How Quickly A Traffic Ticket Will Affect Your Insurance Premiums
No one want to see the image of blue lights highlighted in the background while they are driving. This does not matter if you were speeding or have a broken tail light. It is preferable to not get stopped at all for fear that they will find something that you can get a traffic ticket for. Should you be the unlucky recipient of a speeding ticket or other infraction, do you know how quickly it will affect insurance premiums on your policy?
For people that have never had a traffic ticket, they have the least reason to worry about rising rates. Most insurance carriers will not hold this against them if they have been a loyal customer without any accidents or offenses to their driving record. If you are a new customer they may raise your rates slightly for the offense.
If there are multiple people on your insurance policy and they received traffic tickets and have other incidents on their record, it will affect your insurance premiums right away. You may have a perfect driving record, but if someone else is covered on the policy that is considered a high risk, then you will be caught in the middle. You may want to speak with the other person and advise them how their actions are causing higher rates for both of you.
Most states have an automated system that updates immediately when someone receives a traffic ticket. They are monitored by insurance companies to help them update their records. If there is a time lapse between when the event happened and when it actually shows up on your record, then this can benefit you. Most insurance policies are renewed annually or every six months. If you are near a policy renewal you can wait to pay the ticket or take it to court so that it will not show up. This will allow you to not get an increase in rates for the next renewal period.
A traffic ticket can have a negative affect on your insurance premiums. It will raise rates should you already have numerous listings on your driving record. If you share coverage with other people, that can also make your rates increase by their driving actions. It only takes a moment to be pulled over by a police officer for speeding. It takes three years before that offense is not used against you in calculating your rates. You can limit your exposure to a higher premium if your renewal policy is near by preventing them from showing up on your record by waiting to pay for the ticket. However, eventually it will appear and raise your rates.
