A single traffic violation can cost you hundreds of dollars in car insurance
A single driving violation increases your auto insurance costs by an average of 35%, according to a recent Insurify study.
Relatively minor infractions matter, too. A speeding ticket will cost you an extra $422 annually on your next insurance quote, which is considerable — especially compared to the extra $723 you’d pay annually for a DUI.
Here are the average annual quotes for auto insurance applications in 2021, based on various driving violations:
- Clean record: $1,483
- Failure to stop at a red light: $1,891
- Speeding: $1,905
- Failure to stop at a stop sign: $1,919
- At-fault accident: $2,005
- Negligent driving: $2,070
- Failure to stop for a school bus: $2,192
- Careless driving: $2,192
- Tailgating: $2,206
- DUI: $2,916
Your driving record doesn’t just affect a potential insurance quote, it can affect your current bill, too: Monthly premiums will almost always go up when you make a claim for an accident, and most insurers have policies that can raise rates for other forms of bad driving, too.
These “premiums are based on your risk profile, which anticipates whether you’re going to file a claim,” says Tanveen Vohra, an insurance expert at Insurify. “When you get a speeding ticket, that sends insurers the message that you’re indulging in reckless driving behavior and might file a claim for damages somewhere down the line.”
It varies by state, but most driving violations will be added to your driver’s record. Insurance providers have access to this information and can use it to justify an increase to your monthly bill. Insurers can also choose to not renew your policy when it expires, especially if you have serious violations, like a DUI.
The severity of your violation also determines how long it stays on your driver’s record. Typically, a speeding ticket will stay on your record for three years, while a DUI can be 10 years or more, according to ValuePenguin.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/20/how-much-traffic-violations-can-increase-car-insurance-costs.html
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.