Where are you going in such a hurry?
Do you have any idea of how fast you were going?
Do you know why I pulled you over today?
Have you ever heard those questions before?
They usually come from a police officer or the highway patrol when you are caught speeding. It's a sinking feeling when you see the red lights in your rear view mirror.
Deep down you know you were going too fast (at least most of the time) and you are hoping to get just a warning instead of an actual ticket.
You probably have never heard the officer say
"I clocked you doing 77 in a 60 zone but I'm writing this for only 10 over so it won't affect your insurance."
Is that true?
Does a speeding ticket for 10 or less affect your insurance rates?
The answer is yes and no.
In most cases it will not affect your insurance rates because you already have auto insurance. You have already gone through your insurance carriers underwriting process, which means that ticket you just received wasn't there. Most insurers will not run your MVR (Motor Vehicle Report) again just to make sure you haven't received a ticket.
Insurance companies are too busy underwriting new insureds and settling claims to re-underwrite existing insureds.
What that means is it really doesn't matter if the ticket is for 10 or less; or if it's 10 - 15 over; or (God forbid you heathen) it's 15+ over
UNLESS
You want to change your insurance provider.
When you apply for auto insurance, the carrier will request your driving record from the state DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). The state DMV will provide the carrier information on EVERY TICKET you have received. Whether the ticket was for speeding, speeding 10 - 15 over, speeding 15+ over, or any other kind of ticket.
THIS WILL AFFECT YOUR INSURANCE
So why would the officer tell you this ticket (for speeding 10 or less) will not affect your insurance but a different kind of ticket will?
Unfortunately, the officer doesn't know insurance. But what he does know and the reason for the faulty conclusion is:
Having a speeding ticket for 10 or less is given a code by the DMV which results in 0 (zero) points on your driving record. In other situations when the DMV reports on your driving record they will report your points total. If you only have a 10 or less speeding ticket, your points total is still 0.
But with insurance companies, the DMV provides data on actual tickets, not points.
The result is every ticket you receive will be reported by the DMV to every insurance carrier that requests it. Most reputable carriers will factor into your rates every moving violation, and this includes the speeding 10 or less ticket.
So long as you stay with your current insurance provider, you may get away with speeding and not have it affect your rates. But if you want to shop your rates, more than likely that speeding ticket will affect the rate the new provider can offer you.
As Paul Harvey used to say "Now you know the rest of the story."
Drive Safely
Rick Trowe and I'm Standing Up.
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