Insurance companies review your driving abstract at renewal. Here is exactly how different convictions raise your premium — and how long the damage lasts.
How insurers see your driving record
Ontario insurers pull your MVR (Motor Vehicle Record) at renewal. Every conviction — not demerit points — is what triggers a rate review. Demerit points are a provincial licensing tool; convictions are the insurance trigger.
A single minor conviction (speeding 1–15 km/h over) may cause a modest increase. A major conviction (careless driving, stunt driving) can cause premiums to double or triple, or see your policy cancelled entirely.
Impact by offence type
The severity of the insurance hit depends entirely on the type of conviction registered on your record.
- Minor speeding (1–15 over): 5–15% increase, lasts 3 years.
- Major speeding (50+ over / stunt driving): 50–200% increase, high-risk classification.
- Careless driving: can double or triple premiums; classified as a major conviction.
- Distracted driving: 25–50% increase on first conviction; higher on repeat.
- Driving without insurance: policy likely cancelled; extremely high-risk classification.
- Driving under suspension: policy cancellation; near-impossible to re-insure affordably.
The best defence is preventing the conviction
Once a conviction is registered it cannot be erased from your insurance record — only time clears it. Fighting the ticket before conviction is the only effective strategy.
Bridge Legal Services routinely negotiates speeding charges down to non-moving violations with zero demerit impact, protecting your insurance profile entirely.