My son had 2 at-fault auto accidents within a few months of each other. The only auto insurance he could get after the second accident was high risk. How long does he have until he no longer has to stay on high risk insurance? We live in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

Will

La Crosse, Wisconsin

In WI dates and types of moving violations, restrictions, accidents, and withdrawals are all recorded onto your driver record abstract. Driving record information are retained for the preceding 5 years; but, certain violations can result in a motorist record being retained indefinitely. To check which ones this would be, you may contact the WI Department of Transportation.

The WI Commissioner of Insurance states that motorists in WI can be classified by auto insurance providers based on a number of different characteristics including, but not limited to, marital status, age and gender, where the car is garaged, make and model of car, driving record, prior car insurance coverage and annual miles driven.

Drivers can typically obtain insurance from a preferred company instead of a non-standard (high risk) insurance companies when they have had a clean driving record for the previous 3 years to 5 years. To make sure how long your son’s accidents will affect his insurance rates in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and therefore classifying him as a high risk, you may contact the Wisconsin Commissioner of Insurance.

Your son can obtain a quote here for La Crosse, Wisconsin car insurance here with the insurers to check if their rates are less than what he is currently paying.

Someone told me that in the state of Wisconsin the car insurance carriers were only permitted to look back 3 years on your driving record. Is this true? I live in Wisconsin.

Neve

Kenosha, WI

I am not aware that insurance companies can only look at your driving record for three years in Wisconsin. Auto insurance carriers generally can go back 3, 5 or 7 years to look at a person’s driving record.

Most minor moving violations stay on your record for three years while major traffic violations can remain on your record for seven years or more. Many insurance providers will look 3 years back on a driver’s record for minor infractions but will look back for major offenses, i.e. DUI, for a longer period of time, such as 7 years.

On applications for car insurance many carriers will request information on previous accidents and moving violations and indicate how long proceeding the application date they will want you to list. If they request more than 3 years back, then you will need to list the moving violation and/or accident that happened during the time frame they requested information on.