2015’S STATES WITH THE HIGHEST & LOWEST INSURANCE PREMIUM PENALTIES FOR HIGH RISK DRIVERS

It pays to be a safe driver. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say that it’s costly to be a high risk driver. People cited for things like DUI and reckless driving can find their finances drained by heavy fines, but that’s only where the costs begin. Since your insurance company will regard you as a higher risk, your car insurance premiums can rise over two times higher than the premiums a safe driver would pay, and it takes 3-5 years to clean your record.

The insurance premium penalty for high risk drivers varies widely from state to state, and it varies by type of violation. In some states, a checkered driving history means a big increase in insurance premiums. In other states the jump in premiums is relatively small. Which states and violations are most costly for high risk drivers?

To find out, WalletHub compared car insurance quotes for different types of drivers from the five largest auto insurers. It’s only fair that people who take the most risks behind the wheel pay for their risky behavior. So, we ranked the states by how much insurers penalize risky drivers with those where premiums rise the most ranked at the top.

Our findings, tips for high risk drivers and details on our methodology can be found below. If you’re in the high risk category, you can find insurance options for yourself with our car insurance quotes for high risk drivers. If you’re in the high risk category, you can find insurance options for yourself with our car insurance quotes for high risk drivers.

I. Methodology

In order to determine the impact on car insurance premiums of consumers labeled as high risk, we collected premium quotes from the websites of five of the largest insurance providers in the United States according to SNL Financial. In light of the fact that insurers use numerous variables in pricing their policies we obtained quotes for five hypothetical consumers. They are identical only for their driving history. More specifically, we sought to show the difference in annual insurance premiums among:

• A driver with no traffic violations,
  
  
• DUI conviction,
  
  
• 2 accidents in the last 2 years (1 per year),
  
  
• Reckless driving conviction,
  
  
• Ticket for speeding over 20 mph,
  
  
• Driving with a suspended license.
  

Base case assumptions (a driver with no traffic violations) is meant to show the average cost of a policy:

Base Case – Experienced Male Driver

2008 Honda Accord

• Annual Mileage: 16,000
  
  
• Licensed: 21 Years / Age: 37 Years
  
  
• Marital Status and Gender: Single Male
  
  
• Employment Status/ Profession: Job that is not eligible for discounts
  
  
• Commute: 20 miles each way
  
  
• Days per week: 5 Days
  
  
• Vehicle: 2008 Honda Accord LX, 4 cyl., Sedan
  
  
• Assume driver side air bag, standard performance, no anti-theft device.
  

COVERAGE:

• Bodily Injury Liability coverage of $50,000/$100,000
  
  
• Property Damage Liability of $50,000
  
  
• Minimum Personal Injury Protection or MedPay coverage in states where required
  
  
• Uninsured Motorist Coverage of $50,000 (where available)
  
  
• Underinsured Motorist Coverage of $50,000 (where available)
  
  
• Collision with deductible of $1,000
  
  
• Comprehensive with deductible of $1,000
  

After the baseline quotes were obtained, we then used the same information as the baseline and only altered the driver’s history so we can learn how much more drivers would be paying on car insurance premiums based on the different traffic violations they have had.

Where we were unable to match the coverage details to the above specifications, we chose the value closest to our base case data. Where applicable, taxes have been included in the quote.

In order to receive a quote from the insurance provider websites, a specific ZIP code was required. For each state in which the company was active we chose ZIP codes where the average household income was closest to the average income for the state as a whole.

Overall ranks were obtained by averaging the cost difference across all violation versus the base case, both in absolute dollars and as a percentage. States with the largest difference – those where high risk drivers pay the biggest increase in premiums compared to safe drivers – are ranked highest.

II. Main Findings - Rankings Based On Annual Premium Dollar Increases

III. Detailed Findings - Rankings Based on Percentage Premium Increases

© 2015 TLC Magazine Online, Inc.