Does 1 Point Affect Auto Insurance?

  1. 12689 POINTS
    Ted Ratliff
    Owner, SFS Associates,
    Not usually depending on the company.  If you are changing companies sometimes you could lose a discount but it depends on how the companies underwriting is set up.  In most cases just having one point on your license will not raise your rates, in fact many companies, other than periodic spot checking, will only check your driving record if you have an accident or claim or at the time you take out your policy.  I have seen drivers with as high as six points getting preferred rates because the company had not checked their driving record.  Each company is different and each company varies on how often they check driving records.
     
    Answered on April 27, 2013
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  2. 7647 POINTS
    Mark Bartlett CLCS
    Branch Owner, TWFG Insurance Services, Fremont California and the Greater Bay Area Representing Dozens of Insurance Carriers
    In California the answer is an absolute yes. California is governed by proposition 103 guidelines and one of the major rating factors is driving record. Every personal lines auto insurance carrier must rate according to your driving record so 1 point will have an impact. This impact can be quite significant. 2 points in a 3 year period and you are no longer considered a California a good driver. This can cause rates to easily double in many cases. I often see clients who move in from out of state who have points on their driving record get a big shock to find out there rates are affected by a ticket. So what is a point you may ask. Any minor moving violation is 1 point. A major moving violation can be 2 points with a DUI coming in at 4 points. A minor at-fault accident is 1 point. A at-fault accident that includes bodily injury is 2 points. You may attend traffic school for a minor violation in most areas once every 18 months. All the rest you just have to wait out the 3 years until the points drop off your record. Also some insurance carriers reward drivers for clean driving records that go beyond 3 years so even though your points may have dropped off you still may not be receiving the best rates possible until 5-7 years. And by the way, Insurance carriers in California will check the driving record once a year minimum if not more often. If you move from one carrier to the next an upfront motor vehicle record is always ran.
    Answered on April 27, 2013
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