You pay the speeding ticket online, close the browser tab, and assume you’re done. Three months later, your insurance renewal notice arrives with a 20% rate increase that will cost you for the next three years. The ticket you paid without thinking twice just became a costly mistake.
Insurance companies don’t care about your explanation for why you were going 15 over on I-80. They care about risk predictions based on driving records, and certain violations signal a higher claim probability than others. Nebraska traffic violations that appear on your motor vehicle record trigger premium adjustments that persist for years, turning modest fines into substantial long-term costs.
Not every ticket raises rates equally, and some violations create insurance nightmares that extend far beyond premium increases. Liberty Law Group can help you assess the potential impact of a traffic violation and guide you toward a more favorable outcome.
Key Takeaways for Nebraska Traffic Violations and Insurance
- Moving violations that appear on your driving record typically trigger insurance rate increases lasting three to five years
- Speeding tickets, at-fault accidents, reckless driving, and DUI violations create the largest premium increases, sometimes doubling or tripling rates
- Nebraska’s point system adds points to your license for moving violations, with 12 points in two years triggering license revocation
- Convictions remain on Nebraska driving records for five years, though insurance companies typically surcharge for three years
- Fighting tickets or negotiating reductions to non-moving violations protects both your driving record and your insurance rates
How Insurance Companies Use Nebraska Driving Records
Insurance companies purchase motor vehicle records from the Nebraska DMV during policy shopping, at renewal, and after reported claims. These records reveal traffic convictions, at-fault accidents, license suspensions, and point accumulations that insurers use to calculate risk ratings and set premiums.
Underwriting systems assign risk scores based on the types, frequencies, and recency of violations. Recent violations weigh more heavily than older ones, and multiple violations within short periods suggest higher accident risk than isolated incidents. Insurers adjust premiums to reflect calculated risk, meaning drivers with clean records subsidize lower rates while drivers with violations pay surcharges.
Nebraska DUI law requires convictions to remain on driving records for five years from the conviction date. However, insurance companies typically apply surcharges for three years following violations, though some insurers extend surcharge periods to five years depending on violation severity.
Moving Violations That Raise Insurance Rates in Nebraska
Moving violations demonstrate driver behavior that correlates with future claims. Insurers focus primarily on these violations when calculating premiums.
Speeding Tickets
Speeding violations constitute the most common moving violation affecting insurance rates. Premium increases depend on how far over the speed limit you traveled and your prior driving history.
Minor speeding violations may not trigger rate increases for drivers with otherwise clean records, particularly when insurers offer accident forgiveness programs.
Excessive speeding signals a higher risk and produces larger rate increases. These violations also add more points to Nebraska driving records, creating compounding consequences through both insurance and license suspension risks.
Reckless Driving
Reckless driving violations trigger substantial insurance increases because they demonstrate willful disregard for safety. Insurers view reckless driving as a stronger accident predictor than simple speeding violations.
Premium increases for reckless driving can be significant, with some insurers dropping coverage entirely and forcing drivers into high-risk insurance markets. These violations remain on driving records for five years, and insurers may surcharge for the full five-year period rather than just three years.
Following Too Closely and Improper Lane Changes
Citations for following too closely, improper lane changes, and failure to maintain lane signal poor judgment that leads to accidents. These violations can produce varying premium increases depending on the insurer and the driver’s history.
While less severe than reckless driving, these violations still demonstrate behaviors directly linked to collision claims, and insurers price them accordingly.
Failure to Yield and Right-of-Way Violations
Failure to yield right-of-way, running stop signs, and running red lights create intersection accidents that produce substantial claims. These violations can trigger a significant rate increase.
Insurers particularly dislike right-of-way violations because they frequently involve side-impact collisions with high injury rates and expensive claims.
At-Fault Accidents
At-fault accidents trigger significant insurance increases regardless of whether traffic citations were issued. Accidents producing claims demonstrate actual loss history rather than just potential risk, and insurers respond with aggressive premium adjustments.
How substantial an increase will depend on the severity of the accompanying claim. Multiple at-fault accidents within a three-year period sometimes result in policy non-renewal, forcing drivers into assigned risk pools with substantially higher premiums.
Comprehensive and collision coverage rates increase more than liability coverage after at-fault accidents because collision coverage becomes more likely to generate future claims.
High-Impact Violations That Create Insurance Nightmares
Certain violations produce catastrophic insurance consequences extending beyond simple premium increases.
DUI and Impaired Driving
Driving under the influence (DUI) convictions create the worst insurance consequences of any traffic violation. First-offense DUI typically doubles or triples premiums, with increases lasting five years rather than three.
Beyond rate increases, DUI convictions trigger SR-22 filing requirements. Nebraska requires SR-22 certificates of financial responsibility following DUI convictions, license suspensions, and certain other violations. SR-22 filings notify the DMV that you maintain required insurance coverage, and lapses in SR-22 coverage trigger automatic license suspensions.
Insurance companies charge filing fees for SR-22 certificates, and not all insurers offer SR-22 policies. Drivers requiring SR-22 filings sometimes must switch to high-risk insurers charging substantially higher premiums than standard market rates.
Some insurers drop DUI offenders entirely, refusing to renew policies following convictions. These drivers enter assigned risk pools or high-risk markets with high annual premiums. It is important to work with an experienced DUI defense attorney if you are facing charges.
Driving on Suspended or Revoked License
Driving during suspension or revocation demonstrates disregard for legal requirements that insurers view as extremely high-risk behavior. These violations typically double or triple premiums and might result in policy cancellation.
License suspensions themselves sometimes trigger insurance rate increases even absent new violations, particularly when suspensions result from point accumulations or prior DUI convictions.
Leaving Accident Scenes
Hit-and-run violations or leaving accident scenes without providing information creates both criminal liability and severe insurance consequences. Insurers view these violations as demonstrating poor character and judgment, which can trigger rate increases similar to those resulting from DUI convictions and may prompt drivers to find a good DUI lawyer to protect their record and future coverage.
Multiple Violations in Short Periods
Accumulating multiple moving violations within one or two years signals habitual poor driving that insurers price aggressively. Three violations within 24 months might increase premiums substantially or result in non-renewal regardless of individual violation severity.
Violations That Typically Don’t Affect Insurance Rates
Not every ticket impacts insurance premiums. Insurers focus on violations demonstrating accident risk rather than technical compliance failures.
Common violations that don’t typically raise rates include:
- Parking tickets: Don’t appear on driving records and don’t predict accident risk
- Equipment violations: Broken taillights, expired registration, or defective equipment citations when corrected promptly (though equipment violations contributing to accidents might indirectly affect rates through at-fault accident determinations)
- Seat belt violations: Non-moving citations that don’t demonstrate risky driving behavior
- Registration and administrative violations: Technical compliance issues unrelated to how you operate vehicles
Nebraska’s Point System and Insurance Consequences
Nebraska assigns points to moving violations based on offense severity. The point system operates independently from insurance company risk calculations, but point accumulations create license suspension risks that compound insurance problems.
The Nebraska DMV assigns points for traffic convictions, with point totals increasing based on the severity of the violation. Accumulating 12 points within two years triggers automatic license revocation. Points remain on records for five years from conviction dates.
Insurance companies don’t use Nebraska’s point system to calculate premiums. They use their own proprietary risk-rating systems based on violation types and frequencies. However, point accumulations that trigger license suspensions create additional insurance consequences beyond the underlying violations themselves.
License revocations force drivers to file SR-22 certificates to regain driving privileges, and SR-22 requirements trigger substantial insurance increases independent of underlying violation severity.
How Long Violations Affect Insurance Rates
Traffic violations affect insurance rates for limited periods, though those periods extend several years and create substantial cumulative costs.
Standard Three-Year Surcharge Periods
Most insurers apply surcharges for three years following moving violations. Rate increases typically diminish over time, with full surcharges applying in the first year and gradually reducing in subsequent years.
Extended Surcharge Periods for Serious Violations
DUI, reckless driving, and multiple violations sometimes trigger five-year surcharge periods. These extended periods significantly increase total violation costs beyond initial premium adjustments.
Conviction Date vs Discovery Date
Insurers typically apply surcharges from conviction dates rather than violation dates. Citations that remain pending for months don’t affect rates until convictions occur, creating timing considerations for when to resolve tickets.
Strategic case resolution sometimes delays conviction dates to manage insurance renewal timing, though this approach requires careful coordination with legal counsel.
When Fighting Tickets Makes Financial Sense
The decision to contest traffic citations versus paying fines depends on comparing legal costs against long-term insurance consequences.
Calculating Total Violation Costs
A speeding ticket carrying a few hundred-dollar fine seems manageable until you calculate insurance increases. However, a violation resulting in a 20% premium increase on a $1,200 annual policy can quickly add up.
In some cases, paying for attorney representation to reduce charges to non-moving violations or achieve dismissals could save costs over time. Higher premiums or multiple violations increase savings from successful ticket defense.
Approaching License Suspension Thresholds
Drivers approaching 12-point totals need aggressive ticket defense to avoid license revocation. Revocations trigger SR-22 requirements and insurance consequences that dwarf typical violation surcharges.
Reducing charges to preserve licenses becomes economically essential when point totals approach suspension thresholds, justifying substantial legal fees to protect driving privileges.
Commercial Driver Considerations
Commercial driver’s license holders face federal disqualification rules that create career-ending consequences from violations that seem minor to regular drivers. CDL holders should contest all moving violations given employment stakes that exceed insurance concerns.
Liberty Law Group helps Nebraska drivers evaluate whether fighting traffic citations makes financial sense based on insurance consequences, point accumulations, and long-term cost comparisons. Strategic ticket defense often saves substantially more than legal fees cost.
Strategies to Minimize Insurance Impact After Violations
When violations can’t be avoided, certain strategies minimize insurance consequences.
Shopping for New Insurance
Insurance companies rate violations differently. Some insurers impose modest surcharges while others apply severe penalties. Shopping for new insurance following violations sometimes produces savings that offset rate increases.
However, drivers should carefully compare total costs. Switching insurers may sacrifice access to longevity discounts, bundling benefits, or accident forgiveness programs that provide value beyond base premium comparisons.
Defensive Driving Courses
Some insurers offer premium discounts for completing defensive driving courses. These discounts sometimes offset portions of violation surcharges, though course costs and time investments must be weighed against potential savings.
Nebraska courts sometimes allow defensive driving course completion to reduce charges or satisfy sentencing requirements, creating dual benefits of charge reduction plus insurance discounts.
Accident Forgiveness Programs
Drivers with clean records should consider insurers that offer accident forgiveness programs before any violations occur. These programs waive surcharges for first at-fault accidents, providing valuable protection for otherwise clean-record drivers.
However, accident forgiveness typically doesn’t extend to major violations like DUI or reckless driving, limiting effectiveness for serious offenses.
FAQ: Nebraska Traffic Violations and Insurance
Do Speeding Tickets Always Raise Insurance in Nebraska?
Minor speeding violations may not trigger rate increases for drivers with otherwise clean records, particularly when insurers offer forgiveness for such violations. However, speeding 15+ mph over limits and excessive speeding (20+ mph) can create larger increases. Rate impact depends on speed over limit, prior driving history, and specific insurer rating systems.
Can I Avoid Insurance Increases by Not Reporting Tickets?
Insurance companies obtain driving records directly from the DMV. Failing to report violations doesn’t prevent insurers from discovering them at renewal or when purchasing policies. Material misrepresentations on insurance applications can void coverage, creating far worse consequences than premium increases from honest disclosure.
Can I Remove a Ticket From My Nebraska Driving Record to Lower Insurance?
Traffic convictions remain on Nebraska driving records for five years from conviction dates by law, and you generally cannot remove them early. However, successfully fighting tickets before conviction, negotiating charge reductions to non-moving violations, or achieving dismissals prevents violations from appearing on your record in the first place. Once convicted, your options are limited.
Does Getting a Ticket in Another State Affect My Nebraska Insurance?
Yes. Out-of-state convictions appear on your Nebraska driving record through interstate information-sharing agreements, and insurance companies rate these violations the same as Nebraska tickets. The violation location don’t matter; what matters is that it appears on your record.
If I Switch Insurance Companies, Will My New Insurer See Old Tickets?
Yes. Your driving record follows you between insurers because it’s maintained by the Nebraska DMV, not by individual insurance companies. When you apply for new coverage, every insurer pulls the same motor vehicle record showing all convictions from the past five years. Switching companies doesn’t erase violations or reset surcharge periods.
Making Smart Decisions About Nebraska Traffic Violations
Traffic violations create costs extending far beyond initial fines. Insurance premium increases over three to five years, oftentimes significantly exceeding violation fines.
Strategic ticket defense becomes financially rational when legal fees remain substantially lower than cumulative insurance costs. Reducing charges to non-moving violations, achieving dismissals, or negotiating outcomes that avoid driving record entries protects both immediate license status and long-term insurance rates.
Drivers approaching point suspension thresholds, CDL holders facing federal disqualifications, and anyone charged with DUI or reckless driving need immediate legal consultation. These situations create consequences that extend far beyond insurance considerations, although insurance impacts alone often justify an aggressive defense.
Liberty Law Group defends traffic violations in Nebraska courts, evaluating insurance consequences alongside license suspension risks and employment impacts. Contact our Lincoln or Omaha office to discuss whether fighting your citation makes financial sense based on your specific circumstances and driving history.
