Speeding 31+ Over in Florida: What Happens to Your Insurance

Florida law treats speeding 30 mph or more over the posted limit as a criminal traffic violation, not a civil infraction. If you were cited at 31 mph or more over the limit, you're charged with a second-degree misdemeanor under Florida Statute 316.189. This is the same classification level as reckless driving. The distinction matters immediately for your insurance. Civil speeding tickets under 30 over are surcharge events. Criminal speeding citations trigger carrier underwriting reviews, which typically result in non-renewal notices at your next policy term. Most drivers don't receive that notice for 30 to 60 days, depending on when their renewal date falls. You won't be convicted automatically. You can contest the charge, attend a hearing, or negotiate a plea with the court. But the citation itself — before any court outcome — appears on your Motor Vehicle Report within 10 days in most Florida counties. Your carrier pulls that report at renewal, not at conviction.

Florida carriers treat criminal speeding citations as major violations for underwriting purposes. If you're with a standard carrier like State Farm, Allstate, or Progressive on a standard policy, expect a non-renewal notice within 30 to 45 days of your next renewal date. The carrier won't cancel you mid-term unless the court outcome results in a license suspension. They wait until renewal, then decline to offer a new term. Rate increases before non-renewal typically range from 60% to 110% for a single criminal speeding citation, depending on your age, prior record, and coverage tier. If you're under 25 or already have one prior violation on record, some carriers will non-renew immediately at the next term rather than offer a renewal at any price. A smaller subset of carriers — Progressive, GEIC, and Dairyland in Florida — may retain you on a non-standard or high-risk tier instead of non-renewing. That option depends on whether the citation is your only violation and whether you've been with the carrier for more than 12 months. Don't assume retention. Call your agent or carrier within 7 days of the citation to confirm their intent.

A conviction for criminal speeding in Florida adds 4 points to your driving record. If you accumulate 12 points within 12 months, Florida DMV suspends your license for 30 days. If you accumulate 18 points within 18 months, the suspension extends to 3 months. If you already have 8 or more points from prior violations, this citation puts you at or over the 12-point threshold. The points post after conviction or after you pay the fine, which Florida law treats as a guilty plea. If you attend the court hearing and the charge is reduced to a civil citation, the points drop to 3 or fewer depending on the negotiated speed. If the charge is dismissed, no points post and your record stays clean for insurance purposes. Most drivers assume a suspension only happens after they ignore the citation or miss a court date. That's a separate suspension type. The points-based suspension happens automatically once DMV processes the conviction, typically 10 to 15 days after you pay the fine or the court enters judgment. You receive a suspension notice by mail with a compliance deadline, usually requiring you to surrender your license and complete a driver improvement course before reinstatement.

SR-22 is not a type of insurance. It's a certificate your insurance carrier files with Florida DMV, proving you carry at least the state's minimum liability coverage. Florida does not require SR-22 for a speeding conviction alone. SR-22 becomes mandatory if your license is suspended for points accumulation, if you're cited for driving without insurance, or if the court orders it as a condition of reinstatement after a related suspension. If you do need SR-22, you must maintain it for 3 years from the reinstatement date in Florida. If your policy cancels or lapses for any reason during that period, your carrier notifies DMV within 10 days, and DMV suspends your license again until you file a new SR-22 with a different carrier. Most standard carriers in Florida do not offer SR-22 filing. You'll need a non-standard carrier like The General, Acceptance Insurance, or Dairyland. SR-22 filing itself costs $15 to $25 in Florida, paid to the carrier. The real cost is the non-standard premium, which runs 40% to 90% higher than standard rates for the same coverage. If you're facing a suspension and need SR-22, start shopping for non-standard coverage before the suspension order takes effect. A coverage gap after the suspension posts makes reinstatement slower and more expensive.

Non-standard auto insurance is identical coverage to what you carry now. The difference is the carrier's willingness to write drivers with violations, suspensions, or lapses on record. Standard carriers like State Farm and Allstate reserve the right to non-renew drivers who exceed their risk threshold. Non-standard carriers like Progressive's non-standard division, The General, Bristol West, and National General specialize in exactly that profile. If your current carrier non-renews you, you have until the end of your current policy term to bind a new policy with a non-standard carrier. If you wait past that date, a coverage gap appears on your record. Florida considers any gap in coverage after a violation a compliance failure, which can trigger a separate suspension or extend your points-related suspension timeline. Most drivers don't realize the gap itself is the triggering event, not just driving without insurance. Non-standard premiums for a driver with one criminal speeding citation in Florida typically range from $180 to $320 per month for state minimum liability coverage, depending on age, county, and vehicle type. Full coverage with collision and comprehensive adds $90 to $150 per month on top of that base. Estimates based on available industry data; individual rates vary by driving history, vehicle, coverage selections, and location.

You have three paths after a criminal speeding citation in Florida: pay the fine and accept the conviction, attend a hearing and contest the charge, or negotiate a plea to a lesser charge. Each path produces a different insurance and DMV outcome. If you pay the fine, Florida treats that as a guilty plea. The conviction posts to your record, 4 points are added, and your carrier sees the criminal violation code at renewal. If you attend the hearing and the prosecutor or judge agrees to reduce the charge to a civil speeding citation under 30 over, the points drop to 3 and the violation code changes to a minor speeding event. Some carriers still surcharge for that, but the non-renewal risk drops significantly. If the charge is dismissed entirely — because the officer doesn't appear, the radar calibration records are missing, or the prosecutor declines to proceed — nothing posts to your MVR and your insurance is unaffected. Dismissal rates for contested criminal speeding citations in Florida vary by county but typically fall between 15% and 30% when the driver appears with representation. Whether contesting is worth the cost depends on your current insurance rate, your prior record, and how close you are to a points suspension.

Step 1: Call your current insurance carrier or agent within 7 days of the citation. Confirm whether they plan to non-renew you at the next term or move you to a non-standard tier. Ask specifically whether they offer SR-22 filing if a suspension is ordered. If they say they will non-renew, note the exact date your current policy ends. That's your coverage deadline. Step 2: Decide within 15 days whether you will contest the citation or pay the fine. If you have 8 or more existing points on your Florida record, contesting is worth the cost because a conviction triggers an automatic suspension. If this is your only recent violation and you're over 25, the insurance rate increase may be less than the legal cost to contest. Run both scenarios with actual quotes before deciding. Step 3: If your carrier is non-renewing you, get at least 3 quotes from non-standard carriers before your current policy ends. Do this even if you plan to contest the citation. If the court date falls after your policy renewal date and you lose the hearing, you'll have no coverage in place and a gap will appear. Non-standard carriers that write criminal speeding violations in Florida include Progressive, The General, Dairyland, Acceptance Insurance, and Bristol West. Start with Progressive if you have no other violations; they often offer the lowest non-standard rates for a single criminal citation. Step 4: If you're facing a suspension, apply for non-standard coverage with SR-22 filing capability at least 10 days before the suspension start date. Bind the policy, request SR-22 filing, and confirm the carrier has submitted the SR-22 to Florida DMV before the suspension takes effect. If the SR-22 posts after the suspension begins, reinstatement timelines extend by 15 to 30 days in most Florida counties. Step 5: If the court reduces or dismisses the charge, request a certified copy of the court order and send it to your carrier within 5 business days. Most carriers will not automatically check for charge reductions. You must provide documentation. If the charge is reduced to a civil citation, your carrier may reverse a non-renewal decision or lower the surcharge. If dismissed, the violation disappears from your insurance record entirely once the carrier updates your file.