Having a Bad Driving Record and Finding Affordable Car Insurance

Ron Trumbo Insurance Editor

Reality Check: How bad is your driving record? Are you finding it hard to find cheap car insurance? Please share your thoughts on our Facebook page!

Obviously, your driving record is an important part of how your insurance company will determine your car insurance premiums. If you're like me, you may have had a few tickets in the past couple years — you know, getting caught at a fast-moving "with the flow" or poorly timing a stale red light. It's in the past! Now's the time to find the best priced auto insurance policies as there are dozens of car insurance carriers and they all have a different specialization with higher risk drivers.

Auto insurance companies will normally get a copy of your driving record from your state’s motor vehicle department. Then, they will use your driving record as part of how they assess you for insurance, under their underwriting rules. Since your driving record can have a direct impact on how much you pay, it is essential to keep your record as clean as possible.

The points on your driving record may have a more significant impact with one insurer versus another. It pays to shop around. Once you have insurance with a particular company, your insurer likely has the right to review your driving record.

Generally, the motor vehicles department has a point-rating system, which they use to track your driving record. Under the typical point system, each type of infraction, including moving violations, parking tickets, at-fault accidents, and DUI's, are assigned a certain point value. When you are found guilty of one of these infractions, the appropriate number of points is added to your driving record.

Typically, an auto insurance company has the right to review the driving record of anyone who applies for an auto insurance policy from that company. They do this to determine whether you meet their guidelines for insurance and are eligible for a policy under their guidelines, and to assess your risk potential to them — affecting how much you will pay.

Every insurer has unique underwriting guidelines for evaluating prospective clients. As a result, the points on your record may have a more significant impact with one insurer versus another. As always, it pays to shop around. Once you have insurance with a particular company, your insurer likely has the right to review your driving record. Some insurers will review your record very regularly; they may review as often as once a year on your policy renewal date.

Other insurers may be less diligent. There are, however, certain times when you can be relatively sure an insurance company will be checking your record. These include, when you initially apply for coverage; when you request a change to your policy, such as an increase in coverage; and when you add a vehicle to your policy or change vehicles.

More information resources online: driving records online, Insurance Information Institute