How a Speeding Ticket Impacts Your Insurance in Indiana

Getting a speeding ticket in Indiana can cost you a fine, add points to your record, lead to a license suspension, and include jail time if you’re also convicted of reckless driving. All of these violations may increase your premium and, in some cases, result in insurers refusing your application for coverage.

Here’s a breakdown of how a speeding ticket affects your premium in Indiana.

Premium Increases

On average, insurers increase customer premiums by 24 percent after a ticket in Indiana. That rate could be higher or lower depending on your provider, the severity of your violation, and how many other tickets/points you have on your record.

There are a few reliable ways to bring down your premium after a speeding ticket in Indiana.

The first thing you should consider is taking a state-approved defensive driving course. According to the Indiana General Assembly, you can take a course once every three years to remove points from your driving record. Upon completion of the course, The Bureau of Motor Vehicles will provide you with a four-point credit that you can use to remove points from your record.³

Here are a few other ways lower your premium after a speeding ticket:

• Lower your limits. At AutoInsurance.com, we recommend getting full coverage with limits as high as you can afford. We understand, however, that this isn’t always financially feasible. If you’re looking for a way to bring down your premium, you could lower your liability limits.

  Here are the minimum requirements in Indiana, according to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles:

  • Bodily injury: $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident
  • Property damage: $25,000 per accident
  • Uninsured motorist bodily injury: $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident
  • Underinsured motorist bodily injury: $50,000 per person and accident
  • Uninsured motorist property damage: $25,000 per accident.
• Try a new provider. Some insurance companies, like Acceptance Insurance, cater to high-risk drivers. Whereas other companies may not accept your insurance or offer very high rates due to your poor driving record, companies like Acceptance and Direct Auto will likely accept your application.
• Turn to usage based insurance. Ask your agent about switching to usage-based insurance. These plans, like Allstate’s Drivewise, measure things like how safely you drive, how many miles you drive, what times of day you drive, and other key metrics that determine your safety score. People who drive less and drive more safely will pay less for car insurance on average.
• Sign up for more discounts. Auto insurance providers offer a variety of discounts. From bundling and student discounts to military member and safe-driver savings, you can sign up for a number of discount opportunities to bring your cost down.

The cost of a speeding ticket in Indiana will vary based on what city/county you’re in, how fast you were driving, whether or not you were in a work/school zone, and whether or not anyone was injured. In most cases, speeding tickets are issued as Class C infractions, with fines ranging from $150 to $200. On top of paying off the ticket and any associated fees, you will accrue points on your record and may face a driver’s license suspension and/or jail time.

Here’s what the cost of a speeding ticket looks like in the city of Fishers in Hamilton County.

You have a few options for how to handle a speeding ticket in Indiana. You can pay the ticket and plead guilty, plead not guilty, or appeal the ticket.

Regardless of what path you choose, if your ticket indicates that you have an in-person court appearance, you should show up for that appearance. If you’re asked to make a court appearance and fail to do so, you could face more serious charges.

Here’s a breakdown of the three options:

• Pay the ticket. The most straightforward way to deal with a ticket is plead guilty and pay the fee. In most cases, you can mail your payment to the address indicated on the ticket. You also have the option of taking a defensive driving course to reduce the penalties associated with the charge and remove points from your record.
• Plead non guilty and fight the ticket. If you believe the officer gave you an unlawful ticket, you can plead non guilty and request a trial. You have 60 days from the date the ticket was issued to make a non-guilty plea. After you file a non-guilty plea with the courthouse clerk, the court will assign you a hearing date.
• Appeal your case. If your ticket requires an in-person court hearing and you disagree with the results of the hearing, you can appeal the decision. If you do appeal the decision, the court will assign you another hearing to reassess the case.⁵

There are several other moving violations that will affect your car insurance and potentially lead to premium increases. If you want to avoid costly premium increases and improve you driving habits, try to avoid the following violations:

• Not yielding at railroad crossings
• Driving without your license
• Hit-and-run violations
• Not stopping at a red light
• Making an illegal turn
• Driving with an expired registration
• Not yielding to a railroad crossing
• Driving without a license
• Getting a DUI
• Reckless driving
• Tailgating

Even for the lowest-level infraction, speeding can cost you over $100, add points to your record, and increase your car insurance premium by an average of 24 percent. With maximum fines of $1,000, the threat of hurting yourself and those around you, and potential jail time/license suspension for reckless driving, it’s best to avoid the risks that come with speeding altogether.