Tickets - Mike Felder Insurance

1647 Willow Pass Rd, Suite 347, Concord, CA 94520
Phone Toll free in California 800-7-CYCLES
California's Largest Motorcycle Insurance Agency

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MIKE FELDER'S INSURANCE COLUMN
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TICKETS "WHEN I DROVE THAT SLOW YOU KNOW IT'S HARD TO STEER"....Sammy Haggar -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Each week I get some sort of a variation of the following question..."Mike, I just got a ticket. What is it going to do to my rates? Should I tell my car insurance people? Should I fight it? Should I go to traffic school? Should I change my identity?" First off...relax! Most insurance companies keep a pretty good eye on your driving record. The majority of them will run a Motor Vehicle Report (MVR) prior to sending a renewal notice to you. In short, they want to make sure that your driving record hasn't changed to drastically. After all, if you picked up a few tickets, a drunk driving or two, or committed a felony with your vehicle, they want to know about it. In their eyes, these previous mentioned items will convince them you are becoming a greater risk. And they are going to want more money from you. In California, we have enacted some pretty strong insurance legislation. One of these initiatives mandated that all insurance companies provide a Good Driver Discount (GDD). The GDD rates are roughly 20% less than standard rates. One aspect of the GDD is your driving record. In most cases, one minor violation will not cause you to lose your GDD. So, if one minor violation is our only concern, don't sweat it. However, if the violation is actually the second violation within the last three years, traffic school or "fighting" the ticket should be seriously viewed. The prospect of losing a 20% discount on all your vehicle rates can mean some serious money. Spending a couple of hours viewing Freddy Kruger Goes Driving films, could be worth it. On a different note, some companies do not run MVR reports at renewal time. Some companies just "spot check" a couple of renewals. So, there is a chance that your company may be one of these. While it would not be prudent to list the names of these companies, a good agent can let you know what the "policy" is with the company you are insured with. I know getting a ticket can be a little traumatic. I inadvertently got caught in a multi-lane, one way street in San Francisco just around rush hour. Before I knew it, I was locked into a blob of cars that was moving towards the Bay Bridge at 3 MPH. Unknown to me, this street turned into a "car pool" only entrance to the bridge. As luck would have it, I was ticketed for not having three people in my car. I pled with the officer to no avail. I was now a known car pool violator. I envisioned years of embarrassment as I would have to report my status in every new town I entered...people would point at me, hold there children in fear, and whisper behind my back. I figured that would be OK....after all, my insurance rates did not go up. Anything would be better than losing that 20%!! Safe Riding!!

Information in this article is probably correct as of the date it was written. Please check with your insurance agent or call Mike at 800-729-2537 before you make any life changing decisions based on what you read here. Comments are always welcome.