cops don’t show up or won’t remember your case. True, if the cop doesn’t show up, you will win. But if he does, you are dead in the water.
What you want to do is call the city attorney’s office where you got the ticket and tell them you want to arrange a “plea in abeyance”. You will then meet with the city attorney and sign a few papers stating that you will attend traffic school and the ticket will be held by the city attorney for 1 year. If you have no violations during that time, the ticket goes in the trash and never sees your record. If you have a violation, you get both tickets.
Eat the fee for traffic school and drive carefully for a year. You have no way of proving to the court you weren’t speeding (unless you own a radar gun and have the whole incident on camera), and the court will take the cop’s word over yours.
loading....
Don’t the laws differs state to state? There seems to be a lot of conflicting experiences just in the comments here. In NC, they offer a “prayer for judgment” which is basically a one time “do over” (for a period of time, per household) as long as you keep your nose clean.
I know why you included the following: “drive carefully for a year”, but the real takeaway should be that there’s no real defensible reason to be a habitual speeder. It can be dangerous, it can add costs to your vehicle, and it can cost you in fines AND insurance hikes. It’s counter to everything most readers here profess to be concerned about.
I suppose one could say that paying higher insurance and fines is their choice of “conscious spending”, but that’s a stretch for me.
loading....
People who are saying “I was driving a safe speed” even though it exceeds the speed limit, are not correct. Traffic laws are based on community standards. When you exceed the speed limit, you make it difficult for other drivers to know how much time they have to get across an intersection. You endanger them, and especially young drivers and pedestrians who do not have the experience to recognize that you are speeding and that they need to get across more quickly.
“Rolling stops” are a huge problem, too. I found myself doing that decades ago, and found a simple solution. I now focus on coming to a complete stop, wheels not moving at all. THEN I look at oncoming traffic.
Folks, traffic rules are not there to annoy you. They are not there to hinder you from getting to your destination. They are not there to enrich the coffers of the municipality. They are there because of the laws of physics.
You know those laws. A moving body requires distance to stop, and the faster it is moving, the more distance it requires. The faster you are going when you come to a sudden stop, the more force is exerted on your tender body, and the more you will be injured. Two objects cannot occupy the same space at the same time. The bigger the body that is moving, the more distance it will require to stop.
You need to remember that every single ticket could have been a collision, under different conditions. And every single collision could have been a fatality, or a permanently disabling injury, and will be expensive. Being lucky for ten years does not mean that you are being “safe” for ten years.
You might be able to go to court and get a ticket dismissed. You might be able to bat your pretty little eyes at the judge and get the fine reduced. But the laws of physics don’t care what you do, who you know, how pretty you are, how sorry you are, or anything else. There is no appeal. There is no “do-over.” There is no postponing the consequences.
All you can do is pay for them. In every way, and in full.
loading....
A couple of quick things:
1) Check out rates at several different companies. Especially in the past year, companies have been doing all kinds of stuff to deviate from industry pricing standards.
2) When you apply don’t make your effective date that day, make your policy start in a couple of weeks.
3) Look into an annual policy, especially one bundled with a homeowners policy.
4) If your employer has a deal with an insurance company, check it out. These rates are typically lower overall, especially if you’ve been with your employer for a while.
5) If you are a very safe driver and have a cash cushion, jacking up your collision deductible will have much more bang for your buck than raising your comprehensive deductible.
On that note, check out companies that have a usage based insurance program. If you drive slow, stop slow and drive at reasonable hours, these companies will offer a potentially huge discount. The only caveat, you must install a simple monitoring device in your car that tracks your driving habits.
Right now, aside from driving history, credit is the biggest variable in insurance pricing. I expect usage based factors to overtake both eventually.
loading....
Some credit unions offer a discount on car insurance. My college also offers a discount with a certain company for alumni.
loading....
Two times I almost died while driving in my 16 years of being a licensed driver: 1) someone going (literally) 5mph on a 40 mph road. I nearly rammed them full speed in my truck with no air bags. 2) me driving maybe 5 miles over teh speed limit. Someone pulled out in front of me from their driveway (they didn’t look both ways) and I swerved into he path of a Mack truck. Number of times I have almost died going 10 miles over the speed limit: 0.
“dangerous speed” is relative to the driver. Carl Petty could drive 50 mph in a 40 mph zone quite safely I am sure. A 90 year old probably would be driving “dangerously” by going 40 in a 45. I know the law and if I am pulled over for speeding, I don’t argue and I pay. But it doesn’t deter me. I still speed. And by speed I mean 78 on the freeway, 50 in a 45. I won’t stop driving they way I drive which I feel is very safe. I have “sped” all my driving life and gotten about 7 tickets so I guess I am getting away with a lot of crime.
loading....
No, Jamison, “dangerous speed” is not relative only to the driver. “Dangerous speed” is relative to conditions. This includes condition of the driver, traffic, weather, and the opportunities for others to interact with you. Speeding five miles an hour over can be the difference between missing a kid running into the street, and killing them. Or even missing someone crossing the street legally, who maybe can’t move so fast. They were relying on you to obey the speed limit when they set out, but you don’t see any reason to do that!
Others sharing the road rely on you (and me) driving consistently with the speed limits and other traffic laws. One day, your luck may well run out. If you already have seven tickets for speeding, you clearly speed a whole lot more than three or five miles an hour over the limit!
Please let me know where you drive, what you drive, and when, so I can stay away from you.
loading....
I believe it’s somewhat relative. If not, why would speed limits vary between states? In Virginia, going 80mph anywhere (even with 70mph speed limit) is reckless driving. Some places in Utah and Texas, the speed limit is 80. Are you saying those states allow drivers to drive recklessly?
I have seen city streets with many driveways and intersections that have a 45mph limit. Another straight street with no intersections, 35. Where is the consistency?
The German autobahns (with no speed limit in some stretches) have less than half the fatalities per distance than the US: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_autobahns#Safety. How does that correlate to the common phrase, “speed kills”? My guess is that in the US the road conditions are worse, drivers are more distracted (due to speed limits that are too low, being on the phone, etc.), and really bad driving. A car passing me 10mph over the speed limit on their lane is a lot safer than someone on their phone, merging onto the left lane of traffic maybe 40mph slower than me, while going over double white lines with a 1/2 mile stretch to speed up. That happened to me and I barely didn’t hit the car after slamming on my brakes (no one behind me).
Sure, speed does kill, so we should all be driving 10mph (arbitrary) everywhere in case of a collision; that way you are guaranteed (or not, who knows?) to not die. There are inherent risks with everything in life. I personally prefer to ride fast on the autobahns or airplanes where I am statistically less likely to die per mile than in the US highways. And sure, statistically I could be the one whose luck runs out.
loading....
Being an insurance agent for 7 years, I see the following happen often. People look at price only. You need to understand your liability limits. I am amazed at the limits people have when I get declaration pages (these disclose the limits of the policy). Especially from these online companies. Some companies are notorious about giving you the absolute minimums limits required by law just to be “cheaper”. These minimum limits could ruin all the savings and fugal living you have done over the last 5 years with one bad car accident.
Example would be having $25,000 property damage limits and then cause a 3 car accident (yours and 2 others) and total each car. If both cars are worth $30,000 each; your limits pay out $25,000 total; you pay the difference ($35,000). Where is that lizard and that 15% savings??
“Name your own price” is a receipe for disaster. You need good liability limits, so please learn what they are and purchase those. They are often more important than comprehensive (other than collision) and collision deductibles.
loading....
Here’s a tip: Obey traffic laws.
It saves you a lot more money than getting tickets and then fighting them.
I’m disappointed the article and many comments seem to have a scofflaw attitude.
loading....
I’m disappointed too. Luckily there are passing lanes so I can go faster than you.
loading....
I have had a couple of tickets forgiven by doing deferred disposition. I live in Texas, so I am not sure if it is an option in other states. Basically I plead guilty and paid the fine plus a little extra. If I did not have another infraction in X amount of time, then the ticket was never reported to the state and didn’t hit my driving record. Both tickets were issued in tiny towns <500 people. My guess is that the town receives more revenue by allowing deferred disposition as opposed to allowing defensive driving.
loading....
My son got a ticket for his 6 year old cousin not having a booster seat. The parents don’t use one cause he’s almost 5′ tall. The city cop was doing a quota check and pulled him over to check for seat belt. Everyone was buckled in but the cop didn’t report the passengers was family which could get my son in trouble with DMV. My sons getting dooped and so will I my insurance will be going up..
loading....