What are these car insurance points and how do you acquire them?

Wallace

Columbus, GA

Insurance points are used to evaluate the eligibility for car insurance coverage and to determine insurance rates. These points are assigned by your individual insurance provider and each has their own type of point system. The system will differ but many insurance companies use the system based on the rules and guidelines set up by the Insurance Services Office (ISO).

Either using the ISO system or their own created system; insurance carriers assign a value (point) to various vehicle violations, such as an accident, DUI or traffic violation. The point value will increase depending on the seriousness of the violation. As you accumulate more “insurance points” as a motorist the likelihood that your insurance premium rates will increase.

If you would like to know the specifics of your insurance company’s rating system, since all carriers vary in the exact variables they use, you can contact your state’s insurance regulatory body. All insurance providers must file their insurance rates with this entity.

When I was 16 and before I even got my driver’s license, I got a ticket for reckless driving, another ticket for not stopping after getting involved in an accident, and another ticket for speeding. It has been five years already. I want to find out if these tickets will affect my car insurance?

Marian

Stamford, CT

For the most part, these kind of situation will not affect your quest to buy car insurance. Most of the insurance providers only research the last 3 years on your motor vehicle record. There are some insurance providers that will research the last five years on your motor vehicle record. There is an extremely small minority of insurance carriers that will research the last 7 years of your motor vehicle history. Again, that is an extremely small number of companies. You may contact your car insurance company to verify how long they check back for motor vehicle driving record