A single driving violation increases your auto insurance costs by an average of 35%, according to a recent Insurify study.
Relatively minor infractions matter, too. A speeding ticket will cost you an extra $422 annually>Poor credit can be worse than traffic violations
In addition to your age, where you live and how you drive, auto insurers also use your credit score to determine your annual cost of insurance. Here are how the average annual rates break down by credit score, according to Insurify's data:
- Fair/poor (300-600): $2,378
- Average (601-660): $1,919
- Good (661-780): $1,640
- Excellent (781-850): $1,540
Having a poor credit score seems to matter more than how well you drive. The difference between a good and poor credit score will cost you $736 extra in annual costs for auto insurance, compared to $709 for a careless driving violation.
This has led to critics calling for a ban on using credit scores to determine auto insurance rates. They argue that it unfairly punishes people for their credit history rather than how they actually drive. A driver who's had to declare bankruptcy due to unexpected medical debt is not necessarily a bad driver, but they'd be paying more for car insurance, for example.
Whether these rules change or not, the best way to avoid paying hundreds of extra dollars per year on car insurance is to keep a good credit score, along with a good driving record.
