Q: Is there anything I can do to keep my insurance rates from going up? I am 18 and just recently got into my first wreck.

A: Hello Asker,

First, if you have already paid the ticket, then it has gone on your record in some capacity. How it did depends on if you got supervision, what type of license you have, and whether you have an Illinois license. If you got supervision, it MAY not be publicly available for insurance companies to see unless you have a commercial license which at your age is not likely. Supervision for Illinois license holders prevents it from being public and generally this doesn't apply to out of state drivers. So, if you had a non-Illinois driver's license, it is safe to say it's likely on your record. If you have an Illinois license and got supervision (rather than conviction), it won't be on your public record but will still be on your court record for courts to see in the future but not insurance companies.

Second, as for preventing rate increases, this is almost impossible unless no one filed a claim and even then, there are circumstances where such damage is visible. This is because your insurance company will have a record of the claim for the car's damage. Even if no one filed a claim, they may come across the accident report when it is reported by the Department of Transportation to your driving record. Basically, there are so many ways the insurance companies will find out that it functionally may be considered something they likely know about and will share with other agencies.

As mentioned before, supervision will prevent it from being publicly visible in certain circumstances. I say that because supervision applies to the ticket, not the accident. Supervision has no impact on the visibility that an accident occurred; rather it can help to hide the fact that you received a ticket. This is unlikely to have a meaningful effect on your rates.

A much bigger concern would be the mailed in ticket. Since you mailed it in, you would have pled guilty. Since it is a pretty serious accident, there may be civil damages that come from a future lawsuit if there is any shortage of money. A plea of guilty rather than being found guilty after a trial will be evidence that you admitted fault in any future civil proceeding. For that reason, you may want to consider talking to an attorney ASAP to file a motion to withdraw your plea of guilty. This motion must be done within 30 days of your plea of guilty and be in writing. Since the accident occurred just about a month ago, you may be running out of time. If all the bills were taken care of, this is of less concern but still a good idea. If they weren't, you would be highly recommended to at least look into doing this.

Hope that helps and let us know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Jason A. Wilkins

Traffic Attorney

(630) 445-2293