One of the most dreaded consequences of being convicted of a traffic offence is the subsequent increase in insurance rates. It may become twice as high, depending on the severity of the charge. This makes communicating with the insurance company an important aspect of handling traffic offences. So, what does one tell them? Of course, this depends on how you would like to proceed.

1. If you would like to pay for the traffic ticket and not apply for a trial.

• Paying the ticket is equivalent to the admission of guilt in the offence.
• This means that as soon as you pay the ticket, you get a conviction of the offence. This conviction then goes into your driver record with the Ministry of Transportation.
• The insurance company, in turn, has direct access to these records. So it will know of the conviction.
• Therefore, if you have paid the fine, you immediately get the record of the offence. For this reason, it is unnecessary, and even dangerous, to state to the insurance company that you have no traffic tickets. They will have full access to your record and may consider your statement as fraud. In turn, it may lead to the cancellation of your insurance policy.

 2.   If you have requested and are waiting for a trial date in the traffic offence.

• If you have requested a trial, the court can convict you only if and when the Justice of the Peace finds you guilty of the offence.
• As a result, up until the trial date, there is no note of the offence in your driver’s record.
• There is, therefore, no note in your driver’s record with the Ministry. Consequently, no note visible to the insurance company.
• So, if you are awaiting trial, it is acceptable for you to say that you have no traffic ticket when you renew your insurance.

3. After a traffic ticket trial

• If, after the trial, the court finds you not guilty or the offence is withdrawn, there will be no conviction.  It means that you will continue to have a clean driving record.
• If the court finds you guilty, the conviction process will be the same as if you paid the ticket. Therefore, the insurance will know about it.