How Much Does a Speeding Ticket Raise Insurance?

The short answer

One speeding ticket raises full coverage by 28 percent on average, from $2,357 to $3,022 a year nationally, which is $665 more a year, per NerdWallet’s November 2026 rate analysis. The ticket stays on the record for three to five years depending on the state, so one ticket costs $1,995 over three years and $3,325 over five, and the ticket is therefore not a $200 fine, it is a $200 fine plus $1,995 to $3,325 of premium, and the premium is the real price of the speeding, because the fine is once and the premium is every year until the record clears. One at-fault crash raises full coverage by 49 percent, from $2,357 to $3,514 a year, which is $1,157 more a year, and one DUI raises it by 88 percent, from $2,357 to $4,424 a year, which is $2,067 more a year, and the DUI costs $6,201 over three years, and the crash and the DUI stay on the record for three to five years as well, and the insurer looks back five years in many states, so the five-year cost is the honest number, and the honest number for the ticket is $3,325, and for the crash is $5,785, and for the DUI is $10,335.

The minimum coverage moves too, and it moves by more in percentage terms. One ticket raises minimum coverage from $650 to $843 a year, which is 30 percent, and one at-fault crash raises it to $952, which is 46 percent, and one DUI raises it to $1,230, which is 89 percent, and the minimum is the liability only, and the liability is the part the insurer prices on the driver’s risk, and the risk is the record, and the record is the driver, and the driver who speeds is the driver who crashes, in the insurer’s model, and the model is the data, because the data says the ticketed driver claims more often, and the claims are the premium, and the premium is the ticket. The young driver pays the most for the ticket, because the young driver’s base is the highest: a 20-year-old with a clean record pays $4,712 a year for full coverage, and the same 20-year-old with one ticket pays $6,041.44, which is $1,329.44 more a year, and the ticket doubles the young driver’s pain, because the base is double and the multiplier is the same, and the multiplier is 1.28, and the product is the premium.

The table is NerdWallet’s November 2026 national profile table, with the three-year cost added, and the calculator’s model for the two 20-year-old rows. The last row is the warning: a 20-year-old with a DUI and poor credit pays $14,780.43 a year for full coverage, which is $1,231.70 a month, and $10,068.43 more a year than the clean 35-year-old, and $30,205.29 more over three years, and the premium is more than many cars cost, and the driver is priced out of the standard market, and the standard market is the one with the published rates, and the driver who is priced out buys from a nonstandard insurer, and the nonstandard insurer charges more, and the more is the cycle, because the record raises the premium and the premium raises the lapse and the lapse raises the premium again.

How long the record lasts, and when to shop

Traffic violations and car accidents stay on the record for three to five years, depending on the state, and the insurer’s lookback is often five years, which is longer than the three years most drivers assume, and the difference matters, because the driver who expects the ticket to fall off in three years and finds it still priced in year four is paying for a record that should have cleared, and the shopping is the remedy, because each company treats the record differently, and some companies forgive the first ticket, and some raise the rate less, and the spread between companies is wider after a ticket than before it. NerdWallet’s advice is specific: shop in the month after the third and fifth anniversaries of the incident, because the third anniversary is when some companies drop the surcharge, and the fifth is when most do, and the shopping in that month catches the drop, and the driver who shops a month early pays the surcharge for another six months, and the driver who shops a month late has already paid it, and the timing is the saving.

The crash is priced on its severity, and the minor crash in NerdWallet’s analysis caused $10,000 of property damage and no injuries, and the average increase for that crash is 49 percent, and a crash with medical costs raises the rate more, because the medical costs are the expensive part, and the expensive part is the bodily-injury claim, and the bodily-injury claim is the one that follows the driver, because the injury is the lawsuit, and the lawsuit is the premium. Accident forgiveness is the exception: some policies forgive the first at-fault crash, and the forgiveness is a discount that the driver loses when the crash happens, and the losing is the increase, and the driver who has accident forgiveness and crashes pays less than the driver who does not, and the driver should ask whether the policy has it before the crash, not after, because after is too late, and the asking is free. The good-driver discount works the same way in reverse: the driver who has it and crashes loses it, and the losing is part of the increase, and the increase is therefore two parts, the surcharge and the lost discount, and the two together are the 49 percent.

The ticket, the crash, and the DUI are three different risks

The ticket is the smallest risk, and it is priced as a warning: 28 percent, $665 a year, because the ticketed driver is more likely to crash, but has not crashed yet, and the insurer charges for the likelihood, not the event. The crash is the middle risk, and it is priced as proof: 49 percent, $1,157 a year, because the driver has crashed, and the crash is the evidence, and the evidence is stronger than the likelihood, and the insurer charges for the event, not the warning. The DUI is the largest risk, and it is priced as a pattern: 88 percent, $2,067 a year, because the DUI is not a mistake, it is a choice, and the choice predicts the next choice, and the insurer charges for the pattern, and the pattern is the reason the DUI costs more than the crash, even though the crash did more damage, because the crash was an accident and the DUI was a decision, and the decision is the risk. The three are also priced differently by the state, because some states ban the use of the ticket in rating after a year, and some allow it for five, and the state is the law, and the law is the premium, and the driver who moves states moves the surcharge, and the moving is the only way to shorten it, and the shortening is not worth the move, because the move costs more than the surcharge.

The record also interacts with the credit, and the interaction is multiplicative, not additive. A 20-year-old with poor credit and a clean record pays $7,874.66 a year for full coverage, which is $3,162.66 more than the same 20-year-old with good credit, and a 20-year-old with a DUI and poor credit pays $14,780.43, which is $10,068.43 more than the clean 35-year-old, and the multipliers stack, because the age multiplies the record and the record multiplies the credit, and the product is the premium, and the product is why the worst drivers pay six times the national average, and the six times is not a punishment, it is the arithmetic, because the arithmetic is the model, and the model is the data, and the data says the young, ticketed, poor-credit driver claims the most, and the claims are the premium.

What to do after the ticket, the crash, or the DUI

After the ticket, shop. The ticket raises the rate at the current company by 28 percent, and the next company may raise it by less, and the spread between companies is wider after a ticket than before it, because each company treats the record differently, and the company that forgives the first ticket is the company to find, and the finding is the shopping, and the shopping is free, and the saving is $665 a year, which is the ticket’s cost, and the shopping can erase it. After the crash, shop and ask about accident forgiveness, because the forgiveness is a policy feature, and the feature is priced, and the driver who buys it before the crash pays less after it, and the driver who does not buy it pays the full 49 percent, and the difference is the feature, and the feature is worth buying when the driver is young, because the young driver crashes more, and the crashing is the risk, and the risk is the reason. After the DUI, shop for the cheapest DUI insurer, because the DUI is the largest surcharge and the spread is the widest, and the driver will need an SR-22 filing in most states, and the filing is the state’s proof of insurance, and the proof costs a fee, and the fee is small beside the $2,067, and the driver should also expect the minimum coverage to rise to $1,230, because the DUI raises the minimum by 89 percent, and the minimum is the floor, and the floor rises too.

After any of the three, mark the third and fifth anniversaries on the calendar, and shop in the month after each, because the third anniversary is when some companies drop the surcharge, and the fifth is when most do, and the shopping in that month catches the drop, and the driver who does not shop pays the surcharge for another six months, and the six months are $332.50 for the ticket, $578.50 for the crash, and $1,033.50 for the DUI, and the calendar is the saving, because the saving is the timing, and the timing is the anniversary, and the anniversary is the date the record clears, and the clearing is the premium falling, and the falling is the reward for waiting, and the waiting is the three to five years, and the three to five years are the record, and the record is the driver’s, and the driver’s is the premium.

Sources

NerdWallet November 2026 car insurance cost analysis (updated October 1, 2026): national profile table (clean $2,357/$650, ticket $3,022/$843, crash $3,514/$952, DUI $4,424/$1,230, poor credit $3,939/$1,032); ticket raises full coverage 28 percent, crash 49 percent, DUI 88 percent; violations and accidents stay on the record for three to five years; shop in the month after the third and fifth anniversaries of the incident. Insure.com 2026 car insurance calculator: 16-year-old full coverage $10,387 a year. All calculator figures were computed by this site’s calculator under the stated model: the state average times the age, record, credit, and deductible multipliers from NerdWallet’s national ratios.

How Much Does a Speeding Ticket Raise Insurance? questions

How much does a speeding ticket raise car insurance?

A single speeding ticket raises full coverage by 28 percent on average, from $2,357 to $3,022 a year nationally, which is $665 more a year, per NerdWallet's November 2026 analysis. The ticket stays on the record for three to five years, so one ticket costs $1,995 over three years and $3,325 over five.

How long does a speeding ticket affect insurance?

Traffic violations and car accidents stay on the record for three to five years, depending on the state, and many insurers look back five years. Shop in the month after the third and fifth anniversaries of the incident, because those are the months the surcharge falls.

How much does a DUI raise car insurance?

A DUI raises full coverage by 88 percent on average, from $2,357 to $4,424 a year nationally, which is $2,067 more a year, per NerdWallet's November 2026 analysis. That is $6,201 over three years. Minimum coverage rises 89 percent, from $650 to $1,230 a year.

How much does an at-fault accident raise insurance?

One at-fault crash raises full coverage by 49 percent on average, from $2,357 to $3,514 a year nationally, which is $1,157 more a year, per NerdWallet's November 2026 analysis. The crash in the analysis caused $10,000 of property damage and no injuries; a crash with medical costs raises the rate more.

Keep reading

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