Pointing the Way to Higher Car Insurance Rates

It's never been fun to get a ticket, and if you've ever been pulled over, you undoubtedly know the feeling. However, in years gone by, tickets were issued, paid for, and forgotten about - unless of course you woke up in a cold sweat, reliving the experience! Today a majority of states use a system of "points" to rate your driving. Each time you commit an offense, points are put on your driving record. If you rack up a certain number of points in a set time period, you can lose your license or be required to take classes to improve your driving.

This is bad enough, but each time you add points to your record, your car insurance company hears the news. If you add enough points, your car insurance rates are sure to go up, and at an extreme level, your car insurance provider might decide to cancel your policy! Everybody makes mistakes, but if you're routinely in violation of traffic laws, you may lose the privilege of using the nation's roads.

How Those Points Stack Up

We all know that if we commit a major offense like vehicular homicide, there are going to be dire consequences, but points can add up quickly for even minor offenses. The actual points system varies by state, but typically a small offense, such driving 5-10 miles over the speed limit or failure to stop, is worth about two points. Not a big deal, but if you get three such offenses, you might have as many points as someone with a DUI on their record!

The other tricky thing about points is that, in most states, it's not just the number of points that you have, but how quickly you accumulate them. Points typically stay on your record for two years. So if you sometimes speed a little and get stopped for it once every three years, you probably won't suffer higher car insurance rates. But if you get stopped more often, say, once every couple of months, you'll end up with 12 points in less than two years. In many states, that many points that quickly is grounds to lose your license - even if you never hurt anyone (or anything)!

Car Insurance for High-Risk Drivers

Mayou don't lose your license, just a few points can cause your car insurance rates to spike. "High-risk" drivers, those with many points on their records, can end up paying a very high price just to stay legal. The most important thing to do is avoid adding to your already high point total! Losing your license can add an additional and very unpleasant dimension to getting car insurance.

Maybe you've made a few mistakes, but you still deserve the best rates possible. Shop around a little and look for a car insurance company that specializes in drivers who have some points on their records. Your regular car insurance company may not work as hard to help high-risk drivers, so find one that will! Use websites like carinsurancerates.com to find a company that will to keep your payments low. Those points will fade in a couple of years, but why go broke until then?