What is the Effect of a Traffic Ticket on Your Car Insurance Rates?

The bad news is that even one traffic ticket can raise your insurance rates. Typically, when you plead guilty or are found guilty of a traffic offense points will be assessed on your license and those points may legitimately be considered by car insurance companies when they are calculating your annual premiums. However, the good news is that car insurance companies may not hold that ticket against you forever. Different states have different laws concerning how long a ticket may be considered when calculating car insurance rates. While the time frame varies from state to state, you should expect the ticket to affect your rates for at least several years. Some states will allow you to take driver education classes in order to remove the points from license and therefore not incur as large an increase in your car insurance premiums.