Does a Speeding Ticket Affect Your Insurance?

How much more you'll pay for insurance after a speeding ticket depends on your state and insurance company.
Kayda Norman
By Kayda Norman 
Edited by Erica Corbin

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If you’ve gotten a speeding ticket recently, you’re probably wondering if you’ll see an increase in your car insurance rates. Yes, you’ll likely pay more for car insurance after being convicted of speeding. However, how much more you’ll pay can vary based on your driving history, location and other factors.

How much does car insurance go up after a speeding ticket?

NerdWallet compared rates across the country for a hypothetical 35-year-old driver ticketed for going 16 mph over the speed limit. Our analysis found that car insurance typically goes up about 25% after a speeding ticket. On average, a driver convicted of speeding will pay $2,043 a year for full coverage insurance — $413 more than a driver with a clean record.

But the financial pain you can expect depends on many factors, including the state you live in and the insurance company you choose. And though most auto insurers will raise rates after two or more speeding tickets, not all companies raise rates after a single ticket.

Average car insurance rates by company after a speeding ticket

After a speeding ticket, you’ll want to pick the cheapest car insurance company — and it may not be the same one that was cheapest for you before.

A few insurers in our analysis more than doubled their rates for drivers with a speeding ticket, while others seemed to shrug it off. Several smaller, regional insurers — including Idaho Farm Bureau, Kentucky Farm Bureau and Umialik — showed no difference in car insurance rates for drivers with or without a speeding ticket.

Among the nation’s largest car insurance companies, American Family had the smallest average rate hike after a speeding ticket: less than $22 a month. The biggest increases came from Farmers and Travelers.

Although it’s one of the largest insurers in the country, Liberty Mutual is not included in our analysis because it does not provide rate data.

USAA often has the cheapest rates available, but it is available only to active military, veterans and their families. Because of this, we include its numbers in this article but don’t rank it.

Here are the average rates we found for the aforementioned 35-year-old driver buying full coverage insurance after a speeding ticket, ranked from smallest average increase to largest.

Company

Average annual rate after a speeding ticket

Increase compared to a driver with a clean record

$1,715

$261

$1,669

$288

$2,330

$336

$1,589

$356

$1,753

$421

$2,245

$507

$1,939

$512

$2,298

$554

$1,485

$246

*USAA is available only to active military, veterans and their families.

If you’re looking for the cheapest rates, don’t be afraid to shop around. Taking the time to compare car insurance quotes can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars — even if you’ve had a few flashing lights in your rearview mirror.

Average car insurance rates by state after a speeding ticket

In New Hampshire, a speeding ticket may mean only an extra $10.25 per month on your car insurance premiums.

But in Michigan, where average car insurance rates are already relatively high, you may have to shell out $92 a month more for coverage after you’re caught speeding.

To give you an idea of what to expect in your state, here are average rates and price increases for full coverage insurance after a speeding ticket.

State

Average rate after a speeding ticket

Increase compared to a driver with a clean record

$2,101

$400

$1,494

$202

$2,090

$454

$2,389

$535

$2,702

$735

$2,377

$479

$1,971

$313

$2,387

$361

$3,350

$575

$2,116

$417

$1,304

$176

$1,217

$191

$1,780

$397

$1,484

$351

$1,334

$203

$2,190

$399

$2,912

$489

$3,658

$673

$1,293

$219

$2,387

$400

$1,502

$339

$3,188

$1,104

$1,923

$459

$2,230

$410

$2,004

$310

$2,128

$355

$1,659

$258

$3,010

$521

$1,267

$123

$2,518

$617

$1,744

$283

$2,348

$340

$1,873

$619

$1,506

$273

$1,316

$251

$2,316

$410

$1,733

$378

$1,743

$218

$2,537

$472

$1,892

$331

$1,702

$236

$1,708

$303

$1,918

$193

$1,978

$382

$1,213

$140

$1,661

$307

$1,540

$248

$2,188

$321

$1,876

$296

$1,567

$361

$1,992

$508

Minimum vs. full coverage after a speeding ticket

If you have full coverage auto insurance and you don’t like the price you see after a speeding ticket, you may want to consider reducing your coverage.

After a speeding ticket, minimum required car insurance is typically less than half the price of full coverage on average, our analysis found. Average annual rates for car insurance after a speeding ticket are:

  • $2,043 for full coverage.

  • $710 for minimum coverage.

Think carefully before you choose this option, however. With a bare-bones auto policy, you won’t have comprehensive and collision coverage. This means if you cause a crash, your insurance won’t help pay for damage to your car. That might make sense if your vehicle isn’t worth much. But if you have a car loan or lease, your lender likely requires you to keep full coverage.

Methodology

NerdWallet averaged rates based on public filings obtained by pricing analytics company Quadrant Information Services. We examined rates for men and women for all ZIP codes in any of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. Although it’s one of the largest insurers in the country, Liberty Mutual is not included in our rates analysis due to a lack of publicly available information.

In our analysis, “good drivers” had no moving violations on record; a “good driving” discount was included for this profile. Our “good” and “poor” credit rates are based on credit score approximations and do not account for proprietary scoring criteria used by insurance providers.

These are average rates, and your rate will vary based on your personal details, state and insurance provider.

Sample drivers had the following coverage limits:

  • $100,000 bodily injury liability coverage per person.

  • $300,000 bodily injury liability coverage per crash.

  • $50,000 property damage liability coverage per crash.

  • $100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per person.

  • $300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per crash.

  • Collision coverage with $1,000 deductible.

  • Comprehensive coverage with $1,000 deductible.

In states where required, minimum additional coverages were added. We used the same assumptions for all other driver profiles, with the following exceptions:

  • For drivers with a ticket, we added a single speeding violation for driving 16 mph over the speed limit.

  • For drivers with minimum coverage, we adjusted the numbers above to reflect only the minimum coverage required by law in the state.

  • We changed the credit tier from “good” to “poor” as reported to the insurer to see rates for drivers with poor credit. In states where credit isn’t taken into account, we only used rates for “good credit.”

We used a 2019 Toyota Camry L in all cases and assumed 12,000 annual miles driven.

These are rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.

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