Motorcycle Insurance Articles
How Speeding Tickets Influence Motorcycle Insurance Rates
2010-11-16
Speeding tickets are more than a minor inconvenience. They have a major impact on motorcycle insurance costs, even when you've only received a relatively minor citation for riding a few miles per hour over the speed limit. Motorcycle insurance companies know that once a rider gets a speeding ticket, he or she is much more likely to be involved in an accident; this is verified through insurance company actuarial tables, which are the main source of information that insurance companies use when deciding on quotes for their policy holders. If you have a bike, it's a good idea to learn about speeding tickets and how they can have a significant impact on the cost of your insurance plan.
The trouble is that it can be difficult to determine exactly how much extra you'll pay after receiving a ticket. Insurance companies will penalize riders more for major infractions, so riding at 30 miles over the speed limit will certainly have more impact on your premiums than a minor ticket. However, any ticket can immediately lead to a 20-30% jump in your motorcycle insurance costs. To find out exactly how much more you'll have to pay, you can call your motorcycle insurance agent. This is a better idea than trying to figure out your rates from the tables included in your motorcycle insurance policy--these tables can be extremely confusing, and an insurance agent should be able to quickly provide you with an answer if you're wondering how your ticket will change your premiums (or even if you've got a clean driving record and you're just curious about the effects of a ticket).
You should always remember that you have options for lowering your motorcycle insurance costs even if you've received one or more speeding tickets. Many riders look for safer bikes to combat the effects of a bad record, and others take safe driving courses to get special discounts from their insurance providers. You should consider both of these options and do everything that you can to stop the speeding ticket from affecting your insurance record.
If you've received a few speeding tickets and your current insurer won't offer you the rates that you'd like, you should consider switching to another company. There are dozens of great major motorcycle insurance companies, and you can view quotes from these companies online with only a few minutes' work. Viewing quotes is a great way to find a better policy and to quickly cope with some of the cost increase that a speeding ticket will bring to your monthly motorcycle insurance costs.