THOUSANDS of drivers may pay more for their car insurance after August 1 after a state changed its insurance calculations.
The state hadn’t changed the reporting rule in over 50 years and lagged behind its peers on car insurance reporting before the new road laws.
2
2
Starting August 1, North Dakota will begin reporting all traffic violations to insurance companies, marking a significant shift in the state’s handling of driving infractions.
Currently, only violations that accumulate three points or more are shared with insurers when they request a driving record.
But with the new regulation, any traffic ticket, regardless of severity, will be reported to your insurance provider.
Officials said some car insurance companies believed drivers had a clean road record, when in actuality, their licenses were suspended for repeated minor violations.
Police in the area hope the rules change will make drivers more careful on the road.
“It means drivers will be paying more attention to how they are driving and being more responsible on the roadway,” North Dakota Highway Patrol’s Sargeant Wade Kadrmas told local NBC affiliate KFYR-TV.
Kadrmas said drivers can avoid the higher insurance rates by slowing down on the highway.
“Those types of violations would get reported,” he added.
The state’s insurance commissioner, Jon Godfread, told the station the Department of Transportation suspended some drivers’ licenses because they “racked up so many points of those smaller traffic violations.”
But insurance companies weren’t aware of the infractions because of the reporting rules.
North Dakota hadn’t changed the insurance rules since 1970.
Sargeant Kadrmas said drivers can keep their rates low if they stay vigilant on the road.
“Be responsible [and] do your job as a driver,” he advised.
“Pay attention to the roads, obey all the traffic signs, obey all the speed limits, and you shouldn’t have any issues with your insurance company or with law enforcement.”
Car insurance tips
Here are some ways to lower monthly car insurance rates:
- Increase the deductible – this may increase the amount drivers must pay in an accident
- Ask insurance carriers for discounts
- Slow down on the road
- Keep off the cell phone behind the wheel
- Improve credit scores (in some states)
- Bundle insurance policies
Source: Liberty Mutual
INSURE SHIFT
Car insurance companies have grappled with increasing vehicle costs and ballooning accident rates.
Modern vehicles come standard with more advanced tech, including more cameras, monitors, chips, and batteries.
While the cars continue to deploy more safety tech, the advancements make vehicles more expensive to repair.
Also, drivers have gotten in a historic number of motor vehicle accidents since 2020, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Agency.
Accordingly, insurance companies have increased monthly rates for drivers.
Americans are paying an average of 18% more on vehicle insurance compared to 2020.
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.