How a speeding ticket impacts your insurance in North Carolina

North Carolina has some of the cheapest average car insurance rates in the entire country. However, this privilege is mostly exclusive to drivers with clean driving records. Receiving even a single speeding ticket can cause your insurance premium to spike by roughly 50 percent in the Tar Heel State. Given what’s at stake financially, it’s worthwhile to know your options after being caught speeding, such as going to court or adjusting your insurance policy.

How much is a speeding ticket in NC?

The fine for a minor speeding ticket in North Carolina ranges from $10 to $50, plus other court or administrative costs. With more severe speeding tickets, like driving in excess of 80 mph or exceeding the applicable speed limit by over 15 mph while driving over 55 mph, the amount of your fine will be determined in court at the judge’s discretion. If you were speeding in a work or school zone, you could face an additional $250 fine on top of your other fines.

On the surface, the cost of a speeding ticket in North Carolina doesn’t seem too bad, especially for minor infractions. However, greater financial fallout begins when your insurance company finds out about your ticket, which they will upon policy renewal whether you tell them or not.

According to Quadrant Information Services, as of May 2024, North Carolina drivers with clean driving records pay on average $1,775 for full coverage per year and $522 for minimum coverage per year. After receiving one speeding ticket in NC, drivers may see their average annual costs jump to $2,656 for full coverage and $767 for minimum coverage, representing a 50 and 47 percent increase, respectively.

In addition, drivers who accumulate multiple speeding tickets or other traffic violations can have their license suspended under North Carolina’s point system, starting at 60 days and increasing for habitual offenders. Regardless of points, some severe speeding tickets can result in an instant license revocation, the length of which is determined by prior driving history. The cost to have your driver’s license restored from suspension or revocation in North Carolina is $70, with an additional $50 service fee.

The cheapest car insurance for North Carolina drivers with a speeding ticket

According to our research, regardless of your insurance provider, it’s quite difficult to evade the approximately 50 percent rate increase that follows a first speeding ticket in North Carolina. That said, some North Carolina providers’ rates are pretty cheap to begin with, so the 50 percent hike is a little less painful. Based on base profile average rates as of May 2024, these are the cheapest car insurance providers for North Carolina drivers with a speeding ticket on their driving record.

*All rates displayed are average annual full coverage rates.

What to do after a speeding ticket in North Carolina

In North Carolina, speeding tickets generally stay on your driving record for three years from the conviction date. During this probationary period, you’ll likely see your car insurance rates increase. However, car insurance rates are influenced by multiple factors, and you could implement these strategies to potentially reduce insurance costs in the meantime or to remove the points from your record faster.

Go to court

Depending on the circumstances of your speeding ticket, appearing in court may be mandatory or optional. If optional, you could waive your ticket, which means admitting guilt and paying the fine — in other words, waiving the need to appear in court. In this case, the ticket would be added to your driving record. However, if your court date is mandatory or you choose to appear, you have a couple of other options that could help soften the financial consequences of a speeding ticket.

North Carolina allows drivers to request that a speeding ticket be reduced, which can either be done in court or online, as long as the request is made at least seven days prior to the court date. There is no guarantee of success with this approach. Still, you may have a better chance of succeeding if you have an otherwise good driving record, admit guilt and display an understanding for the violation being ticketed. If the judge sees that you will strive to prevent a re-occurrence of traffic violations, you may have a better chance of receiving a reduction — or even a dismissal if you’re fortunate. Depending on the judge’s decision, this may reduce the severity of your ticket, lowering the amount you owe and how many points get added to your insurance record.

Lastly, you could contest the speeding ticket and plead not guilty, but doing this without legal counsel may be challenging. If there is no easily provable reason why the speeding ticket shouldn’t have been issued, it may be difficult to contest the ticket successfully. Hiring local legal counsel could improve your chances here, and the cost may be lower than the longer-term insurance hikes a speeding conviction may cause.

Attend a driver improvement course

North Carolina state laws allow drivers with four points on an eight-point scale or seven points on a 12-point scale to attend a driver improvement course once every five years. You may need to qualify first and attend a hearing with an administrative hearings officer, which comes with a $40 fee, as well as a $70 fee for the course itself. Once you successfully complete the course, you will receive a credit of three points. Over time, these improvements to your driving record may result in lower premiums from your insurer upon policy renewal.

Commit to safe driving

Instead of waiting three years for the points to fall off your driving record, you can take a more proactive approach by enrolling in a telematics program if your insurance provider offers one. These programs track your daily driving habits and transmit the data back to your provider. Simply put, the safer you drive, the more you save. It may take some time, but this can be a good way to counter at least some of your speeding ticket insurance rate hike. Keep in mind that some insurers may also raise rates if they detect unsafe driving habits, so check with your preferred insurer to learn more about its individual program.

Adjust your insurance policy

If the new premium is more than you can afford, you could also consider adjusting your car insurance policy by lowering your coverage limits (within legal requirements) or dropping optional coverages. Alternatively, you can also consider raising your deductible to save, so long as you are prepared to assume more financial responsibility in the event of an accident.

If you’d prefer to keep your coverage as is, you could instead explore your eligibility for certain car insurance discounts that aren’t linked to your driving record, such as paperless billing or policy bundling.

Frequently asked questions

• Will a speeding ticket affect insurance?

  Drivers in North Carolina may see their insurance costs go up by roughly 50 percent following a first speeding ticket, and potentially more for repeat offenders. Simply put, providers raise your rates because speeding is correlated with a higher likelihood of causing an accident in the future. However, some providers are less judgemental than others. So, if the new premium is out of your budget, it may be a good idea to shop around and compare quotes.
  

• What is the best car insurance company in North Carolina for drivers with speeding tickets?

  The best car insurance company, even if you have a speeding ticket, will depend on your unique needs. Some providers will offer lower rates than others, but even that will vary by driver since so many other factors come into play. But car insurance is more than just price. You may also want to consider each company’s coverage offerings, discounts and third-party ratings to ensure you match yourself with the best option for your needs.
  

• How can I get North Carolina drivers license points removed?

  North Carolina allows qualified drivers to take a driver improvement course if you have four points or more on your license and speak to an administrative hearings officer. You will need to pay a $40 fee and $70 for the course, but once you complete it, the state will remove three points from your license. Note that you are only allowed to take the course once every five years.
  

Methodology

Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze May 2024 rates for all ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates are weighted based on the population density in each geographic region. Quoted rates are based on a single, 40-year-old male and female driver with a clean driving record, good credit and the following full coverage limits:

• $100,000 bodily injury liability per person
• $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident
• $50,000 property damage liability per accident
• $100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per person
• $300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per accident
• $500 collision deductible
• $500 comprehensive deductible

To determine minimum coverage limits, Bankrate used minimum coverage that meets each state’s requirements. Our base profile drivers own a 2022 Toyota Camry, commute five days a week and drive 12,000 miles annually.

These are sample rates and should only be used for comparative purposes.

Incidents: Rates were calculated by evaluating our base profile with the following incidents applied: clean record (base) and single speeding ticket.