Traffic Tickets, Demerit Points and Auto Insurance
Many people make the mistake of believing if they hire a paralegal / ticket agent to plead guilty to a lesser offence, they’re in the clear with auto insurance companies. This is wrong, you’re just wasting your money on the paralegal, when you can do it yourself FREE by simply showing up to court and speaking to crown (Provincial prosecutor).
Auto insurance companies DO NOT LOOK at demerit points, they look at convictions! Even if you do not get any demerit points as the paralegal tirelessly worked to get you a deal from the crown, it will still likely AFFECT your insurance premiums.
- Always fight your traffic tickets! More often than not, the police offer who issued the ticket will not show up for the court date (several months after the initial offence), meaning your ticket will get thrown out.
- Unless it’s a major offense, where you face suspension of your license, you do not need a paralegal or lawyer. You can speak to the crown and plead down to a lesser offence, or provide evidence if you go to trial.
- If you’re facing criminal charges, consult a lawyer – not a paralegal.
Here’s a post I found on a online forum I read daily from an insurance industry professional on the subject.
Ok, I’m just annoyed of the myths and misconceptions out there regarding Demerit Points.
Demerit Points DO NOT AFFECT INSURANCE. They only affect your ability to have a license, and come off your record after 2 yrs. So for you to get enough points to lose your license, must mean you’re a pretty crappy driver. After 2-3 tickets in a 2 year period, I would just drive cautiously until my points fall off.
http://www.mto.gov.on.ca/english/dan…/demerit.shtml
This is another reason why I would not hire one of those ticket fighting companies, just because they can reduce your points. you can reduce your points yourself by showing up to court. I’d only hire them if I got involved in a major collision that involved numerous convictions.
Convictions on the other hand do impact your insurance. So if you plead guilty to a reduced fine and 0 points, guess what?!? That will still affect your insurance, as long as you plead guilty, you will have a conviction on your record. This isn’t even a deal, because the likelihood of losing your license due to demerit points is so far fetched in my mind, unless you enjoy drinking and driving and get 3 tickets a year I dont know how you can lose your license.
You can read the entire thread by going to the forum directly, by clicking on this link http://forums.redflagdeals.com/demerit-points-do-not-affect-insurance-791274/#post9445591
-Confused-
I’m an AZ commercial licensed driver with 4 demerit points and 4 convictions. I called and spoke to a recruiter at Giant Tiger and also another separate local carrier company, they both told me they evaluate by demerit points and both companies said we cannot hire a driver with more than 3 demerit points. “give us a call when your down to 3 demerit points.” is what they said to me.
They also told me the guide lines the recruiters follow is set or based on meeting their insurance co. criteria.
I should have clarified in my blog post, demerit points do not affect consumer insurance rates.
Commercial insurance rates will be affected.
Also if you have enough demerit points for a license suspension, it goes without saying, you’re insurance rates will be affected.