Car Insurance Articles
Why Fighting A Traffic Violation Might Be Worth It In Car Insurance
2009-12-15
Almost everyone has had a traffic violation at one point or another. The fact that you have to pay a large fine is bad enough, but sometimes there are much worse repercussions - like the affect a tick has on your car insurance rate. Even when you are with a company that has a "forgiveness" policy for first time violations, you may not be able to retain any safe driver discounts you have been receiving. It is not uncommon to see huge jumps in your car insurance policy rates after you have had a traffic violation.
If your policy has a safe driver discount that is revoked, you will likely be paying up to 20 percent more following a traffic ticket. In addition to that, many insurance companies will raise the rate on your policy another 20 percent. In certain states a penalty of $150 will be added to your policy rates for every ticket that you receive. There are a couple of states that restrict insurance companies in this regard. Here, the first ticket in any three-year period will not affect the policy by law. However, following that one ticket, the companies are free to raise your rates as they see fit. If your record has more than a ticket or two in a three-year period, you could even be in danger of having your policy canceled. Perhaps worse would be the option you may then be faced with - many insurance companies have a high-risk division that offers policies to high-risk drivers at extremely high premiums.
Despite your best efforts, sometimes you might find yourself faced with a moving violation, and the raised insurance rates that could accompany it. Many people never think of fighting the ticket in court, but it is an excellent option for most. There are a couple of ways to win. You can speak to the judge and state your case in a succinct manner and hope for the best. It is entirely possible that the judge will decide to dismiss the charges, finding that the violation was not valid. If you plead guilty, the judge may reduce the costs of the ticket. A reduced ticket will usually go along with a lowering of points on your driving record, which means you may not see an increase in insurance. Should the officer who issued the ticket fail to appear in court, the judge will likely dismiss the ticket, and this happens with surprising regularity.
Fighting a traffic violation is well worth the time and effort, especially when you consider that it can help you to keep a good driving record and save money on your car insurance coverage.