Will a speeding warning affect my car insurance rates? [2024 Update + Rates]

Does a speeding warning affect car insurance rates? If you have been pulled over for speeding or some other traffic violation, you may have received a citation to appear in court, or what is otherwise known as a “ticket.”

On the other hand, the police officer may have given you a written or verbal “warning” for speeding, which is quite different and has different consequences than tickets and car insurance.

How long will a speeding warning affect car insurance rates, and why does getting a warning affect your insurance at all? The good news is that, whether the warning is verbal or written, it usually does not have the same impact on your driving record or your car insurance as a true ticket.

How can you easily compare rates on car insurance if you’re worried about a rate increase from a warning or ticket? If you’re ready to buy car insurance, get free quotes to compare by entering your ZIP code above.

What is a warning ticket?

A speeding warning ticket is when a police officer pulls over a driver and instead of issuing a ticket or citation, a warning ticket or warning citation is given. The traffic warning ticket may or may not show up on a driving record. It really depends on the law enforcement officer or police department in that jurisdiction.

Do you have to pay for a police-written warning ticket?

A speeding warning ticket does not impose a fine or points.

Do warnings go on your record?

Some warnings may not ever appear on a driving record. If it does, there is not a set time for how long it will remain.

Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap auto insurance rates.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Getting a Speeding Warning Does Not Impact Car Insurance

Does a warning ticket affect insurance? Will getting a warning make your rates go up? Can a speeding warning affect car insurance rates in California? Most of the time, it will not. Both written and verbal warnings don’t go on your driving record.

The difference between a verbal warning vs. a written warning is mostly that some jurisdictions save written warnings and can see the record if you get pulled over again for the same thing.

So, do you have to do anything with a warning ticket? You don’t have to, but be aware that multiple warnings will almost certainly end with a ticket, so take care of any mechanical issues and be more careful while driving.

A citation or a ticket is a legal summons to appear in court. When you are stopped for a traffic violation, a police officer has the technical right to arrest you for a misdemeanor and take you to jail.

Of course, if police officers did this for every traffic stop, the jails would be full to capacity with people whose only crime was traveling ten miles an hour over the speed limit or failing to stop at a stop sign.

While it is true that speeding and traffic violations can have serious consequences, the fact is that these violations are considered too minor in most cases to make a formal arrest and booking.

Instead, officers are empowered to issue a written citation in lieu of arrest that orders the offender to appear in court. Failure to appear in court to answer the charges causes the penalty to increase in severity.

Eventually, you could be arrested for a speeding ticket, but probably only after you have ignored repeated warnings to pay the fine and appear before a judge.

Most people choose to waive their court appearances and simply pay the fine for the violation. Of course, you can appear in court and argue the validity of the ticket, but if you are found guilty you still have to pay the fine.

Your car insurance rates will go up if you get a full speeding ticket. You can see how much they’ll increase with these major insurers in the table below.

Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap auto insurance rates.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Average Car Insurance Rate Increase With One Speeding Ticket

That’s an increase anywhere from 12 to 24 percent. However, you can see that at some insurers, rates are cheaper. Shopping around for rates is one of the best ways to save after a speeding ticket. You should also take advantage of discounts and loyalty programs to reduce rates.

Do different infractions affect your rate for longer terms? Speeding absolutely affects your record, but one at-fault traffic accident will increase your rates more, and a DUI is going to have the biggest impact.

As far as what tickets affect your rate for the longest time or the shortest, it depends on where you live. Depending on which state you live in, traffic citations may fall off in one year or five years.

But, does a warning affect your driving record, and does that warning go on your license? What do warnings do to your license?

Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap auto insurance rates.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

A conviction will go on your driving record, whether you plead guilty or are adjudicated guilty, but it’s not likely that a warning will. You will also be assessed any points assessed against your license for the violation that your state applies and your insurance company will be informed of the conviction.

On the other hand, a written or verbal warning does not require a court appearance.

If you are required to appear in court, you have not been given a warning but some form of a citation that will appear on your record. If you have not been given a court date, you have received a warning, even if it is written.

If you are in doubt as to whether the paper you received contained a citation or a warning, you can call or visit the local police department which issued the ticket and ask them for clarification.

Speeding is a big problem, and a lot of people die from wrecks that involved speeding. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows how many fatalities related to speeding occurred between 2013 and 2017.

Speeding Traffic Fatalities

More than a quarter of all fatal crashes involved speeding.

In the majority of cases, warnings will not be logged into the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles database, so they will not be a part of your permanent record and will not be used by your auto insurance provider in assessing your premium rates.

For verbal warnings, this is certainly true. However, any written warnings could, theoretically, be recorded by your local law enforcement agency and it is possible they could become part of your driving record. This is especially true if you have a repeat offense in a short period of time.

Should you notify your insurance company if you get a traffic warning?

What should you do if you get a traffic warning? Does a written warning affect insurance? There’s no reason for you to report it to your insurer. Most warnings will have no real consequences, so you don’t need to report a warning at all.

How do insurance companies find out about warnings? The only reason they will is if your warning gets reported to the DMV. Most don’t, but even if it does, it won’t impact your rates.

Traffic Warning Tickets and Your Driving Record

Does a warning ticket go on your record? For the most part, warnings are given and recorded to aid local law enforcement in deciding whether to write you a ticket for future offenses.

If law enforcement officials can access your warning record, they know if you have already been warned about speeding or other infractions.

However, in 90 percent of cases, the manpower for tracking written warnings and reporting them to the states does not exist in smaller law enforcement agencies. Therefore, the danger of having a written warning reported to the state and your insurance company is minimal.

Even if your car insurance company does learn of your warning, the chances are that one warning will not raise your car insurance rates.

This is because car insurance companies tend to base premium rate increases on the points you have accumulated for a given period of time, and points are not assigned to warnings.

On the other hand, it is possible your car insurance company could see a warning for speeding as an indication that you are a risky driver, especially if you have had other speeding violations in the recent past.

You can avoid the problems of speeding tickets and warnings by being aware of your speed at all times and observing any posted speed limit. It is much easier to prevent a speeding or traffic ticket than to deal with the consequences of one to your driving record and insurance rates.

Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap auto insurance rates.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

How long does a traffic violation warning stay on record?

Warnings aren’t likely to go onto your record, but some places do keep track of them.

For instance, does a written warning go on your record in Massachusetts? For example, if you live out on The Cape or just visit, Provincetown’s site notes that three written warnings within one year might end in a suspension of your license.

A written warning can affect your insurance in MA, so keep that in mind next time you’re in P-Town.

One state that does keep track of warnings is New Jersey. How long does a warning ticket stay on record in NJ? State Troopers can see that you received a written warning on their internal system, but that doesn’t extend to other states. Will a warning from another state show up on your record?

A trooper in NY won’t be able to see it. New Jersey doesn’t play around with tickets, and an actual ticket can stay on your record for five years. NOLO notes that fines can be triple on certain parts of Route 130.

But, does getting pulled over affect your insurance? The only way that’s going to happen is if you don’t take care of it or, like in Provincetown, you get multiple warnings which are then reported.

To find out what happens with a Florida traffic written warning, how long a warning stays on your record in Massachusetts, what happens when you get a warning or ticket in Connecticut or other state-specific questions, contact the DMV for that state.

Can you dispute a speeding warning?

Unless you receive a true citation, there’s nothing to fight in court. So, what happens when you get a warning for speeding? For most drivers, the answer is nothing. Depending on where you live, your written warning may be reported to the DMV, but it doesn’t always happen.

If you are a CDL driver, you may want to check with your employer about how a written warning can affect your job, as there have been cases where drivers lose their jobs from a warning, which can’t be disputed.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration notes that the odds of being involved in a safety-critical event for CDL drivers are 23.2 times larger when a driver engages in texting while driving than those who don’t. That’s a lot of why it’s so serious for even a warning ticket.

Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap auto insurance rates.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Non-Moving Violation vs. Moving Violation

What is considered a non-moving violation? Do non-moving violations affect insurance? Non-moving violations are for issues that don’t relate to your driving, such as parking tickets and mechanical issues with your vehicle.

Some examples of non-moving violations from FindLaw are:

• Parking in front of a fire hydrant
• Parking in a zone that is designated no-parking
• Parking in front of a meter that is expired
• Excessive noise from the muffler in your car

Will parking tickets affect your insurance? Or will seatbelt warnings affect insurance?

In contrast, moving violations are typically things like speeding, DUIs, accidents you cause, and running a red light.

Will non-moving violations affect your car insurance? It’s highly unlikely that they will. Moving violations, such as speeding tickets, DUIs, and car accidents have huge impacts on your car insurance, but things like parking tickets won’t unless you let them pile up and don’t take care of them.

Even if you were stopped for a moving violation, a warning isn’t likely to affect your car insurance rates.

Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap auto insurance rates.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap auto insurance rates.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Case Studies: Impact of Speeding Warnings on Car Insurance Rates

Case Study 1: John’s Verbal Warning

John was pulled over for speeding, but instead of issuing a ticket, the police officer gave him a verbal warning. In this case, John’s car insurance rates remained unaffected. Verbal warnings typically do not go on the driving record or impact insurance premiums.

Case Study 2: Sarah’s Written Warning

Sarah received a written warning for speeding. Although some jurisdictions may keep a record of written warnings, it is unlikely to impact car insurance rates. Sarah’s insurance provider did not consider the written warning when assessing her premium. However, repeated offenses or multiple written warnings in a short period might raise insurance rates.

Case Study 3: Mark’s Warning in Massachusetts

Mark received a written warning for speeding in Massachusetts. While warnings are not typically recorded, the state of Massachusetts keeps track of written warnings. In this case, Mark’s insurance rates were not affected, but he should be cautious about accumulating multiple warnings, as they might result in a license suspension.

Case Study 4: Lisa’s CDL Warning

Lisa, a commercial driver with a CDL, received a written warning for speeding. In some cases, a CDL driver’s employer may consider warnings when assessing job performance. Lisa’s employer had strict policies regarding warnings, and she ended up losing her job due to the warning. CDL drivers should be aware of the potential consequences of warnings on their employment.

Frequently Asked Questions: Will a speeding warning affect my car insurance rates?

We have added a few more FAQs below, in case you want to learn even more about how warnings can affect your car insurance.

What type of warning has the greatest effect on insurance rates?

What is the worst kind of warning you can get in terms of the effect on insurance? Speeding warnings do not affect rates differently because they don’t affect your rate at all.

No, there are no real consequences for a warning ticket in most cases. It doesn’t really matter what type of ticket it is. As long as it’s only a warning, you won’t need to worry about when you will see the increase in your rate from getting a warning.

Do you have to pay for a warning ticket? You won’t be charged nor will you have to pay a fine unless you receive a citation.

Does a speeding warning matter to an insurance company?

Warnings aren’t usually reported to car insurance companies, so they’ll never know and your rates won’t go up.

Is it worth it to go to driving school to get points off your license?

Driving school can erase a ticket from your record or help you avoid a high fine. If getting out of tickets isn’t possible, you might even be able to keep your record clean which would avoid a heavy rate increase on your car insurance.

Should you consider changing providers after getting a speeding warning or ticket?

Your rates won’t be affected by a warning, but tickets can make your rates go up. Car insurance providers have different standards for determining how much you’ll pay, so it’s a good idea to shop around. Even if you just got a warning, you may be able to save money on your car insurance.

Can cops see if you got a warning?

If you received a written warning, then it is likely that it can be seen by police accessing your history.

How can you save on car insurance after you’ve been ticketed for speeding? Enter your ZIP code below to get free car insurance quotes to compare and save.

Enter your ZIP code below to view companies that have cheap auto insurance rates.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption