Right after a traffic accident, you are probably worried first about the safety of the parties involved, then the damage to your vehicle, and then to your insurance rates. We all know that our car insurance premiums go up when we have traffic incidents, but it's difficult to know when the car insurance companies make these increases, or even whether or not a situation will result in a rate increase. Most car insurance providers utilize a point system to assign weight to different types of traffic incidents. Obviously, causing an accident in which there was a high amount of damage is assigned a higher point value than a speeding ticket, but both can affect your car insurance premium. This doesn't mean that the second a police officer pulls you over for speeding you are going to see an increase on your car insurance premium for the next month, but there are certain times when your driving record will be examined. The most obvious time that your driving record gets checked is when you are applying for a new car insurance policy. Some car insurance carriers will not insure a driver with too many blemishes on their driving record, while others can be more forgiving, but will likely charge an elevated price for car insurance. Similarly, if you have an existing car insurance policy but you make changes on it, like adding an addition vehicle or driver or changing the levels of your coverage, it's likely that your car insurance provider will take the opportunity to reexamine your driving record and adjust your rates accordingly. Most car insurance companies will also review your driving record when it's time to renew your policy. The good news is that some car insurance providers will not hit you with an increase over certain types of traffic incidents, and for this reason, it's often less expensive to stay with one car insurance carrier than to frequently switch. Of course, driving safely is the best bet to keep your rates low.