The best car insurance companies for texting tickets

When it comes to car insurance, getting a texting ticket has a negative impact on your premiums. Some insurers may view texting while driving as a sign of distracted driving and you might see a rate hike. 

However, not all car insurance companies treat texting tickets the same way. Some car insurance companies provide lower premiums for drivers with texting tickets.

Here’s a list of the best cheap car insurance companies for drivers with a texting ticket, based on Insure.com analysis.

• Erie
• Geico
• Auto-Owners 
• State Farm
• Nationwide

Read on to learn more about which companies offer the most competitive rates to drivers with texting tickets. 

Does texting while driving affect insurance?

Texting behind the wheel is not only illegal in most states, but it is also very dangerous. Additionally, getting a ticket for texting while driving can impact your auto insurance rates. Auto insurance companies view drivers who engage in distracted driving behaviors, such as texting behind the wheel, as higher risk and may raise your rates accordingly.

While laws related to texting when driving violations can vary by state, such offenses add points to your driving record, which in turn increases your car insurance premium. 

A texting ticket on your record can increase your car insurance premiums by 25% on average, based on Insure.com analysis. However, the specific impact on your insurance rates will depend on your car insurance company’s policies and the severity of the offense. 

How much does texting while driving ticket increase auto insurance premiums?

The impact of texting while driving tickets on your car insurance rates can vary depending on the state laws and your car insurance company. It may be as high as 45% or as low as 8%, based on Insure.com data.

While many variables influence how much your rate goes up after a texting ticket, Insure.com found that the average driver will see the following increases after a texting-and-driving violation.

Best car insurance companies for people with a texting ticket

Erie Insurance is the best car insurance company for drivers with a texting ticket. It’s average premium after a texting ticket is $1,514 a year. It’s the most affordable auto insurance company among the carriers analyzed by Insure.com. 

Geico and Auto-Owners are also relatively affordable, with average annual premiums of $1,741 and $1,752 respectively. 

Insurance companies consider drivers with a texting ticket to be high-risk and charge them higher insurance costs. It is important to look for an affordable insurance provider that offers adequate coverage for drivers with a texting ticket.

*USAA offers the cheapest car insurance for drivers with a texting ticket. But it’s only available for the military, veterans and their families. 

To find the best car insurance company, drivers should compare rates from multiple carriers and choose the one that offers comprehensive coverage at the most affordable price.

Learn more about the best car insurance companies of 2023

How do insurance companies treat texting tickets?

When it comes to distracted driving, texting is often treated differently than talking on the phone. Texting behind the wheel usually results in a ticket and may eventually impact your insurance premium, especially if it puts points on your license.

You may have to pay hefty penalties for texting while driving. Colorado will ding you $1,000 and put four points on your license. Oregon’s fines run up to $1,000 for a first offense and go to $2,000 if you are caught again. New York will send you a bill for $250 for the second offense and add five points to your license.

Insurers also differ in how they look at tickets for texting while driving. Some insurers overlook a texting ticket, while others will increase your car insurance costs.

Some companies may track the tickets so that they can look at the loss data and then, based on the data, decide how to handle them. On the other hand, when texting tickets show up on an MVR (Motor Vehicle Record), many insurers treat them as a minor moving violation.

How much does texting while driving increase the cost of insurance by the state?

While it will vary by a number of factors, insurance rates go up around $396 a year, on average, after a texting ticket. 

California leads the nation with a 45% increase after a texting ticket, while New Jersey placed a distant second with a 43% jump. The increase in premiums varies dramatically across states, but if you do end up with a texting ticket on your record, don’t start panicking immediately, it may not impact your rates.

“Because states charge a fee for every motor vehicle record (MVR) pulled, many insurance carriers don’t pull MVRs yearly,” says John Espenschied with Insurance Brokers Group.

If your insurer doesn’t pull an MVR regularly, it will never know about your texting ticket, and your rates will stay the same. In a few states, it’s illegal for car insurance companies to bump up your rate for a texting ticket. In Idaho and North Carolina, state law prohibits insurers from raising rates based on texting violations.

In states where points are assigned to your license, you may find your license suspended if a texting citation puts you over the top. In New York, for example, a texting ticket puts five points on your license, and if you hit 11 points in 18 months, you can say goodbye to your license for a bit, raising your insurance premium.

Here’s how much more you can expect to pay in each state for texting while driving, ranked from highest rate increase to lowest:

Why do insurance companies charge more for texting while driving?

Insurance companies charge more for texting while driving because distracted driving increases the risk of accidents and, therefore, the likelihood of drivers filing insurance claims. Nine people in the United States die every day in crashes that involve a distracted driver, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Texting while driving is a dangerous behavior that takes a driver’s attention away from the road, which can cause them to miss things such as traffic lights, pedestrians, and other vehicles. As a result, drivers who text while driving are more likely to get into accidents, which can cause property damage, injuries, and even fatalities.

To cover the increased risk of accidents caused by texting while driving, insurance companies may charge higher premiums or increase deductibles for policyholders who engage in this behavior.

What are the state laws for cell phone use while driving?

When it comes to the use of cell phones while driving, 48 states have laws banning texting for all drivers. Some states also restrict the use of electronic devices to make phone calls. For instance, in California, drivers can only make calls using a hands-free device. While in New York, all drivers are prohibited from using hand-held electronic devices, including making phone calls.

Below are the state laws for cell phone use while driving.

Methodology

Insure.com commissioned Quadrant Information Services to field rates for drivers with texting tickets on their driving records. The insurance rates are based on the profile of a 40-year-old male driver carrying a full coverage policy with limits 100/300/100. 

To analyze the rates, we have compared 50,00,736 insurance quotes of 27 company groups across 548 cities and 1,467 ZIP codes in the U.S.

– Mark Vallet contributed to this story.