Will Traffic Tickets Affect My Auto Insurance Rates in Washington
Reader’s Question:
I’ve had a few traffic violation citations here in Washington State. How will my driving history affect my vehicle insurance policy rates? The latest violation I had happened 2 months ago.
Anthony,
Bellevue, WA
The Washington State Office notes that auto insurance companies must compute the vehicle insurance rates based on the dollar amount. This base rate must be adjusted according to certain factors determined by the auto insurance company. These are gender, age, marital status, model and make of the vehicle, driving history, credit history, claims history, and geographical area. The vehicle insurance carrier may impose an additional charge if you have been in an accident or you have violated a traffic rule. This is referred to as a surcharge.
The WA Department of Leasing (DOL) notes that convictions and violations or infractions will be kept in your driving record for five years upon the conviction date. For collisions, this will be recorded in your MVR. The record will show who are involved in the incident, whether one or none of the involved parties were parked when the incident happened, the persons affected and the type of injury it caused them. For private vehicles, the incident will stay in the driver’s record for 5 years, while for commercial vehicles, it’s 10 years.
In WA, the auto insurance company decides on how long the violations or accidents could affect a driver’s vehicle’s insurance rate. However, most insurance companies will rate you based on your moving violations for a period of 3, 5 or 7 years, depending on the frequency of occurrence of the violations and accidents.
Washington Auto Insurance Rate
Reader’s Question:
I received a speeding ticket followed by an accident 30 days after in Washington State. How long will this affect my auto insurance rate?
Kevin
Bellevue, WA
Insurance providers in Washington may charge you more if you have been involved in an accident or have been convicted of one or more moving violations. This is referred to as surcharge. In addition to that, the more claims you file, the more likely your auto insurance rates will increase.
Since the Washington State insurance regulator does not provide any information that suggests the state has a restriction then it will be up to the individual insurance companies’ rating system to determine how long the citations and accident can affect your auto insurance rates. An insurance company will normally rate you on traffic violations and accidents for a period of 3, 5 or 7 years.
Basically the WA DOL ticket and the accident will both stay on your driving record for five years so it likely will be 3 or 5 years that your insurance company will rate you on these incidents. To find from your current insurance carrier and find out how long the speeding ticket and accident (plus claims if there were ones made) can affect your car insurance rates contact your agent.
Washington SR22 Auto Insurance Rates
Reader question:
What are Washington SR22 rates like these days?
Amber
Thanks for asking, Amber.
WA SR22 rates are pretty median compared to the rest of the states, coming in with the 19th highest rates, followed closely by Florida and Pennsylvania. The average rates for car insurance in Washington are around $803 a year, but of course, SR22 rates will tend to e twice–or in some very bad cases, even three times–that amount.
This isn’t to say that the best SR22 rates are going to be $1600. It’s likely that if you get such a price, then you aren’t looking hard enough. Sure, that may be the average price, but it’s also the average price which is quoted to the average person who does not shop for theit auto insurance online–unlike you.
Such average people pay a lot of money for their laziness–an estimated $400 on average for their premiums. They pay so much for their premiums simply because of the fact that they aren’t shopping around for their auto insurance quotes. When you pull up your SR22 rates online from several different companies, you can see the wide variances and make a better choice than the average Joe.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
Washington SR-22 Auto Insurance Rates
Reader’s Question:
I was required to carry an sr-22 but wasn’t been able to make a payment for it so it was canceled. My question is this, do I need to start the three years again or should I start from the day that I canceled it? Thank you.
Eric
Good question Eric.
It depends upon the laws of the state if you will need to start all over again from the time period that you were required to carry the sr-22 or if you can start from the time where you left off before canceling the future proof of financial responsibility.
In most states you are going to have to restart after reinstating the policy with an sr-22.
In Washington State if an individual whose proof of financial responsibility has been terminated applies for a drivers license within a period of three years from the date sr22 was originally required, that application will be refused unless the motorist applying shall re-establish a proof for the remaining three-year period.
I would really suggest that you check with your WA Department of Motor Vehicles to verify what is required of you regarding the time period in which you must maintain the proof of financial responsibility or SR-22.
Goodluck!
MariCAR
Loading ...