Bad Driving Record May Increase Life Insurance Rates
August 31st, 2010
You probably know that if you have traffic violations, you will pay more for auto insurance. But did you know that having a bad driving record could also drive up your life insurance rates? That’s right. Life insurers consider drivers who have traffic tickets to have riskier behavior that could cost them their lives. In fact, almost 40 million Americans die in car crashes each year, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Highway Loss Data Institute. If you have a tarnished driving record, make sure you shop around for life insurance quotes.
Driving record
Your insurer may not ask you about your driving record on your life insurance application, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not considering it when they determine your premium. Many insurance companies simply retrieve that information from your state’s department of motor vehicle. Since your insurer has access to your driving record, it’s best to include any traffic violations on your application, if they are requested.
Some life insurance companies will not insure you, if you have a bad driving record. Even one speeding ticket can increase your premium and damage your safe-driver record. But every insurance company has different underwriting criteria. So, if you do have traffic violations, make sure you shop around to find the most affordable life insurance quotes.
Older tickets
Life insurers are more interested in more recent traffic violations rather than older ones. So, if you have a ticket from a few years ago, it won’t affect your premium as much. This is why it is important to get life insurance quotes, until your traffic violations no longer appear on your driving record.
Auto insurance
If you do get a speeding ticket, find out if you can get it dismissed. In some states, you can ask the department of motor vehicles or the traffic court to erase the ticket from your driving record, if you haven’t had any recent citations and if the violation was minor. You also may be able to enroll in a safety course to remove the violation from your record. Check with your state’s department of motor vehicles to see what options are available. Remember a traffic ticket may not only increase your costs for auto insurance, but also for life, health, disability and long-term care insurance.
When you are ready to buy a life insurance policy, you can call agents in your local area, contact insurance companies directly or use InsuranceQuotes.com to instantly get competitive life insurance quotes from the nation’s leading insurance providers. Simply fill out a short online form on InsuranceQuotes.com to find the right insurance coverage at the best possible price in minutes. Take the time to protect you and your family today.
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