Does your driving score affect your insurance?

Asked by: Kasey O'Connell  |  Last update: July 23, 2025
Score: 4.4/5 (1 votes)

Who you are as a driver has a major impact on what you pay for car insurance. Your age, your credit score, and your driving record (which all impact your insurance score), are all taken into consideration by insurance companies when they price quotes.

What is a driving score for insurance?

For insurance companies, understanding what kind of driver you are is essential for estimating risks, and with that, the premiums they should charge you. The solution to these issues is your Driver Score, which assesses a driver's skills, how safe they are on the road and so on to evaluate how good a driver they are.

How many points will make your insurance go up?

An important thing to understand about auto insurance and points is that insurance companies don't look at a driver's points tally to determine their insurance rate. Instead, insurers conduct their own checks into each potential customer's driving history.

How do insurance companies see your driving record?

How Do Companies Check Your Records? Insurance companies obtain Motor Vehicle Reports (MVRs) directly from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or relevant authorities. These reports provide a detailed account of your driving history, including traffic violations, accidents, and license status.

Does driving score matter?

Not only do driving scores empower drivers to understand how their behaviors impact their own and others' risk on the road, but these scores also help give greater control over how much they pay for auto insurance.

How Your Credit Score Can Impact Your Insurance Rates

23 related questions found

Is 75 a good driving score?

Based on the safety score, driving behavior is classified as: Safe Driving (Score >=75) On the Watch List (65 < Score > 75) Risky Driving (Score < 65)

Is 79 a good driving score?

The report, which ranks each habit from a low of one to a high of 100, indicated that drivers nationally received an average safe driving rate of 79, classifying them as "C" students if these grades were test scores.

How do I clean my driving record for insurance?

How to clean up your driving record
  1. Take a defensive driving course. Many states will remove points or minor infractions from your driving record if you complete a defensive driving course. ...
  2. Dispute errors on your driving record. ...
  3. Contest your ticket. ...
  4. Fix minor issues immediately. ...
  5. Expunge your record. ...
  6. Seek a deferment.

How does driving history affect insurance?

Determining Your Risk Level

Insurance companies view such drivers as less likely to file claims, resulting in lower premiums. Conversely, a history of accidents or violations indicates a higher likelihood of future claims, prompting insurers to classify you as a higher-risk driver and increase your premiums.

How do insurance companies track your driving?

Driver monitoring—what insurers call telematics, or usage-based insurance (UBI)—typically utilizes a smartphone app, a device that plugs into your car's computer diagnostic port, or an electronic tag mounted inside your car to keep tabs on how you drive, measuring things like speed, braking, cell phone use (to observe ...

Will 2 points increase my insurance?

For example, a driver with two points on their license for reckless driving in California saw their insurance costs nearly triple (or a 180% increase), while a driver with the same violation in Florida — despite it being worth four points — only saw their rates increase by 44.5%.

Can insurance find out about points?

Can insurers find out if you have points? Yes. If you don't disclose penalty points to an insurer, they will likely find out about them. In short, you may take out an insurance policy but this could be invalid as soon as an insurer discovers you have points.

How bad is 4 points on insurance?

If you get 4 points on your license, your car insurance premiums will likely increase and you might have your license restricted, suspended, or revoked, depending on your state. Driver's license points are used to track violations, so accumulating 4 points is a sign of increased risk for insurers.

Is 84 a good driving score?

Print. A score above 85 means you are doing a good job being safe on the road. This score is an averaged score for the last 7 days of your driving. A score between 65 and 74 represents moderate driving risk and scores below 64 represent poor driving with high risk.

Is 90 a good driving score?

Safety Scores are a value between 0 and 100, where a higher score indicates safer driving. Most drivers are expected to have a Safety Score of 80 or above.

What does your driving record affect?

Your driving history is a significant factor in determining your car insurance rate. If you have a history of getting speeding tickets or causing accidents, insurance companies will typically charge you more for insurance because you're more likely to file an auto insurance claim.

Does your driving record affect your credit?

Credit Scores

If you have a traffic citation on your driving record, you could also have a lower credit score. This can affect your ability to get a loan and make important purchases, such as a car or a home.

Can you get rid of points?

Penalty points stay on your licence for either four or eleven years – depending upon the offence you committed. Once penalty points expire, they're automatically removed from your driving licence.

Can I have my driving record expunged?

You can get your driving record expunged and the points removed from your license, provided you satisfy certain conditions.

Why is my insurance so high with a clean record?

Claims in your area

If your area has a high rate of theft, accident, or weather-related claims, it becomes riskier for an insurance company to cover drivers there. That risk can lead to an auto insurance price increase, even if you have a perfect driving record.

What does driving score do?

Just as the FICO® Score is the standard measure of consumer credit risk, the FICO Safe Driving Score provides a measure of driver risk and safety based on driving behaviors, which facilitates consistency and fairness.

How do I improve my driving score?

Follow these tips to improve the score:
  1. Avoid distractions such as phone use while driving. ...
  2. Make full stops at stop signs, obey traffic lights, and follow all road signs.
  3. Maintain a safe following distance to ensure enough reaction time and avoid sudden stops.

What's the highest driving score?

The FICO® Safe Driving Score ranges from 100 to 850; the higher the score, the more likely a driver is to display safe driving behaviors and avoid collisions in the future.