Does a Speeding Warning Affect Your Insurance?

Millions of people have seen their car insurance rates go up or down from one insurance period to the next. There are many variables that affect the amount of money you pay on your car insurance plans, and speeding tickets are one of them. Other variables include your age, marital status, driving record, location, credit score, and more. Some states do not allow auto insurance companies to utilize a person’s credit score to determine the rates though.

By making sure that your vehicle is registered, your driver’s license is valid, and you have insurance, you will be driving legally in your state. You need to make sure that your insurance policy meets the minimum limits for coverage in your state, something that Insurance US can assist with. While most people are aware speeding tickets can add points to their driver’s license and affect car insurance rates, people are a little bit less versed on whether or not speeding warnings will affect the amount they are paying for car insurance premiums.

Insurance US is the top resource for all information pertaining to automobile insurance policies and rates. This article will explore whether or not warnings affect your automobile insurance premiums.

Warnings Should Never Affect Car Insurance Rates

If you get pulled over, a number of things will happen. First, you should find a safe place to pull over and be aware of which side of the road you are supposed to pull over onto. Secondly, turn your vehicle off and roll your window down. The officer is going to approach your vehicle and ask you for your driver’s license, registration, and insurance.

Next, they will likely talk to you for a minute and ask you a few questions. In some cases, they may decide to let you off with a warning for things like speeding and other tickets. This can be a huge relief, particularly when the ticket could have added points to your driving record. Having points on your record can increase your auto insurance plan premiums and end up costing you quite a bit of money over the years. This is why it is important to drive safely and pay attention to the laws in the area you are driving.

If you get a warning, however, these do not generally have any points added to your driving record assigned. Due to this, your insurance premiums will not be affected. In some cases, your car insurance company might not even be aware that the warning exists.

Written Warnings May Be On Your Record

Even though a warning will not affect your auto insurance rates, and seems like it will not affect anything at all, written warnings may appear on your record. This is essential to know because if you are pulled over again, the police officer may already know that you have gotten a warning. While you may have avoided getting a ticket the first time around, if you are pulled over for the same thing a second time, the second officer might not be as lenient as the first.

The hope many officers have when giving a personal warning is that drivers will change their behavior and drive more safely. If you get a warning, even a written one, you will not need to go to court. If you get a ticket, you may be required to go to the court, either to attend a hearing or to pay for your ticket. Unless documentation in your state's Department of Motor Vehicles exists, your car insurance provider will have no record of the warning and will not be aware of its existence.

What Else Do I Need To Know About Warnings?

There are a few different types of warnings, the first of which is a verbal warning. This is the better of the two warnings and one that is simply spoken by the police officer to you. There is no record of this type of warning anywhere, so it is as if the warning never happened.

Officers can also give out written warnings in many places. While it is not a citation, nor ticket, it will be placed into the system, and other officers may be able to see that it exists if you are pulled over at a later point. Law enforcement records will sometimes show written warnings that exist, but since your auto insurance company generally will not see these, they will not affect the premiums that you pay.

These warnings are designed to help you obey traffic laws while also not costing you money. There are other things you need to know about warnings that are extremely important. First, it is possible that your insurance company has access to your warning. This can depend on the area you are living and the type of infraction you are being warned about. Secondly, some combinations of tickets and warnings can cause your rates to go up, but in many cases, warnings are not seen by the car insurance provider. It is possible to find out whether your states DMV has a protocol for police officers to send warnings to them or not. This can be useful information to have.

Keep in mind that if your insurance rates to go up, for any reason, you can get a new plan from a new company at any time. In most cases, there is no penalty associated with changing policies or companies at all. Compare prices for car insurance here at Insurance US to find the best car insurance rates for your situation.