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SALT LAKE CITY — Most motorists already know if they get a speeding ticket, they can expect an increase in their car insurance premiums. However, those increases can vary wildly depending on where the motorist lives.
If you're ticketed for reckless driving in Utah, you'll likely get hit with a 40 percent increase in your insurance premiums, according to InsuranceQuotes.com. But reckless driving in Hawaii is far from paradise. Rates will likely go up by a whopping 287 percent.
Back in Utah, the second most expensive infraction, insurance-wise, is driving under the influence. A DUI alone will typically jack up car insurance rates by 38 percent in this state. But a similar ticket in North Carolina would mean a 337 percent rate increase to auto insurance.
Compare that to Maryland, where a DUI would only raise rates by 15 percent.
So does that mean North Carolina is that much tougher than Utah or Maryland on drunk drivers? Not necessarily.
Consumer advocates say it has a lot to do with how states regulate insurers. In Utah, insurers can use a variety of factors to calculate rates, such as your credit score.
"If you're heavily extended and in debt, and you have way too much debt for your income, there's something — we don't know why — but they're something about that correlation that those kind of people tend to have more insurance claims," explained David Platt, owner and manager of Platt Insurance.
Age and gender are also factors in Utah, as well as the area of residence.
"In Utah, it's easy to figure people who drive I-15 every day are more likely to have a wreck than people who live in Vernal, Utah, and drive two or three minutes to get to work," Platt said.
In states like California, credit scores and other factors can't be used to base auto insurance premiums. So, tickets like DUI or reckless driving have a much bigger impact on insurance.
