Insurance Rates in North Carolina
If you have auto insurance in North Carolina, your insurance carrier is a member of the North Carolina Rate Bureau. This Bureau has developed a contract called the Safe Driver Insurance Plan, which governs the point system under which insurance rates are set. The Safe Driver Insurance Plan allocates point values to different moving violations (traffic tickets) based on the Insurance Points Schedule. For each point, your insurance carrier will increase your insurance rates by approximately 25%. These increases will apply for three policy years.
How can I avoid insurance points being assessed as a result of my speeding ticket?
Whether a conviction for a moving violation, like a speeding ticket while driving through Raleigh, will result in insurance points depends on the severity of the conviction and on the defendant's driving history. Individuals who have clean driving histories for the three years preceding their court date may be eligible for a safe driver's waiver. A prayer for judgment continued (PJC) may also be utilized in certain situations to avoid insurance points.
Can't I just ask for a Prayer for Judgment Continued?
A prayer for judgment continued, commonly referred to as a PJC, is one of the least understood phenomena in traffic law. While in some cases a PJC is exactly what is needed to avoid insurance points, in others, using a PJC can be disastrous to insurance premiums. The crash course on PJCs is as follows: One PJC per household every three years. The dangerous part is that if you go into court and request a PJC, you very well may get it. If you or someone else on your insurance policy has already used one, then the PJCs cancel each other out and not only do you get the insurance points for the ticket you just pled to, you also get the insurance points from the earlier ticket where a PJC was used!
How many insurance points is my traffic ticket going to cost me?
Keep in mind that insurance points are based on convictions, not charges. In this country, we each enjoy the presumption of innocence until proven guilty whether we are charged with arson or exceeding the posted speed. In most cases, the district attorney will be willing to negotiate your charge in order to elicit a plea. Consider how many people in your town, like Raleigh, get traffic tickets every day. Imagine if each of those people decided to plea "not guilty" and take their case to trial. The state simply does not have the time to try each case. Because of this, the district attorney will often be willing to reduce your charges. Your insurance points will be based on the charge that you plea to, not the charge that you were initially accused of. To learn more, contact us, or for a free consultation, use the email form to the right.
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