Even the best drivers will tell you that they pay too much for car insurance, but if you have recent tickets, you will definitely see the impact in your premium.
It’s Not Just the Ticket
The surcharge is added on top of other factors, including whether you live in or around a big city, how fast over the speed limit you were traveling and the surcharge scale for the company you are with. There might be some variation in the point system that can make certain tickets more or less costly depending on the carrier. Your age and sex will also figure into the equation along with your overall driving history.
How Much Will My Premiums Increase?
This is a difficult question to answer, but even a ticket of one or two points can add several hundred dollars per year to your annual premium.
How Long Does a Speeding Ticket Stay on My Record For?
You can plan on that speeding ticket following you for three years, although it will actually stay on your record for at least 5 years. While it can’t be surcharged for more than 3 years, some insurance companies still look at a full 5 year history when deciding whether or not to extend insurance to you…so just because it’s beyond 3 years doesn’t mean it can’t impact you in some way.
So What Should I Do About this Speeding Ticket?
You have three choices on how to proceed. First, you can just go ahead and pay the ticket, but that’s not really recommended unless you’re certain there won’t be any car insurance premium consequences. The second alternative is to inquire into whether attending traffic safety school will benefit your situation. You can probably even find an appropriate online program that your state accepts. The third alternative is to retain a qualified traffic lawyer and fight the ticket in court. Sometimes a laywer can have the ticket reduced or even dismissed to minimize the impact. Some states have a formal process for something called a “Prayer for Judgment to be Continued”. This is abbreviated as PJC on your MVR. When this happens, the court is basically deferring the conviction so the points don’t actually go on your record and can’t be surcharged. However…if you get another ticket within a specified period of time- the original points for that ticket will also be added, so it’s a double whammy. If you don’t get any tickets during the PJC grace period, the ticket falls off and no points are ever assessed.
The last thing that you want to do is to ignore the ticket. If you don’t pay it- your license will be suspended and you will open a whole other can of worms.
Almost everyone speeds and sometimes you get caught. It’s not the end of the world, but you should try to limit your points and then see if you can find other discounts to offset them. If you haven’t consolidated your home insurance and auto policy…you might find that companies are a little more forgiving if you have multiple policies with them instead of just the auto.
Of course, the best solution is to not get caught!… I meant to say to not speed!
