Your driving record can impact a lot of things, from the status of your license to your auto insurance premiums to your chances of getting hired for certain driving-related jobs. One area a lot of drivers don’t think about after getting a moving violation life insurance.
Your driving history can impact your life insurance rates. After you apply for a life insurance policy with an insurance provider, the company will assign an underwriter to put together an insurance quote for you. The underwriter’s job is to assess your level of risk. How likely are you to trigger a premature life insurance payout? Like any other business, life insurance providers do a cost-benefit analysis when deciding 1) whether to offer you coverage and 2) how high your premium should be.
The ideal customer for a life insurance company is someone who seems likely to live a long and healthy life. Underwriters look at many different factors to assess where you land on this scale. The underwriting process even requires a medical exam, because someone who is healthy, fit, and average weight is a lower risk than someone who is out of shape, overweight, or living with multiple health concerns.
A person’s driving record comes into play during the underwriting process because it helps life insurance providers determine how risky that person is to insure . Someone with a perfect driving record is a low risk, while someone with a bad speeding habit is a higher risk. Insurance companies will consider driving records on a case-by-case basis, assessing infractions based on their severity, recency, and whether they were serial offenses .
Some driving record issues can make it difficult to find life insurance at all, let alone at affordable rates. For instance, insurance providers are traditionally strict when it comes to DUIs or DWIs. If you have a DUI or DWI on your record from within the past five years, there are insurance companies that will reject your life insurance application outright. Older violations won’t hurt you as much—especially if you have a clean driving record since—but they can still result in higher-than-average life insurance rates. Reckless driving violations can cause similar problems, though not all insurance providers treat these infractions with the same zero-tolerance policy.
For these reasons, it’s a good idea to know what your driving record looks like before you attempt to purchase life insurance. If you have a series of reckless driving charges or DUIs on your record, you will probably encounter barriers to getting coverage until those infractions pass the five-year mark.
If you’re not sure how your record is influencing your insurance eligibility, you can consult with your insurance broker and come clean about your driving record. He or she will be able to advise you on your chances of getting coverage and might quote you likely life insurance rates. From there, you can decide how best to move forward.
Find out exactly what insurance providers will see on your driving record before they do. Use backgroundchecks.com to run a driving history check on yourself.
Sources: https://www.policygenius.com/blog/driving-record-life-insurance-rates-motor-vehicle-report/
https://www.policygenius.com/life-insurance/how-does-the-life-insurance-underwriting-process-work/