Parking Tickets and Car Insurance

Do parking tickets affect car insurance? It’s a question a lot of our clients have for us, so let’s break down this topic today!

Parking tickets and the DMV

Each state’s Department of Motor Vehicles stores certain information about their drivers.

This can include:

Your name

Your age

Your address

License number

Expiration and endorsement

Any penalties you’ve incurred (points and fines)

Suspensions, revocations, or collisions you’ve been involved in

Traffic violations or convictions

Most of these pieces of information are used in determining how much you’ll pay for car insurance. Now, you might be wondering if parking tickets fall under any of those categories as well. They do — but one parking ticket doesn’t directly affect your car insurance premium if it’s paid on time. However, the DMV can use this information to get you to pay your parking tickets or have you face the consequences of not paying.

What if I have several unpaid parking tickets?

If you have several unpaid parking tickets, this can have serious ramifications. For starters, your license could be suspended in several states. Once your insurance company finds out about this suspension, it’s likely to affect your car insurance premium.

What about other tickets and violations?

While a single parking ticket might not have an effect on what you pay for car insurance, there are plenty of other things that can.

Certain violations, like speeding tickets or impaired driving offenses can have a direct impact on your policy. These are considered moving violations, unlike parking tickets. Moving violations tend to come with bigger consequences than non-moving violations.

If you got one parking ticket and paid it, don’t panic! It likely won’t affect your car insurance. Just be sure to pay any tickets on time and don’t let them pile up.

If you have more questions about how car insurance works and what impacts the price of your policy, give Rueter Insurance a call today so we can help!