Insurance Points

Speed limit signsPleading guilty to or being found guilty of traffic offenses can result in insurance points, which in turn may result in higher premiums for you in accordance with your personal driving history, your policy with your insurance company, and the “North Carolina Safe Driver Insurance Plan” (the “SDIP”).

The North Carolina Safe Driver Insurance Plan sets forth the following schedule of points for Convictions and At-Fault Accidents:

12 Points: Manslaughter or Negligent Homicide

  • Prearranged Highway Racing or Knowingly Lending a Motor Vehicle for Prearranged
  • Highway Racing
  • Hit-and-Run resulting in Bodily Injury or Death
  • Driving with a Blood-Alcohol Level .08 or More
  • Driving a commercial vehicle with a Blood-Alcohol Level of .04 or More
  • Driving While Impaired
  • Transporting Illegal Intoxicating Liquor for Sale

10 Points: Highway Racing or Knowingly Lending a Motor Vehicle for Highway Racing

  • Speeding to Elude Arrest

8 Points: Driving During Revocation or Suspension of License or Registration

  • Aggressive Driving

4 Points: Reckless Driving

  • Hit-and-Run resulting in Property Damage Only
  • Passing a Stopped School Bus
  • Speeding in Excess of 75 mph when the Speed Limit is Less than 70 mph
  • Speeding in Excess of 80 mph when the Speed Limit is 70 mph or Greater
  • Driving by a Person Less than age 21 after Consuming Alcohol or Drugs

3 Points: At-Fault Accident resulting in death, or total bodily injury* (to all persons) in excess of $1,800; Or resulting in total property damage (including damage to insured’s own property) of $3,000 or more.

2 Points: Illegal Passing

1 Point: All other moving violations

  • Following too closely
  • Driving on wrong side of the road
  • At-fault accident resulting in total property damage (including damage to Insured’s own property) in excess of $1,800 but less than $3,000.
  • Speeding more than 10 mph over the speed limit provided the total speed is in excess of 55 mph, but less than 76 mph.
  • Speeding 10 mph or less in excess of speed zone of 55 mph or greater
  • At-fault accident resulting in bodily injury* (to all persons) of $1,800 or less; Or resulting
  • in property damage (including damage to Insured’s own property) of $1,800 or less.
  • Speeding 10 mph or less in excess of speed limit of less than 55 mph

* No Insurance points will apply for bodily injury if the Insured furnishes proof that the medical costs were incurred solely for diagnostic purposes.

Special Exemptions: No Insurance Points Will be Charged for the following:

  1. An accident provided all of the following are true:
    • There is property damage only;
    • The amount of damage is $1,800 or less;
    • There is no conviction for a moving violation in connection with the accident; and
    • No licensed operators in the household have convictions or at-fault accidents during the experience period. (An insurance company may require that the insured be covered by that company for six continuous months.)
  2. Speeding 10 mph or less over the posted speed limit provided all of the following are true:
    • The violation did not occur in a school zone; and
    • There is not another moving traffic violation for the experience period (an isolated Prayer for Judgment Continued (PJC) will not count as a prior conviction for the purpose of this exception).
  3. One PJC for each household every three years; however:
    • A second PJC may cause points to be charged according to underlying convictions.

* The “Experience Period” is defined as the three year period immediately preceding either the date of application (for individuals applying for coverage), or the preparation of the policy renewal (when an insurance company is preparing to renew an existing policy.

What affect do Insurance Points have on your payments? According to the North Carolina Safe Driver Insurance Plan, this is an example of how your insurance payments could rise, assuming a Basic Rate of $300:

Points: % of Rate Increase: Cost if Basic Rate is $300:
1 30% $390
2 45% $435
3 60% $480
4 80% $540
5 110% $630
6 135% $705
7 165% $795
8 195% $885
9 225% $975
10 260% $1,080
11 300% $1,200
12 340% $1,320