how to deal w/ 4 pts on insurance

Dear Experts

So busy with life, I paid the $500 fee for speeding back in Dec 2004.
It happened on HW 80 of Nevada but my driver lic is issued in CA.

Nothing changed from my insurance when my aunt renewed it in Feb 2005, and I said "wow, maybe I'm not the policy holder!"
Ok, now she got a notice for policy renewal for 2006, and "my" premium goes triple.

My gosh, I work very hard w/o medical coverage and w/o paid vacation (I'm a temp) so how do I go about dealing with 4 pts on the insurance?
Bad thing is I did not know I had to fight the charge or hire a lawyer before I went to court to pay. Now I already paid and the pts are on my insurance! I'm begging for any light you can shed ...
Can I still hire a traffic lawyer??

Newbie needs help badly,

nee

See if there are any "driver improvement " classes offered in your area. AAA and The National Safety Council are two organizations that offer these courses. They are 6 hours in length and may be taken at once, usually on a weekend,or split between two days during the week. These courses offer a 10% reduction in your premiums for a period of 36 months.I don't think there is much you can do now once you pleaded 'guilty' and paid the fine. Check with your insurance company to see if they honor the discount, as most do. Some insurance companies even put class information in with their bills.I know 10% isn't much when your talking about your premiums going up that much. On another note, you might want to check with your insurance company to see if you are getting all the possible discounts offered to you and your vehicle. Some discounts include : theft deterrent systems, daytime running lights, airbags,ABS, and some companies offer an accident free discount for certain terms( 3 yr., 5yr., 10 yr. without a chargeable accident.)Also check into discounts for multi-car, and multi-line (includes discount for adding home insurance to policy if applicable.), and there is even discounts related to the number of miles driven annually, the less miles driven= lower premium.

Hello 97Ventureowner,

Thanks for the suggestions/advice. Turned out I only had 2 pts on my DMV document but AAA charged 2 more pts on top of that.
Since this is 100+ miles speeding violation, I do not qualify for traffic school.

Is there any program that can help reduce the policy increase?
The insurance rep told my aunt (she's been a good driver for 12 yrs on the insurance) that we might wanna drop the collision and property damage options my car that might help save $1000. Since I'm not usually reckless (this was a one-time mistake), is their suggestion to drop those 2 coverages risky?

Also, I beg for some more info, what is "property damage" coverage anyway?

Please help me - we dont have much $$$ to deal with a 4-time increase in insurance. Or can you suggest a company that charge less for a driver with 2 pts and does not impose more pts on top of that.

Thank you,
nee

Hello 97Ventureowner,

Thanks for the suggestions/advice. Turned out I only had 2 pts on my DMV document but AAA charged 2 more pts on top of that.
Since this is 100+ miles speeding violation, I do not qualify for traffic school.

Is there any program that can help reduce the policy increase?
The insurance rep told my aunt (she's been a good driver for 12 yrs on the insurance) that we might wanna drop the collision and property damage options my car that might help save $1000. Since I'm not usually reckless (this was a one-time mistake), is their suggestion to drop those 2 coverages risky?

Also, I beg for some more info, what is "property damage" coverage anyway?

Please help me - we dont have much $$$ to deal with a 4-time increase in insurance. Or can you suggest a company that charge less for a driver with 2 pts and does not impose more pts on top of that.

Thank you,
nee
Dropping collision coverage would depend on how old the vehicle is. I drop my collision coverage once the vehicle is 7 years old. Collision coverage pays to have your vehicle repaired in an accident. You usually can't get more than the 'actual cash value' of your car. If the repair costs exceed a certain percentage of the car's worth, the insurance company will usually total the vehicle.If you decide to keep the collision coverage, you can raise your deductible to a higher amount,sometimes $500 or $1000. This would be money you would have to pay out of pocket first before the insurance company pays their part. It would be wise to go with a deductible you can safely afford. Property damage coverage covers the items you damage other than your own vehicle. It really is up to you to determine if you can do without these coverages, on a monetary level. What you might save now could hurt you in the future if you do have an accident and are sued by the other party. One thing you could do is look at other insurance companies, and get a quote from them on coverages with your driving record.There are literally hundreds of companies out there and you might be able to find one with lower rates, or better coverage for less. I don't understand when you say AAA added 2 pts on top of the DMV's 2 pts. I would think you should go by the DMV record, as would most insurance companies when they review your record for insurability. That, and many insurance companies now base their decision on your credit report as well. Something else to consider when you look for new insurance.

Hello Again,

Thanks for coming back to this post, and I appreciate your explanation.

Ok, I'll drop the collision damage (6-yr old Ford - doesnt have much value anyway) and like I said, I'm normally good and do not go around much.
And I'll raise the deductible.

Your question about AAA stirred my curiosity! Do we get ripped off?
My DMV notification letter shows 2 pts in paper/blk&white. My aunt inquired about this pts calculation and AAA told my aunt their policy is to "Add" 2 pts on top of that making it 4 points! yeah, their policy! that is why the premium on mine will go quadruple!
Pls shed some advice on this.

Many thanks for any tip from you and others - please.

nee

I'd start looking around for a new insurance company that doesn't "add 2 pts", or anything on top of what you already have. Then maybe the new insurance company can cut you a break if you take a driver improvement course. ( By the way, who said you were not eligible to take the course just because the ticket was for over 100m.p.h.? That surprises me, as I would think they would want you to take one.)

OK. Why were you going over 100mph. Not bashing just curious. Yea I had plenty of friends that used AAA. Everytime they did something they got extra points. Get this I have 3 tickets that give points and my step(points) is at 19. My buddy has 3 and his is at 24. Same tickets different insurance. May i make a suggestion on insurance? Look into Met-Life. They actually cut me a break. I would have paid $345 at my old insurance company. I have the same points and same coverage and i only pay $293 dollars with Met-Life. Check them out.

it's always worth getting a quote from other insurance companies when it comes to renewing.
after all, even though they are providing a service, YOU are still a customer, not matter how liable you may be. Realistically, unless you are either a complete idiot or absolutely unable to drive properly, you won't actually be costing them any extra money (as an individual) over what you pay them in premium. If they won't give you a cheaper cover, another company will.

Hello Folks,

I was out sick yesterday - maybe from the points :(

Anyhow, thanks for all the writebacks. I guess I'd take Chevy's suggestion and get a quote from Met-Life. Any other affordable companies out there?

Back to the question of driving course, yea, they said I would not qualify because it was over 100mph. That was a one-time haunted since I always drive carefully. Enough to cost me thousand headaches!

Thanks again,

nee

Oh guess what, no MetLife in CA.
Any better auto insurance out there in CA that dont add points to my existing 2 pts (painful enough).

Thanks,
nee

Thank you Venture. I'll give it a call.
Nee