How Speeding Tickets and Accidents Affect Auto Insurance

For anyone who has received a speeding ticket or had an accident recently, one of the primary concerns that they may have is what potential impact that they might have on their auto insurance. Auto insurance can be a fickle thing that is impacted by events such as speeding tickets and auto accidents, but there are also things that you can do to help your situation, should you find yourself in this tough spot.

The Top Line

• Speeding tickets and auto accidents are, unfortunately, pretty common events that can cause a number of side effects on your financial life.
• One of the most common effects of speeding tickets and auto accidents is a rise in auto insurance cost, or an inability to even get auto insurance.
• We are also going to cover some of the actions that you can take if you want to reverse some of those effects and regain the ability to get affordable auto insurance.

Effects of Speeding Tickets on Auto Insurance

Speeding tickets are fairly common and they absolutely have an effect on your auto insurance. If you receive a single speeding ticket, your auto insurance rates may not increase especially if you have a long track record of safe driving. However, some companies will increase your rates after a single ticket and almost all will increase your rates after multiple tickets. This is because the companies base your rates on how safe a driver you are, and speeding tickets indicate that you are not as safe of a driver.

Effects of Accidents on Auto Insurance

Accidents have an even heavier impact on your auto insurance than speeding tickets. Generally, these will have an even more immediate impact since you will likely be filing a claim. Some insurance companies have accident forgiveness and will not raise your rates as a result of your first accident.

How to Improve Your Rates Following Tickets or an Accident

Though it is clear that having an accident or getting a speeding ticket definitely has some negative effects on your auto insurance and your ability to get affordable auto insurance, there are still some steps that you can take to improve your situation and ensure that you are able to access affordable auto insurance rates in the future.

Drive Safely

The best thing that you can do for yourself is to drive safely in the future. Put some time between you and your incident, and eventually, the impact of these events will start to wear off of your record. Generally, insurance companies don't consider accidents that happened three to five years ago.

Change Coverage

If your current insurance provider is giving you a tough time when it comes to cost as a result of your speeding ticket or accident, then one option that you always have is to switch providers or change your coverage. You could change your coverage to a higher deductible or lower coverage amount to make it more affordable.

Take Safe Driving Courses

In some states, there are courses that you can take to get a discount on your auto insurance. These include safe driving courses and defensive driving courses, which could reduce your chance of having an accident in the future.