It might seem a little counter intuitive – and perhaps even crazy – but during this holiday season, you need to take every precaution to avoid a traffic violation on your road trips as a single ticket can affect…wait for it… your life insurance premiums.
Examples of minor moving violations are:
- Improper turns
- Disobeying traffic signals
- Speeding tickets that are not significantly higher than the speed limit
- Littering
- Headlight/taillight out
- Disobeying a traffic officer
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Little violations can add up, which will increase your life insurance premiums. Major traffic violations which include DUIs can keep you from qualifying for premium rates. Depending on the circumstances, even one or two minor tickets can be a reason for concern. Many life insurers have driving-related questions or simply pull data from the DMV.
One underwriter commented that if you are breaking traffic laws, you are considered a risk because you may be putting yourself in a life threatening position and companies want to know as much as they can about you to determine the level of risk. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an average of 40,000 Americans die from car accidents each year.
Generally, they look back three to five years so if your tickets are old, you have a better opportunity. But you should always look at ways to erase tickets and do what you can to avoid hurting your record. If your state offers supervision or enrolling in drivers educations courses, take that step forward.
Remember: people who are in excellent health, younger and lead a healthy lifestyle will pay the least for life insurance premiums. But never wait to improve your record, health or even credit history before purchasing life insurance. There are policies for everyone regardless of your health or finances.