Insurance premiums and traffic tickets go hand-in-hand

You do your best to be a safe driver. You always make sure you buckle your seatbelt, use your turn signal and check your mirrors. As a daily commuter, you have your driving routine down perfectly. You know exactly what time you have to leave the house to get to work on time, what route to take to the grocery store, and where the potholes are located throughout most of Statesville.

This routine is great for your time management. However, this can also lead to complacency behind the wheel. You realized that when you got pulled over for speeding. You were on the way to pick up the kids like always, when suddenly the red and blue lights of the cop car flashed in your rearview mirror. You got a speeding ticket. Now you can’t help but wonder if it’s worth making a fuss over. Will this ticket impact your insurance? Will you feel the effects long after you pay the fine?

Traffic points and insurance premiums

As you may know, North Carolina has a Safe Driver Incentive Plan in place to encourage safe driving. Because of this, traffic laws correlate certain driving infractions with points. These points go on your driving record and stay there for a period of time. Insurance companies take your driving history into account when deciding your premium. If you pay your speeding ticket off, or do not take the right action, you will receive points that cause your premium to increase.

How much will my premium increase?

The cost in which your insurance will go up varies. The greater the number of points against you, the higher the increase. One point can increase your premium by over 20%. In the grand scheme of things, this can really impact your wallet. You have activities to pay for, kids to feed and a house to take care of. You should look into your options and ensure that you handle your speeding ticket in the best possible way.

What can you do about those points?

Of course, the best thing to do is to drive as safe as possible. Avoid any violations so that you can keep your driving record clean. You can often take a driving class to have points removed from your record. In North Carolina, you can take this class when you’ve acquired seven points. Successful completion of the class will remove three points from your record. You can also wait for the points to drop off of your record. It takes three years for this to happen. When in doubt, fight the charges against you and work to have points lowered or removed.