Tickets Question

[TeePee]

You don't remember if you got a ticket(s) or not? Geez it is not as if it was years ago.

I got my first speeding ticket this past Jan after driving for over 25 yrs. I will NEVER forget that.

 

[USF3983]

Who said they didn't remember if they got a ticket?

 

[TeePee]

Sorry IME most *what ifs* are real life questions.

 

[djs]

Hmm, let's back up a bit....

Why do they ask you about tickets?
In short, you wanted to know how much your rate would be. It costs money to run an MVR, so they ask you first to see what the rate will be, then, if all is good, they pull the MVR to make sure what you said is accurate.

What does school do?
Despite what a lot of people think, school does not remove the driving infraction, but, it does make it not show up on a normal MVR pull. If school was completed (and frequently, even if it wasn't), the ticket won't be seen by insurance agents or carriers.

How do I answer the question?
Since school is supposed to remove the ticket from insurance visibility and it is not supposed to be used for rating purposes if school was successfully completed, you can honestly answer as if you never got that ticket.
Now, when the agent pulls the MVR and it shows up, don't blame the agent. Get the DMV to fix it.

In CA, by law, the biggest rate concern is the things that have happened in the last 3 years, with some exceptions such as DUI. 3 years though is the good driver discount, which is one of the largest discounts you'll get.

And yes, points matter very much. A 2 point ticket has a much larger impact on rates than a 1 point ticket or a no point ticket. A good example of this is speeding. Not all speeding tickets are created equal. Most are simple 1 point tickets, but if you get one for over 100 MPH, its a 2 point ticket and you may have trouble finding insurance.

Dan