What You Need To Know About Traffic Citations And Your Auto Insurance
Posted on: 13 April 2017
It is no secret that your driving record will play an important role in your auto insurance coverage. People who have worse driving records tend to pay more in insurance cost over time. Here are some things that you need to know about your driving record and your auto insurance.
When I Get A Citation Is The Insurance Immediately Notified?
Many people wonder when the insurance company is notified after a citation. As a general rule, the insurance company will not know about the citation until there is an official record of it. This means that when you get the ticket, it is still unknown to the insurance company. It is not until you plea one way or the other that it will go on your record. So if you go into court and are able to fight it, the insurance company would never know that you even had a ticket. Additionally, if you choose to do something like driving or traffic school, which is provided by many precincts, even though you plead guilty to the citation, it will not be on your record and the insurance company won't know.
It is only after you pay the ticket, with a guilty plea, and don't do traffic school, that the insurance company figures it out.
Does Getting Multiple Citations Affect My Record?
If you get multiple tickets in a short period of time, regardless of whether or not you went to traffic school, it could affect your insurance premiums. Traffic school is designed to help you become a better driver, so if you continue to get citations, traffic school will not help you keep your insurance premiums low. Thus, having a good driving record, is very important to your insurance cost.
Do Citations Stay On My Record Forever?
Generally speaking, the citation should only stay on your record for a couple years. Every 5 years or so the insurance company starts over, or drops old things. Thus, just because you were reckless or got lots of tickets when you were 24 doesn't mean that you are the same reckless driver at 30. In fact, they expect you to get better at driving as you age, get married, have children and so forth. So you won't be plagued forever by your traffic tickets.
By understanding these things you can know how traffic citations affect your auto insurance premiums and how you can protect yourself. Contact an agent, like LA Insurance, for more help.
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