The roads are dangerous, and no matter how well you learn to drive or how many miles you have driven, there is always the risk of getting into an accident looming over everyone. According to a survey in 2019, there are more than 6 million road accidents every year! This is only counting the passenger vehicles. There’s no doubt why insurance companies do such thorough background checks, examine driving records, and consider so many different factors before giving you an auto insurance quote. But does a speeding warning affect your insurance?
There is no simple, straightforward answer to this question because the calculation of auto insurance prices is such a complex process. But there are some ways to look at it and find out whether you’ll have to pay higher insurance prices just because you got a little passionate on the roads and decided to do 100 on a 75.
Warning vs Felony
There’s a difference between a warning and a felony. Speeding can be considered as a part of both. While a felony is chargeable, a warning usually means that you were about to commit the felony but stopped somewhere, or it was not severe enough to be considered as one. This is why you are given the warning to avoid such mistakes which could potentially become a crime.
But when it comes to speeding, the line between felony and misdemeanor is very thin. The very act of going over the speed limit is a traffic violation, which can easily increase your insurance rates. It depends on the type of warning that you get and whether it can be severe enough to impact your insurance rates.
Can A Speeding Warning Affect Your Insurance?
From every insurance company that we know, there is little to no chance that a speeding warning or any type of warning will affect your insurance rates. So the next time an officer pulls you over and tells you to drive within the limit, consider yourself lucky that you did not get a speeding ticket and your insurance rates are unaffected. But don’t take this too lightly, it takes no time before a warning turns into a felony.
How Insurance Rates are Affected
Insurance companies are very smart when it comes to deciding insurance rates. Even the most affordable insurance company that might offer the best prices for the insurance will look into your driving records, coverage gaps, and other factors to decide the price.
Auto insurance companies look at the CLUE report, which contains all the tickets, charges, accident records, and everything about the person. You can get a copy of your CLUE report for free to see how many traffic tickets you have in your name. This is how insurance companies calculate your insurance quote.
So it all depends on whether a speeding warning gets registered on your CLUE report or not. It is very rare to have a verbal speeding warning to be considered a traffic violation. But what about a written warning? A written warning is far more severe than a verbal warning, right?
While written warnings are a little more serious than verbal ones, a warning is still a warning. And warnings do not affect your insurance rates because they are like your one-off pass for a violation. But remember that things can be serious, depending on the state you are in or the officer.
Repeated warnings might result in a hefty fine and a ticket, which will be added to your CLUE report and will increase the price of your auto insurance. For example, if the officer noted down your license plate and found you speeding again, you are looking at a ticket for sure. Tickets and fines go directly to the DMV, and from there to your CLUE report. So it is better to be safe than sorry and pay a lot of money for insurance which works as an insult to injury.
So the bottom line is, that warnings will not affect your auto insurance rates, as they are just verbal or written warnings that are not registered anywhere. But if the warning is repeated and you are caught doing the same thing again, it will result in a ticket. But here’s an extra step of precaution you need to take if you want to keep your insurance rates intact.
Don’t Contact Your Insurance Company for Speeding!
Yes, you read that right. Let’s say that you got a warning for overspeeding and that was it. But you want to make sure that your insurance rates are still the same. You should stop right at that moment. Why? Because just talking to your insurance company might increase your insurance prices. Just by talking!
While never confirmed but observed, people who get into minor accidents, or just speed have reported seeing a hike in the insurance premiums and price just because they asked the insurance company about the violation. Insurance companies are keeping hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake in your driving record. They will not slip anything which could increase the risk of an accident. And a speeding warning is a factor that increases the risk of accidents.
So not just speeding, but whatever happens, while you drive, never contact your insurance company about any violations, warnings, verbal or written. If they know, the price will go up. Another way of knowing if a speeding warning has increased your insurance cost or not is by requesting a CLUE report after a month or so of getting a speeding warning. The CLUE report is free of cost and does not affect your insurance rates.