It’s true that speeding tickets are unwelcome news for drivers. Not only are they expensive in their own rights, but they also happen to be gifts that keep on giving for quite a while by way of higher insurance premiums down the road.
One speeding ticket does not always result in an instant boost in insurance premiums, though. But when they do, Forbes reports that boost is about 22 percent of your initial premium – on average. The more tickets you receive or the more egregious the violation, the bigger the boost will be.
The reason is simple. Insurance companies love crunching numbers. They are very good at it, as a matter of fact. One thing they’ve learned through all their number crunching is that people who speed – particularly those who do so habitually, are statistically more likely to become involved in accidents that cost them money. The bigger their risks, the more they charge you for the privilege of having their protection on your side.
The good news in all of this is that the premium increase is neither instant nor automatic. Insurance providers factor many things into the equation when determining premiums and monthly rates. For the most part, though, they will not re-evaluate your premiums until it is time to renew your policy at which time you may want to shop around and see which company offers the best coverage for the best rates.
Hope for those with speeding tickets
There is hope if you’ve received a speeding violation. The story isn’t all doom and gloom. Insurance companies and law enforcement officers alike understand that everyone can have an off day behind the wheel and, sometimes, second chances are in order.
Some of these things will offset the speeding ticket – making it as though it never happened while others will simply help to offset the premium increases that occur as a result of the ticket. The following are worth considering:
- Attend traffic school.
- Take a defensive driving class.
- Bundle multiple policies together with the same insurance company.
- Increase your deductible.
- Seek additional discounts to help offset the costs (install alarms or GPS on your vehicles for instance).
Obviously, it is best to avoid getting speeding tickets altogether, it is not the end of the world when you do. Shop around, compare auto insurance quotes, and take advantage of the suggestions above to help offset the consequences of one mistake behind the wheel while seeking to avoid speeding tickets in the future.
Did you recently get one or more speeding tickets? Did you car insurance rates increase as a result? Here at bolt insurance Agency, we offer you the opportunity to compare car insurance quotes by completing our simple online form here.
