How a Clean Driving Record Influences Your Insurance Rates

A clean driving record can be an invaluable asset when it comes to lowering your insurance rates. It shows that you are a responsible driver, meaning that you are a less risky client to insurance companies. The record lists every detail of your driving history, including traffic tickets, traffic violations and any accident you have been involved in. While it is possible to have a clean driving record, it is not always easy to maintain one.

In fact, one in three UK-based motorists gets fined each year, according to the Telegraph. The secret lies in avoiding as many violations as possible. Even if you have a sub-par driving record, there are still ways in which you can lower your insurance rates. 

Here is how to take control of your driving record and lower your insurance rates:

How Insurance Companies Use You Driving Record

Insurance agencies make cash by selling their services to you, but they lose money through insurance claims. As a result, they need to charge more than they will spend to make a profit. This means that they need to charge drivers who seem risky more than they charge those who are less prone to filing an insurance claim. 

Simply put, your driving record will play a huge role in measuring the risk of covering your vehicle. It will provide them with information concerning your driving patterns, such as DUIs, accidents, traffic violations, driver’s license suspensions, and driving without insurance. This allows them to protect themselves from the risk of losing cash when insuring you.

Professional Training and Maintaining a Clean Driving Record

In the first place, the kind of training you undergo to get introduced to the intricacies of driving will play a significant role in helping you maintain your driving record. Ideally, you should be trained on driving in a variety of weather conditions, assessing your driving situation and complying with the different traffic rules. Looking for professional driving lessons is better than being trained by a friend, and taking a test later on.

Even better, some courses will allow you to take rigorous driving lessons within a few weeks and get back to your busy schedule, making professional training less time-intensive. Even after training, getting special safety training courses can help you maintain a great driving record. A defensive driving course could go a long way to keeping you safe on the road. As long as you drive safely, you can remove poor driving points from your driving record.

Removing Points from Your Record

While some poor driving points will remain on your record forever, others are removed after a few years. For instance, points for DUI might take several years to be removed from your record. In some cases, insurance companies can ignore any points that have been in your record for more than three years when calculating your insurance rates. However, the goal should be to reduce these points.

The best way to remove the points would be to enrol in state-approved safety driving courses. However, this will depend on the rules of your states and the kind of courses that will help eliminate these points. The easiest way to remove these points would be to maintain a great driving record and wait for them to get off your record. 

Lowering Your Premiums with a Poor Record

Sure, you can take the easier route to remove your record, but you do not have to keep paying high insurance rates. For instance, you can ask your insurance agency about accident incentives. Some agencies offer discounts to ‘risky’ drivers if they go for a specified period without getting involved in an accident or violation. 

Next, you should consider low mileage driving. Most agencies offer a low rate to drivers who stay below a specified number of miles since driving less reduces the chances of filing an insurance claim.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that maintaining a clean driving record will result in more affordable insurance. But even with a poor driving record, you can still take some steps to improve your chances of reducing your insurance premiums. Don’t forget to shop around for policies that best suit you.