I am an 18 year old male driver in  Florida and I would like to know if I will now get lower auto insurance cost since I am now legally an adult?

Adams

Delray Beach, FL

No, it is doubtful that you being 18 years old will lower your auto insurance rates. Though you are technically an adult you still only have a couple of years of driving experience and therefore still a high risk to an insurance company in Florida. If you are no longer in school then you may lose a good student discount and at 18 your car insurance rates could go up.

Typically car insurance rates for young drivers go down once you turn 25 years of age. Some insurance companies may lower their car insurance rates at an earlier age, such as 21, but normally 25 is the age at which rates lowers since statistically that is when motorists tend to mature and become less of a risk.

You may speak to your car insurance agent about what your insurance carrier’s guidelines are regarding car insurance discounts and also about their rating system as it relates to how many years you have of driving experience and how old you are.

Are Texas car insurance companies allowed to cancel my auto insurance policy if I get ticketed for speeding?

Bruce

They are, yes.

Car insurance companies accept their customers based on a certain criteria, and you can’t expect a car insurance company that did not give policies to high risk drivers to begin with to continue to let you have a policy with them if you move into the high risk driver group while you are there. While it is not true that these companies will always, without fail, find out about any of your car traffic infractions, for the most part they check your driving record regularly, so if it comes up they can cancel or refuse to renew tour car insurance policy.

For the most part, this only happens if you get the ticket within two months of having gotten the policy to begin with. For example, if you get a ticket later on in your policy cycle, they might let it slide. The only reason that most companies will cancel during that time is if you don’t pay your premium as scheduled.

Also, if it is your first speeding ticket, for the most part your car insurance company won’t cancel or not renew your policy for just the one. While Texas is not among the states that have laws making it to where they cannot cancel you for one ticket, most car insurance companies still see letting the first ticket go as good business practice. If you get more than one speeding ticket during your premium period, though, you’re pretty much guaranteed a non renewal.

If you want to avoid getting high rates or policy cancellation, Texas offers defensive driving classes that you can take in order to get these offenses wiped off of your record.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Men are more likely than women to be involved in an automobile accident involving a fatality, just as they are also more likely to be ticketed for things such as speeding and drunk driving. However, there is some light at the end of the road for the guys in this group. Later studies show that women are actually getting into more car accidents these days, while men are getting into less. They still don’t get into the same amount, statistically, but the gap is closing. A few years from now it may be the case that the genders will see no difference in their car insurance quotes. At least not for that reason.

However, over the high risk age of twenty five, the effect of gender on car insurance premiums lessens. The reason for this is that, for those over this age, the statistics are pretty much equal, just as they are becoming for those under it. So, while there is a benefit in being female when buying car insurance, it only works for you if your still in your early twenties or below. This can be a great relief for women buying auto insurance policies while having to deal with high risk young group prices, since for females insurance is only 100% more than the average policy for an older person, while for males it is 200%.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

When I went to court for my speeding ticket, they told me that I would have to file an SR 22 form from now on. What does that mean?

Gale

Great question.

The SR 22 form is something that must be filed by your car insurance company whenever you commit a serious traffic violation, such as driving drunk or speeding fifteen miles over the limit. In some states, you don’t even have to commit an offense to have an SR 22 form filed. They file them for everybody. In states where they are filed for everybody, such as New York, it is pretty much impossible for someone to go without car insurance and not get found out. It’s the same way for anyone else who needs to file SR 22 car insurance. If you don’t have a car insurance company to file a form, then you could risk such serious consequences as losing your license.

The kind of car insurance that requires an SR 22 form is of the most expensive variety. When you commit an offense such as speeding or driving under the influence, then you are often moved into the highest risk group in the car insurance industry. A lot of times, your car insurance company will cancel your policy outright. If this happens, you might have a hard time finding a company to give you a policy and file an SR 22 form for you. If all else fails, you might be forced to join a state sponsored risk pool. Whatever you do, you will end up paying probably twice as much as you did on your previous premium now that you’re a high risk driver.

So does everything to do with the SR 22 form rest on your company’s shoulders? Nope, not at all. First of all, your car insurance company won’t know automatically that you need an SR 22 form, so if you don’t tell them, then you will get in trouble concerning your license. You have to call up your company, first, and tell them that you need SR 22 insurance. Sometimes you will need to take the SR 22 form to the Department of Motor Vehicles in addition to having your company file one. If this is the case, you can either have the insurance company mail you one, or print one out from your computer.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

If I get a speeding ticket, will my car insurance rates go up?

Andy

Usually.

It all depends on who you are and what car insurance company you are with. Typically, a speeding ticket is one of the big factors in the rise of your car insurance rates. It is evidence that you are an irresponsible driver and puts you into a high risk pool of people being insured. One speeding ticket might not be the end of your car insurance history, but it does usually have a big impact, although not nearly as much as getting into a car accident. Car insurance companies want to nip speeders in the bud, though, considering that speeding is more likely to get you in a car accident to begin with. If your rate goes up too much, though, you can get free auto insurance quotes and see what other companies are like.

However, it isn’t necessarily true that you will see an increase in your premium. If you have been a long time customer with your car insurance company, they might want to give it a little bit of thought before giving you reason to leave them be. If you have a good driving record from the past and the speeding ticket is a one time thing that is in no way normal to your driving experience, it is very possible that you will see little to no effect from your speeding ticket on your premium.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

Do car insurance companies insure the same types of drivers?

Anne

Nope.

Most drivers fall into a risk pool called standard, and this is what most car insurance companies provide coverage for with no hassles. An average driver is someone who perhaps, over the course of their life, has gotten a few tickets (but not too many) and possibly one no fault accident, someone who has a car that is considered safe and whose qualities, such as age and so on, would put them in a class that is not likely to get into an at fault traffic accident. These people are fairly cheap to insure, and most insurance companies have no problem doing so. To find out how easily you an get insurance, try getting a cheap free auto insurance quote and you’ll see which group you fall in.

Then there are the preferred drivers. These are accepted by all insurance companies, and have no problem to get free auto insurance quotes that are cheap and acceptable. Preferred drivers are people at the top, who have perfect driving record, no accident history, are in demographic groups that are unlikely to get into car accidents and the like. They are extremely cheap to insure, and so these companies usually have lower car insurance premiums.

Then there are those at the end of the scale, who for some reason or another are considered very high risks. It could be because they have a specialty car, or it could be because of a DUI violation or several speeding tickets. Whatever the case, there are special companies that offer car insurance to people who are considered high risk. These companies tend to be pricier.

However, there are some people who are unable to get insured with any of these companies because of just how high risk they are. If this is the case, there are risk pools in every state which assign them to a company for a much higher price than a normal car insurance policy will be.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.