Points and Your Premium

The record is what you are priced on — here is how the count works

How the Good Driver rules count violation points and at-fault accidents, the three-year window, why the DMV record and the insurance quote can disagree, and what actually gets a point off your rate.

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Pull your own DMV record before you shop

Note the dates — the window is three years

Shop the record, not the price

The short answer

For the state’s Good Driver Discount the rule is exact: licensed the previous three years with not more than one violation point, where an at-fault accident with only property damage counts as one point and one causing bodily injury or death disqualifies you outright. California law also orders the factors companies must weigh, and driving record is first — ahead of miles driven and years licensed. So one ticket usually keeps the discount, a second one loses it, and an injury accident you caused loses it for three years. Beyond the discount, each company’s own rating of tickets and accidents is its filed plan, which is why the same record gets different numbers from different carriers.

The California facts underneath this page

Every legal statement here comes from the statutes and DMV guidance linked at the foot of the page — the same verified pool behind all of our guides.

Good Driver status requires being licensed the previous three years with not more than one violation point; a principally-at-fault accident with property damage only counts one point, and one causing bodily injury or death is disqualifying (Insurance Code section 1861.025).
A qualifying Good Driver must be offered a policy at least 20 percent below the rate they would otherwise pay (Insurance Code section 1861.02), and the statute orders rating factors: driving record first, then annual miles, then years licensed.

From our office

We keep a copy of the DMV record on file for customers who ask us to, and we recheck it before every renewal. A point ageing off in month thirty-seven is one of the few rate cuts you can schedule, and it only happens if someone is watching the calendar.

What is not the same at every company

California law sets the floor. Everything below it is written into individual policies and differs between companies, so the honest answer is where to find your answer — not an average.

How long a company surcharges an at-fault accident or a moving violation: The company’s rating rules — ask directly. It is filed with the state and differs by carrier.
Whether a company counts a not-at-fault accident at all: The quote breakdown. If a not-at-fault claim is affecting the rate, ask on what basis.

Talk it through with a person

We are an independent California brokerage — situations like this one are our ordinary daily work, in English and Spanish. One point should not cost you the discount. Two minutes and we quote the same record with the carriers that still call you a Good Driver.

Start a quote online, call (619) 363-4466, or text us and describe your week — we will tell you what actually applies to it.

Where this comes from

Every legal statement on this page traces to one of these, verified against the primary source. Everything company-specific is flagged as such above — where the honest answer is your own policy, we say so instead of guessing.

California Insurance Code section 1861.025
Good driver criteria: three years licensed, not more than one point; PD-only at-fault accident = one point; bodily injury/death at-fault = disqualifying.
California Insurance Code section 1861.02
Mandatory factor order and the Good Driver Discount policy priced at least 20 percent below the otherwise-applicable rate.

This page explains California rules in plain language. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not describe any particular insurance company’s procedures. The terms of your own policy and any notice you have received control your situation.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does traffic school remove the point for insurance?

Traffic school, where the court allows it, keeps the violation from being reported as a point on the DMV record for that ticket. A ticket that shows no point on the record is not a point for the Good Driver count. Confirm on the record itself that it worked.

How long does an at-fault accident affect my rate?

For the Good Driver rules, the three-year window governs. For a company’s own surcharges, its filed plan decides — commonly a few years, but that is the company’s rule, not the state’s, so ask how long and look at your renewal each year.

My record is clean but my rate is still high. Why?

Record is first in the state’s order, but it is not the only factor — annual miles, years licensed, the car, the coverage and the territory all follow. A clean record with a new licence, high miles or a costly car to repair can still be an expensive policy.

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Auto World Insurance Services (Yako Enterprises Inc.) is a licensed California insurance broker, CA Insurance Broker License #6005606. Rates shown are estimates only and vary based on driving record, vehicle, location, coverage selections, and other factors. Quotes do not guarantee coverage or final pricing. All coverage is subject to underwriting approval by the issuing insurance carrier. Not all applicants will qualify. This is general information only, not legal, financial, or professional advice. For legal questions regarding DUI, SR-22, or license reinstatement, consult a qualified attorney. See our Privacy Policy for information on how we handle your data.