How Much Will a Single Speeding Ticket Increase Insurance Your Rates?
Last Updated on October 4, 2021
Nobody wants to get a speeding ticket. Speeding tickets can be expensive. They could also raise your car insurance premiums.
Some insurers raise premiums after a single speeding ticket. Other insurers ignore your first speeding ticket, but they increase rates after multiple speeding tickets within a three or five-year period.
Today, we’re explaining how much a single speeding ticket can increase your rates – if at all.
A Single Speeding Ticket May Not Impact your Rates
Some insurers do not punish drivers for a single speeding ticket – especially if it was a minor speeding ticket and you have no other tickets or citations on your record. Companies like GEICO even have “incident forgiveness,” which will forgive a single traffic violation such as a speeding ticket.
If you have a clean driving record and were caught going 10 miles over the speed limit, for example, then your single speeding ticket may have no impact on your rates. Even if your insurer raises your rates, it will not be a monumental spike – somewhere between 5 and 20%.
However, if you have a history of reckless driving, have multiple citations on your record, or were caught excessively speeding, then your insurance company might sharply raise your rates.
Insurance companies generally check driving records dating back three to five years. If you had any type of citation, at-fault accident, or other incidents within the last three to five years, then you might pay higher insurance premiums after a single speeding ticket. In this case, a single speeding ticket could cause rates to rise by 20% or 30%.
Ultimately, a single speeding ticket on an otherwise clean (or mostly clean) driving record should not significantly impact insurance premiums. Some insurers will not raise premiums at all, while others will raise premiums by a negligible amount (5 to 10%).
Why a Speeding Ticket Impacts Car Insurance Premiums
Auto insurance is all about risk. Statistically, drivers who speed are more likely to get into an accident. If you have received a speeding ticket, then insurance companies may raise premiums to compensate for this added risk.
A single speeding ticket may not be a significant risk factor, although multiple speeding tickets or a history of dangerous driving could be. Every driver can make a silly mistake, but getting multiple speeding tickets indicates that you generally drive at high speeds.
Speeding is the most common of all traffic citations. It’s also one of the most common reasons a driver is found at fault for the accident. If you were speeding and got into an accident, then you might be found at fault (or partially at fault) for the accident even though the other driver made an error.
Some Speeding Tickets Could Have Serious Consequences
Insurers do not treat all speeding tickets equally. They treat some speeding tickets more seriously than others.
Understandably, if you were caught speeding 50 miles over the speed limit, you can expect more serious consequences than someone driving 10 miles over the speed limit.
Insurance companies also take a harsh stance against multiple speeding tickets. If you have received two or more speeding tickets within the last five years, for example, then one more speeding ticket may push you over the edge, raising premiums.
A single speeding ticket could even cause your insurer to drop your policy. If you have multiple violations on your driving record within the last few years, and you get a speeding ticket, then your insurer could change your status to non-renewal. That means your insurance policy will not be renewed when it expires and you will need to find another insurer.
State Law May Be a Factor
States treat speeding tickets in different ways. Some states use a point system, for example, where you have points added to your license for each violation.
A minor speeding ticket might have no points added to your license, while a more serious speeding ticket could add multiple points to your license.
Insurers may consider your license points when calculating premiums. In fact, some insurers don’t even consider the nature of the violation: they just look at your license points to decide whether or not to raise premiums.
Ignoring the points system, some states have different rules for insurers. Insurers in California, for example, are forbidden from using credit score or gender to calculate premiums. Your driving record plays a much bigger role in your insurance premiums in California, so a single speeding ticket might raise rates by 20% to 30%, when that same speeding ticket would only raise premiums 5% in other states.
Average Rate Increases by State
As stated above, the amount your auto insurance rates will increase after a speeding ticket depends on where you live. The following table shows the average annual increase in insurance premium by state:
State | Average Increase for 11-16 mph Over Limit | Average Increase for 17-29 mph Over Limit | Average Increase for 30+ mph Over Limit |
---|---|---|---|
Alabama | $370 | $370 | $498 |
Alaska | $239 | $239 | $239 |
Arkansas | $316 | $316 | $675 |
Arizona | $346 | $374 | $374 |
California | $605 | $605 | $605 |
Colorado | $312 | $312 | $312 |
Connecticut | $336 | $336 | $599 |
Delaware | $325 | $391 | $918 |
Florida | $602 | $692 | $1043 |
Georgia | $303 | $486 | $1064 |
Hawaii | $130 | $130 | $130 |
Iowa | $185 | $200 | $200 |
Idaho | $301 | $301 | $301 |
Illinois | $236 | $236 | $236 |
Indiana | $252 | $252 | $277 |
Kansas | $224 | $224 | $224 |
Kentucky | $246 | $478 | $852 |
Louisiana | $462 | $462 | $462 |
Massachusetts | $319 | $319 | $319 |
Maryland | $273 | $273 | $273 |
Maine | $136 | $165 | $165 |
Michigan | $696 | $1010 | $1666 |
Minnesota | $290 | $362 | $362 |
Missouri | $125 | $136 | $136 |
Mississippi | $442 | $442 | $657 |
Montana | $126 | $195 | $195 |
North Carolina | $583 | $583 | $583 |
North Dakota | $237 | $237 | $237 |
Nebraska | $363 | $363 | $363 |
New Hampshire | $267 | $267 | $531 |
New Jersey | $241 | $373 | $455 |
New Mexico | $283 | $283 | $283 |
Nevada | $316 | $339 | $460 |
New York | $146 | $219 | $219 |
Ohio | $200 | $262 | $361 |
Oklahoma | $436 | $436 | $436 |
Oregon | $263 | $263 | $378 |
Pennsylvania | $134 | $134 | $134 |
Rhode Island | $421 | $421 | $554 |
South Carolina | $210 | $210 | $412 |
South Dakota | $224 | $224 | $224 |
Tennessee | $203 | $203 | $454 |
Texas | $252 | $252 | $252 |
Utah | $220 | $220 | $220 |
Virginia | $198 | $198 | $305 |
Vermont | $163 | $163 | $342 |
Washington | $250 | $250 | $250 |
Washington, D.C. | $275 | $275 | $588 |
Wisconsin | $179 | $283 | $283 |
West Virginia | $220 | $277 | $689 |
Wyoming | $443 | $443 | $443 |
Source - CarInsurance.com |
Consider Contesting the Speeding Ticket
Contesting a speeding ticket can save you money today and in the future. Contesting your speeding ticket could wipe it from your record. Or, it could lower your ticket to a less serious violation, which means less of an impact (or no impact) on insurance premiums.
Or, some insurers let you avoid insurance premium hikes by taking a defensive driving course. Some insurers drop a single moving violation – like a speeding ticket – from your record if you take a defensive driving course or complete an online training module.
Even if your speeding ticket doesn’t seem expensive, it could lead to higher insurance premiums if you don’t contest it. Consider contesting your ticket to reduce the impact on premiums.
Final Word on the Impact of a Single Speeding Ticket
For most drivers, a single speeding ticket will not impact your rates in a significant way. Some insurers raise premiums 5% to 10% after multiple speeding tickets. Others raise premiums 20% to 30% if you have a history of reckless driving, received a ticket for excessive speeding, or have an at-fault accident on your record.
If you’re unsure about the impact a single speeding ticket will have on your insurance premiums, then contact your insurer.