How to Lower Your Car Insurance After a Ticket

Drivers who need to lower their car insurance after a ticket usually have a few options. They can take driving classes, raise their deductibles, and shop around for cheaper auto insurance quotes. In some states and situations, tickets and “points” can be removed from your record, but not always.

Today, the savvy team of insurance experts at Einsurance.com is here to explain everything consumers need to know about tickets, driving records and insurance prices. As always, our goal is to provide honest, unbiased information for the public.

Read on to learn:

Will a ticket affect your car insurance?
How to lower car insurance after a ticket
Steps to get tickets off your record for insurance
How to save money after a ticket
And fun facts about car insurance rates after a ticket by state

We begin by answering a very common question in the world of auto insurance, “Will a ticket affect your car insurance?”

Will a Ticket Affect Your Car Insurance?

It depends! Throughout a lifetime of driving, many drivers will get the occasional traffic ticket. For the most part, a single, reasonable traffic ticket will not affect your car insurance much.

Speeding Tickets and Car Insurance

A single minor speeding offense may stay on your record forever with your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV.) It all depends on your state. And, depending on your state, auto insurance companies will consider this minor infraction part of your driving record for three to five years, on average.

If your driving history is relatively safe and free of claims, a single speeding ticket may have no real effect on your auto insurance costs.

Things get more complicated and costly for repeat offenders, serious traffic violations, and youthful drivers with a short driving history. Drivers who continue to collect speeding tickets will likely face increased auto insurance prices, and even a non-renewal letter from their insurer.

Examples of More Serious Traffic Violations

Let’s explore some of the more significant traffic tickets that will likely affect your car insurance prices. Of them all, driving under the influence (DUI) is probably the most notorious, and most common, ticket that will affect your auto insurance.

DUI

Driving under the influence (DUI) — and similar charges like driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving while ability impaired (DWAI) that apply in some states — are among the most serious traffic violations that may affect your car insurance prices for up to 10 years.

DUI is illegal in every state, and car auto insurance companies take these convictions very seriously. In addition to “points” on a license (in states that have them), a driver convicted of DUI may face:

Hefty fines
Non-renewal of auto insurance
Jail time, depending on the state
Increased auto insurance prices
Driver’s license suspension or revocation
Difficulty finding work if it involves driving or a commercial driver’s license (CDL)
And the potential requirements for interlock ignition devices for repeat offenders, which act as a “breathalyzer” to determine if a car will start

Some states require drivers to attend substance abuse meetings or counseling, and educational courses.

As a rule, repeat DUI offenses come with more significant penalties. Fines increase, potential jail time increases, and it becomes very difficult to find affordable auto insurance options. (We will speak more on ways to lower car insurance after a ticket shortly.)

Aside from a DUI ticket, criminal speeding tickets and street racing tickets can be very expensive when it comes to your car insurance prices.

Criminal Speeding, Street Racing, “Display of Speed” Tickets

These tickets are less common than a simple speeding ticket, but they are considered more dangerous by insurers.

The infractions and penalties vary among the states, but in short, street racing and drag racing on public roads are very serious offenses. Your auto insurance premiums will likely increase dramatically after these charges, and they will stay on your license for years to come.

Now that we’ve covered some of the most challenging tickets, let’s talk about ways to lower car insurance after a ticket.

How to Lower Car Insurance After a Ticket

If you’ve been cited with a few simple speeding tickets, or a single more serious charge, you still may be able to lower your car insurance to a reasonable rate.

Take Driving Classes

First, contact your insurer and ask about driver’s education programs. If applicable, they may provide you with a list of “drivers ed” providers with whom they work. After completing the class, your insurance may lower by as much as 10%, but it might take time. Some insurers allow a 3% discount for the first year, a 6% discount the second year, and the final 10% discount only applies in the third year of safe driving.

Still, these savings do add up, so it’s worth the investment and the wait if you’re trying to lower your car insurance after a ticket.

Another way to lower car insurance after a ticket is to adjust your policy.

Talk to Your Insurer to Adjust Your Insurance Policy

Grab your insurance policy and read it closely. Do you need every coverage? You may be able to lower your car insurance significantly by changing coverages, lowering limits, or cutting certain coverages.

Drop from Full Coverage to a Liability-Only Policy

Know that all states have minimum liability insurance requirements. Still, if you own your car outright (and do not make a car payment), you may be able to reduce your coverage from a full-coverage policy to a liability-only policy. This could save a lot of money on your insurance premiums.

Of course, this change comes with significant risks. Any damage done to your car by an accident you cause will be your responsibility to fix. This is also true of hail damage, falling tree limbs, theft, a garage fire, and so on.

And, should your car be totaled in a major accident, you will need to find new transportation without any help from the insurer.

In other words, be very careful when switching from a full coverage auto insurance policy to a liability-only policy.

Other Ways to Massage Your Policy Premiums

If you make a car payment, or if you do not dare to accept a liability-only policy, you may be able to lower your car insurance after a ticket by:

Dropping rental car coverage
Dropping roadside assistance coverage
Increasing your deductibles for full coverage
And shopping around for cheaper auto insurance

You can, in some states, try to get points and tickets removed from your license.

Steps to Get Tickets Off Your Record for Insurance

First, let’s remember that the best way to avoid high insurance costs is to drive safely and stay within speed limits.

If you do get a ticket, you can “fight it” in court.

“Fighting the Ticket”

Now, we are not attorneys at Einsurance.com. We are insurance experts. However, you can do this yourself, without hiring an attorney, by visiting the traffic court on the date shown on your citation and explaining yourself to the judge.

If you are reasonable and respectful, and tell a good story that explains your infraction, the judge might help you avoid expensive fines and severe citations, especially for simple speeding tickets. The judge can move to dismiss a ticket entirely or reduce the charges to something like a parking ticket, which will not affect your car insurance premiums.

Online Systems to Fight Tickets

In the spirit of full, unbiased disclosure, you should know there are also online ticket-fighting platforms. These might work for people who travel too much to go to court, or perhaps they’re deployed in the military.

Some examples include:

If, however, you are past this point and already have the tickets on your license, the next step is traffic school. Most states allow drivers to take some classes to reduce the points on their license and have a ticket removed eventually from their public record.

Expungement

Some states allow a court to “expunge” issues on a driver’s record. This involves going to court and speaking to a judge, after a period of very good behavior. This may apply for more severe charges, like street racing, criminal speed, aggressive / reckless driving, and the like.

Now, let’s explore more ways to save money after a ticket.

How to Save Money After a Ticket

We’ve already explained that drivers can save money after a ticket by:

Fighting the ticket in court
Attending driver’s ed courses or traffic school
Reducing coverages on a car insurance policy
Switching from a full-coverage policy to liability-only

There are a few more ways to save money after a ticket. First, shop around for auto insurance.

Shop Around for Auto Insurance

Auto insurers prefer very safe drivers. Still, many insurers are actively seeking new business and may try to lure you to them with a very attractive price, even if you have a few traffic tickets.

Simply gather your documents (driver’s license, VIN number and current policy) and check out our handy online quoting tool to get started. At Einsurance.com, we match consumers with insurers, and you can spend as much time as you like reviewing a host of quotes from insurance companies who are ready to compete for your business.

Just remember to be completely honest about your tickets and driving history. Insurers all share this information anyways, so they will know the truth within a matter of hours.

If you still cannot afford auto insurance after your ticket, it may be time to switch vehicles.

Swap Your Vehicle for a Cheaper Ride

This choice is not for everyone, but it exists for some. If you currently drive a very costly vehicle that is expensive to insure, you could consider driving a less-expensive vehicle for a while.

For instance, you might be able to sell your 2025 Jaguar F-Pace back to the dealership and pay cash for a 2002 Honda Civic. You will probably save hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on insurance this year with a liability-only policy on this less-expensive vehicle.

Do You Have a Motorcycle?

If you are single, have a motorcycle license and a bike, and live in a climate where you can drive it for most of the year, you could save a lot of money by only insuring the motorcycle for a while.

Motorcycle insurance is usually much cheaper than traditional auto insurance (because a light bike poses less risk to others than a heavy car.) Obviously, this isn’t a suitable choice for families, long-distance commuters, or those who live in a region with much snow or rain. But it is a creative solution that might help certain consumers.

Living Without a Vehicle and Insurance

Thanks to ridesharing apps, delivery services and public transportation, some consumers live a without a car or car insurance very successfully.

You might discover the lifestyle changes of riding a bicycle to work and walking to the store very healthful! Just remember, all states require autos to be insured. It is never okay to drive without insurance.

And finally, let’s explore some fun details about car insurance rates after a ticket by state.

Car Insurance Rates After a Ticket by State: Fun Facts

All 50 states have unique rules, terminology, and penalties for a host of different traffic infractions. To detail all car insurance rates after every type of ticket, by state, would require hundreds of pages. So, for the sake of brevity, we’ve listed a few interesting facts about car insurance rates after traffic tickets.

Fact: In Maryland, a DUI conviction leads to 12 points on a driver’s license. These points stay on the offender’s license forever and may lead to license revocation.

Fact: North Dakota drivers are cited for street racing 70 times more often than drivers in other states.

Fact: In California, it is illegal to have a monkey in your car, and illegal to own primates at all.

We hope you’ve enjoyed our dissertation on traffic tickets, how tickets can affect your car insurance costs, and how to battle tickets and save some money. Remember, it always helps to shop around for car insurance, and Einsurance.com might help you save a lot.