How a Speeding Ticket Impacts Your Insurance in Connecticut

Connecticut car insurance premiums increase by an average of 25 percent after a driver gets a speeding ticket. However, your exact increase might range anywhere from 3 to 86 percent, and prices will differ based on your demographics, ZIP code, and the rest of your driving history. Compare rates from multiple car insurance companies to see which can give you the lowest auto insurance quote after you’ve been caught speeding.

Now that you have a speeding violation on your record, insurance companies will view you as a high-risk driver, justifying higher rates. But there are ways to lower the cost of auto insurance even after getting a speeding ticket.

1. Buy minimum coverage. The cheapest option is getting the minimum coverage required only, which in Connecticut is as follows:
   • Bodily injury liability per person: $25,000
   • Bodily injury liability per accident: $50,000
   • Property damage liability per accident: $25,000
   • Uninsured/underinsured motorist per person: $25,000
   • Uninsured/underinsured motorist per accident: $50,000¹
     But keep in mind that minimum coverage will not cover your property damages or medical payments from accidents you cause. For that, you’d need full coverage, which includes medical payments, comprehensive, and collision coverage, and thus costs more money.
2. Ask for discounts. Insurance providers will charge you less for various actions. For example, there’s a good driver discount available with many companies, as well as a discount for not having a single insurance claim in a given period of time. Check your insurer’s website or ask your insurance agent to see what’s available.
3. Take a senior accident prevention course. Per Connecticut law, senior drivers age 60 and older can take accident prevention courses to receive insurance discounts of at least 5 percent for at least two years.² Make sure you complete the course within one year of applying for the discount.

If you aren’t happy with your current insurance provider, comparing quotes is easy and free, and it won’t affect your credit score.

Speeding is a traffic infraction in Connecticut, meaning it’s punishable by fines only. See below for the fines by speed, but keep in mind that these don’t include fines for trucks on state highways.³

If you’re driving on a multiple-lane, limited-access highway, you can get fined based on your actual speed as opposed to how many miles per hour over the limit you were going.

For speeding teen drivers age 16 to 17 who drive 20 miles per hour or more over the limit, the police will seize their license or permit for 48 hours and could even impound their vehicle.⁴

Once you receive a speeding ticket, you must respond to it by the answer date listed on the citation. If you don’t, the DMV will suspend your license, and you’ll owe an additional $60 on top of your fines. Plus, the prosecutor will charge you with“failure to pay or plead” and will issue a warrant for your arrest. Below are your response options.

Pay the Ticket

For most people, paying for the ticket is the easiest route. You can do so in one of two ways:

• Online: https://www.jud2.ct.gov/CIBEpay/EnterTicket
• Mail: Pay by check or money order, which should include your ticket number and be made payable to “Clerk of Superior Court.” Send it, along with your ticket, to the following address:
  • Centralized Infractions Bureau
  • P.O. Box 5044
  • Hartford, Connecticut 06102-5044

Paying the ticket means you’re pleading no contest, which means you’re neither admitting nor denying the charges. Legally, however, it’s similar to a guilty plea.

Speeding isn’t the only traffic violation that can lead to higher insurance rates in Connecticut. Here is just a sample of other violations from the state’s Motor Vehicle Code:

• Driving without insurance
• Driving without a license
• Negligent homicide
• Traveling unreasonably fast
• Slow speed
• Reckless driving
• Failing to stop when signaled by a police officer
• Operating while intoxicated
• Passing⁵

Given that nearly 4 out of every 10 fatal motor vehicle crashes in Connecticut involved speeding in 2021, staying under the posted limit is your best bet for getting where you need to go safely. Not to mention, you’ll see much lower rates on car insurance with a clean driving record. Keep reading our frequently asked questions below to learn more about speeding in the Constitution State.