If you have multiple traffic violations on your record, auto insurance companies may consider you a high-risk driver and charge you higher rates because of it.
How much more might you pay for car insurance as a high-risk driver? According to our research, getting a speeding ticket raises your insurance rates by 35%, on average. An accident raises your rates by an average of 77%. And a DUI raises your rates by an average of 132%.
These are just averages, of course — which means your car insurance rates might go up by more than 35% after getting a ticket, or they might go up by less than that amount. For example, we found that Erie, the cheapest car insurance company for high-risk drivers in this area, only raised rates by 5% after a speeding ticket, on average. On the other end of the spectrum, Amica raised rates by an average of 89% after the same infraction.
This article covers how to find cheap auto insurance as a high-risk driver, as well as:
- How much car insurance for high-risk drivers costs
- Where to get the best high-risk auto insurance
- What to do if you can’t find car insurance as a high-risk driver
What is a high-risk driver?
A high-risk driver is someone who does anything to suggest to an insurance company that they’re likely to file claims that will cost the insurer money.
Car insurance companies are most likely to see you as a high-risk driver if, for instance, you get several tickets within the span of a few years, or if you cause an accident. The tickets in this case could be for something as relatively harmless as speeding, or as serious as running a red light or driving under the influence (DUI).
How much does high-risk auto insurance cost?
If your history causes an insurance provider to consider you a high-risk driver, it will likely charge you more for auto coverage. In fact, our data shows insurers may increase your rates anywhere from 35% to 132%, on average, as a result of these infractions.
Here’s how much your car insurance rates could go up after some common driving violations:
| Type of violation | Average rate increase | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One not-at-fault accident | 3% | |||
| One accident with $3,000 in property damage costs | 44% | |||
| One accident with $3,000 in bodily injury costs | 55% | |||
| Two accidents, each with $3,000 in property damage costs | 81% | |||
| Two accidents, each with $3,000 in bodily injury costs | 95% | |||
| Note: Average rate increases are based on non-binding estimates provided by Quadrant Information Services. Your rates may vary. | ||||
Being labeled a high-risk driver might result in more than higher car insurance premiums. It may also prompt your insurer to not renew your policy.
All that said, what you pay for high-risk auto insurance depends on a number of factors, including where you buy your policy. Because of this, it is important to compare rate quotes from several companies when shopping for car insurance as a high-risk or bad driver.
What are the best insurance companies for high-risk drivers?
Erie is the best car insurance company for high-risk drivers, based on our research. USAA, Mercury and Auto-Owners also offer cheap car insurance rates to drivers with certain infractions on their records.
Erie, best car insurance company for high-risk drivers overall
Erie offers the cheapest car insurance rates to drivers with tickets, accidents and even DUIs on their records, according to our data.
Here are the average rates Erie offered our sample high-risk driver in each of these areas.
| Traffic violation | Average monthly rate | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Speeding ticket | $97 | |||
| Accident | $118 | |||
| DUI | $140 | |||
| Note: Average rate increases are based on non-binding estimates provided by Quadrant Information Services. Your rates may vary. | ||||
These average rates are lower than the average rates every other insurance company we surveyed sent our sample driver.
How do these high-risk car insurance rates compare to what Erie charges drivers with clean records? We found that Erie charges drivers with clean records an average of $92 per month for car insurance. This is just $5 per month less than what it charges drivers with speeding tickets, but $48 per month less than what it charges drivers with DUIs.
USAA, runner-up for best car insurance after a speeding ticket
USAA also offers cheap auto insurance to drivers with speeding tickets on their records, at an average of $129 per month.
Although this is $32 per month more than what Erie offered our sample high-risk driver with one speeding ticket, it’s $12 per month less than what the next-cheapest option, Auto-Owners, offered. Also, it is $80 per month cheaper than the U.S. average in this situation, which is $209 per month.
USAA is a good option for drivers with accidents on their records, too, so if that describes you, get a quote from them while shopping for car insurance as a high-risk driver.
Auto-Owners, runner-up for best car insurance after an accident
Auto-Owners offers cheap car insurance to drivers with accidents on their records, too, at an average of $132 per month.
That is $14 per month more than what Erie offered our sample driver with an accident on their record, but it’s also $22 less than what the next-cheapest option, USAA, offered.
Mercury, runner-up for best car insurance after a DUI
Mercury offered our sample high-risk driver with a DUI an average rate of $168 per month for auto insurance coverage. This is $28 per month more than what Erie offered, but $13 per month less than what the next-cheapest option, GEICO, offered.
It is also $191 per month cheaper than the U.S. average for drivers with DUIs on their driving records, which is $359 per month.
What else can I do to get cheap high-risk car insurance?
Finding cheap insurance for high-risk drivers isn’t always easy. Comparing quotes from the best high-risk car insurance companies highlighted above is a good first step, but you can take these other steps to get lower rates, too.
Become a better driver
If you can improve your driving record, you’ll also improve your chances of finding cheap, or at least affordable, car insurance. And the best and easiest way to improve your driving record is to minimize traffic infractions, violations and accidents. This may require you to seek professional help through a defensive driving school or some other form of driver education. Bonus: your insurer may give you a discount for completing such a course.
Bundle your coverage
If you have renters or homeowners insurance as well as car insurance, see if you can bundle your policies together with the same company to save money and lower your costs. Bundling might reduce your insurance premium by 10% or more. While you’re at it, see if you qualify for any other discounts, too. That could make your coverage even cheaper.
Be patient
While many states only allow insurers to look at the last three years of someone’s driving record, other states allow them to look further back. Regardless, be patient if you have a bad driving record and you want cheap car insurance. Do your best to not get any more tickets or citations and insurance providers should eventually stop considering you a high risk.
What if I can’t find car insurance as a high-risk driver?
If you can’t find car insurance because you have a bad driving record with tickets, accidents, DUIs or other violations, get quotes from companies that specialize in covering high-risk drivers.
Some standard insurance companies refuse to cover high-risk drivers. The ones that do cover them often charge considerably higher rates.
Here are a handful of car insurance companies that are known for covering high-risk drivers:
- Acceptance
- Bristol West
- Dairyland
- GAINSCO
- The General
- Infinity
- Kemper
- National General
- SafeAuto
If you still can’t get high-risk car insurance after comparing quotes from these companies, see if your state offers an assigned risk plan.
Many states, like California and Rhode Island, offer these plans. They provide liability coverage to drivers who struggle to buy auto insurance. Assigned risk plans tend to be expensive, though, so consider them a last resort.
Methodology
We analyzed the following scenarios for this article:
- The driver is involved in, but is not at fault for, one accident.
- The driver causes one at-fault accident that results in $3,000 of property damage.
- The driver causes two at-fault accidents that results in $3,000 of property damage for each accident.
- The driver causes one at-fault accident that results in $3,000 of bodily injury costs.
- The driver causes two at-fault accidents that results in $3,000 of bodily injury costs for each accident.
- The driver is found speeding six to 10 miles per hour above the speed limit.
We sampled all ZIP codes in California, New York, Texas, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Average rates are based on non-binding estimates provided by Quadrant Information Services. Your rates may vary.
The driver profile we used for this analysis is a 30-year-old single man with a clean driving history. He owns a 2014 Honda Accord and drives it 15,000 miles a year. While shopping for car insurance, he selects a policy that includes the state-minimum amount of liability coverage.
References:
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