Let’s say you fall into this scenario:
You’ve been with the same car insurance company for the last ten years. You have have never had an accident, never had a claim, never even had a ticket. You probably also have tons of discounts… loyalty discounts, claims-free discounts, even conviction-free discounts.
Now, let’s say you got your first ticket. Let’s say it’s a minor speeding ticket for going ten over the limit. That’s such a small ticket. That couldn’t possibly affect your rates given that your driving record is so good.
Right?
Probably wrong.
Losing your conviction-free discount
Remember that conviction-free discount that I mentioned? That could be quite big, anywhere from 5% to 20%, depending on the company. You add one small minor ticket into the mix and suddenly you lose that conviction-free discount. That would mean quite a big rate increase.
So it’s true, then, insurance companies increase your rates after one minor ticket, right?
Wrong.
Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.
The above example assumed that you had a clean driving record with many years of experience and a conviction-free discount.
How about another example?
Sometimes one minor ticket won’t affect your rate
Let’s assume that you’ve only been licensed for three years and also have a clean driving record with no accidents, claims, or tickets. Throw one minor ticket into the mix and it probably won’t affect your rate because you’re not getting a conviction-free discount in the first place. However, since this scenario is for someone that has been licensed much less than the original example, this person will still be paying more overall for car insurance anyway.
Each case is different
What I’m getting at is that each and every case is different. Sometimes one ticket will affect you and sometimes it won’t.
Do you want a quote for your car insurance? Call me at 1-888-467-5499. I can quote and insure people that live in Ontario.
