Do parking tickets hurt my auto insurance rates?
It happens to the best of us. Your meeting runs five minutes late, you don’t see the fire hydrant, or you risk a minute or two in no parking zone for a quick pickup. Returning to your car to find a pesky parking ticket slipped under your windshield wiper can turn a good day into a bad one – but will a parking ticket also have repercussions for your auto insurance?
The different classes of tickets
To set your premiums, auto insurance companies consider a number of factors including where you live, what kind of car you drive, and your Driver’s Abstract. Your Driver’s Abstract provides them with information on the class, issuing date, and expiration date of your license. It will also give them a summary of any infractions on your record including tickets, suspension, and criminal convictions. Based on this Driver’s Abstract, insurance providers determine how risky you are to ensure as a driver. The more infractions, the more likely you are to see elevated premiums.
Tickets include moving and non-moving violations. Moving violations occur when a moving vehicle violates traffic laws. They can be minor, major, or serious, but they will all appear on your Driver’s Abstract. Minor tickets are issued for violations including failing to signal or failing to stop at a stop sign. A 2012 study from Insurance.com found that failure to stop could increase your auto insurance premiums by up to 15%.
Speeding in a school zone and failing to report an accident are both major infractions. They are can result in the issuing of demerit points, eligibility to pay a fine and more serious hikes in your insurance.
The third kind of moving violation is the most serious, and often results in criminal proceedings. Serious or Criminal tickets are issued for impaired driving, speeding over 50km/h over the speed limit, and manslaughter. A DUI first offence can increase your premiums by up to 19%. All moving violations will show up on your Driver’s Abstract if you choose not to fight them and all infractions can provide grounds for your insurance company to raise your auto insurance premiums. Different insurance companies will penalize you differently for the same infractions. Repeated violations may result in especially high insurance premiums and even denial of coverage.
Parking tickets are considered non-moving violations. Non-moving violations also include tickets issued for faulty equipment like noisy mufflers and missing taillights. Parking in a no-parking zone, parking in front of a fire hydrant, or parking in front of an expired meter can all result in parking tickets from the city; unlike like tickets issued for moving violations, parking tickets will not appear on your Driver’s Abstract.
Insurance companies do not take them into consideration when setting premiums.
If you don’t pay your parking tickets
Although parking tickets won’t affect your auto insurance, unpaid parking tickets can have consequences. The Ministry of Transportation can deny your license plate renewal until you’ve paid off your tickets. Any money owing to the government can also negatively impact your credit score, so it’s best to pay these tickets right away. Private parking tickets are more easily contested than those issued by the city. If you decline to pay a parking ticket, private lots are unlikely to take you to small claims court. Credit-monitoring firms like Equifax also confirm they do not accept fines from private lots as grounds for adjusting your credit score.