When will a speeding ticket show up on insurance?

Do you have to report speeding tickets to insurance?

You don’t have to report a ticket to your insurance company, but if you’re looking for a new insurance policy, you should report the ticket when you request the quote. If you don’t, your quote won’t be accurate. Your rate will increase when the company runs your driving record (motor vehicle report or MVR) and finds the ticket.

“[You are] not required to tell the company, but if you're asking for quotes, it's best to let the person know if you have one,” says Zack Pope, agency manager at David Pope Insurance in Missouri.

“Most agents will not run [an] MVR until [the] point of sale because if they do not sell the policy, it can cost the person running the quote $5-25 per person.”

If you’re not looking for a new insurance policy, you don’t have to tell your current insurer you got a speeding ticket.

And, if you can get the ticket removed from your record, whether by fighting it in court or going to traffic school, the insurer may never find out. So, there’s no reason to report it.

When will a speeding ticket show up on your insurance?

A speeding ticket will appear on your insurance policy:

On renewal
After the insurance company runs your driving record

It will not appear on your insurance policy:

Until it shows up on your driving record
In the middle of the policy term
If you can keep it off your record

If your policy renews annually, your insurance company will likely check your record on renewal. If it renews every six months, the company may check your record every six months or annually.

“A speeding ticket will show up on a renewal term if the company runs an MVR report after the conviction is final. In the past, to save money, some companies chose not to run MVR reports on renewals…but that is less common now,” says Pope.

Even if the record is requested on every renewal, you may not see the increase if you’re close to your renewal date when you get the ticket, as your insurer may already have pulled your record.

Your insurance company will include the rate increase on your next renewal after the ticket is discovered.

When will insurance companies find out if I have a speeding ticket?

Insurance companies won’t find out about the ticket until your driving record is requested. That means you have some breathing room before the rate increase hits.

However, if you’re shopping for a new policy, the insurer will run your record before issuing it. So, if you haven’t disclosed it on your application, the quoted rate will likely go up once it finds out about the ticket.

It’s important to note that, when applying for an insurance policy, you’re required to provide complete and true information to the best of your ability. If you know about a speeding ticket that a driver in your household received and fail to disclose it, the insurance company may decide not to issue you a policy.

Lying on an insurance application is fraud, and it’s just not a good idea.

How do insurance companies find out about speeding tickets?

Insurance companies find out about speeding tickets by running your driving record. They do this as part of the routine process of issuing a new policy and also regularly, usually at renewal.

“The report is given to the insurance company [by] background screening vendors. The vendors get the information from the state's DMV,” Pope says.

The insurance company won’t find out about your ticket:

From the police
Through traffic court
From the DMV, unless they have requested your driving record

In other words, no one will contact your insurance company to inform it about the ticket. It will only be discovered when the insurer decides to run your driving record.

When should I shop for new insurance if I got a speeding ticket?

It’s best to wait to shop around until you know how much the ticket will increase your current rate. If you shop right away, the insurer will run your record, find the ticket and you’ll start paying for it sooner.

You won’t know if you’re getting a better deal at the new insurance company unless you know what your current provider will charge you for the ticket. Once you know, you can compare that rate to other insurance companies to find the cheapest company.

And, if it’s your first speeding ticket, it may not show up on your insurance at all. Some insurance companies offer first ticket forgiveness, or you may be able to keep the ticket off your record by going to traffic school.

Frequently asked questions: Speeding tickets

How long does a speeding ticket stay on your record?

Most speeding tickets stay on your driving record for three years. If you were caught speeding at a very high rate over the limit, it may stay on longer. It is usually also on your insurance record for three years; however, this time period starts on the renewal when the ticket was discovered, not when you got the ticket.