Thursday, June 2, 2011

How does a ticket affect my insurance rate?

A new study shows just how damaging speeding tickets or other moving violation citations can be to your insurance rates.

Insurance.com did an analysis of more than 32,000 insurance policies sold last year, and concluded that a single violation on a driver's record drove up rates by an average of 18 percent. Drivers with two violations paid an average of 34 percent more, and those with three paid 53 percent more.

Some of the violations that affect your auto insurance rates are no surprise: a DUI, for example, or fleeing from police, or wrong-way driving. But an improper passing citation also counts, as does failure to use a proper child restraint.

What typically doesn't count? Parking tickets.

Your driving record, of course, isn't the only thing that auto insurers consider. Here are some of the other factors that affect the cost of your auto insurance.