Car insurance/traffic ticket question?

Question

I got a ticket for speeding (67 in a 50) a little over 8 months ago. I took it to court because it was a "first offense" and got the points down from 2 to 1. I never got anything from my insurance company, so I thought I got lucky and my rates would stay the same. About three weeks ago, we had a bad wind storm in Maryland and a tree limb fell on my jeep. I reported it the same day and the insurance is fixing. Yesterday I got a letter in the mail from my insurance saying my rates were going up from the ticket in March. Do you think that my report of the tree limb triggered them to look at my driving record and raise the rate or is it just a coincidence that this happened at the same time?

Answer 1

Probably, up until that point you were under radar so to speak and they possibly were going to let you slide, perhaps you are a long time patron.

And your record from that point is clean.

But the insurance company seized the chance to blame the speeding ticket to increase rates to recover some of the loss on your jeep.

Normally they don't wait that long but insurance companies have taken a hit on raising rates and canceling policies or denying coverage.

While your first instinct is to change insurance companies you might want to consider that since you have a speeding ticket another insurance company could charge you more for less services. If you do find a different insurance company the service might not be as good, they might drop you at the first hint of a claim which in this area would make it even harder and more expensive to get another insurance.

Sometimes there is a time limit on how long the rates will stay up depending on your future obeying the law.

Best slow down and save money.

Answer 2

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RE Car insurance/traffic ticket question?

I got a ticket for speeding (67 in a 50) a little over 8 months ago. I took it to court because it was a "first offense" and got the points down from 2 to 1. I never got anything from my insurance company, so I thought I got lucky and my rates would stay the same. About three weeks ago, we had a bad wind storm in Maryland and a tree limb fell on my jeep. I reported it the same day and the insurance is fixing. Yesterday I got a letter in the mail from my insurance saying my rates were going up from the ticket in March. Do you think that my report of the tree limb triggered them to look at my driving record and raise the rate or is it just a coincidence that this happened at the same time?

Answer 3

A insurance policy has what they call a policy period.For example, when you get a policy it is usually for 6 months or 12 months.And they get a motor vehicle report when you start the policy and then again at renewal.Renewal meaning at the end of the 6 or 12 months when your about to start a new policy period.And it probably was a coincidence about reporting the damage.Any time you make a claim to have it fixed, it affects your rate.As well as the speeding ticket did.They will always check your motor vehicle report at renewal.

Answer 4

As the driver of the vehicle, you are responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle. That also includes making sure the tag is current & there's insurance on the vehicle. Just because the car belongs to your friend doesn't mean you are exempt from the law. The cost of the ticket will vary depending on what state/town you're in. Just show up to court on the day written on the ticket & tell the judge what happened. You might not get out of paying the fine, but you never know...

Answer 5

All companies have different criteria for running motor vehicle reports. They usually do so at regular intervals. However, your claim activity may have triggered it. There are also many other insurance databases that swap claim information between insurance companies for rating purposes.

Insurance companies don't usually treat comprehensive claims (such as the tree limb incident) the same way as tickets and "at-fault" accidents. You weren't "at-fault" for the comprehensive claim, so there is no reason to raise your premiums (unless, of course, you filed multiple claims in a short period of time).

I seriously doubt that your insurance carrier lied to you about the reason for the increase. That would subject them to fines from your state's Department of Insurance.

Answer 6

Your renewal must have triggerd a MVR to be ordered not the claim. Insurance company's cannot change a rate in the middle of a term. Or, that is the case for TX.

Answer 7

call and ask them why it took so long to file it in to raise the rates, it should have been added long ago, and if it took them this long, I would raise a fuss about it, or find someone else.

We have had several tickets like that but paid them and didn't take them to court and our insurance has never went up. this is over a several year period too,

Answer 8

insurance companies run a dmv check at the renewal of your policy which is usually every six months. The increases to your policy then take affect at the new renewal of the policy.

Answer 9

your claim for wind damages caused them to raise your rates. They used the ticket as an excuse.

Answer 10

I believe it did, yes...They decided to check your record after you filed the claim...Almost all insurances do that...If you are bad, watch out, if you are in the states...