DEAR SGT. AL: WHAT IS TRAFFIC TICKET INSURANCE?

DEAR SERGEANT AL: I recently stumbled across a website that upon becoming a member it provides coverage if you receive a traffic or parking ticket. All you have to do is mail it in and they take care of it. Can this be on the up and up? What’s the angle? Does this seem legit? --THE INSURANCE COSTS KNOWINGLY ARE STAGGERING SURELY U REALIZE EXIGENCIES.

DEAR TICK ASSURE: This is an emerging industry that is still in its infancy if not still in gestation, and perhaps is so new that I’m not quite sure if it even has a name. The concept is so simple however, that you wonder why this idea didn’t materialize years ago, with the auto insurance industry leading the way, which it didn’t. The best way it can be described as is ticket insurance, and it basically works the same way as buying any other kind of insurance. Everyday in the United States about 173,000 traffic tickets are issued EACH DAY (remember that multiple tickets are issued to the same violator). This is a staggering number that effects a large swath of the American population. The policyholder is hedging the odds with an insurer that within the time frame of an insurance policy, that he/she will receive a traffic or parking ticket. Upon membership you are assigned into a pool that allows you a predetermined number of either or both traffic and/or parking tickets. If you receive a ticket within the documented time frame of your insurance policy, the insurer will cover your ticket to pay it for you. Some insurers will even cover the increase in your auto insurance policy premium as a result of receiving the ticket. If you plead not guilty and decide the fight it, the insurer will even cover some of the costs to help you fight it in court, particularly hiring a lawyer. Discounts are given to safe drivers who remain ticket free, to larger groups like families, to active and retired law enforcement and armed forces, AAA, AARP, and other organizations that have a membership/clientele that probably would provide a lower risk pool. There are strict provisions against fraud during sign-up and reporting violations (you can’t mail in your cousin’s ticket, and you can't claim a previously issued ticket before the policy started,  for example), and the policy covers you for things like out-of-state violations and car rentals. So there are checks and balances to insure that a policyholder doesn’t flagrantly violate the law to commit fraud and doesn’t become the receiving end of a police ticket writing spree. Some of these insurers are still in the concept phase, not issuing policies for now (but maybe soon), and are working out the bugs, like Ticket Club of America. Some issue policies only in certain jurisdictions, and some are nationwide but base their premiums on a state-by-state basis like Trafficare. I find it interesting that both of these organizations were founded by retired police officers and both first named Troy: Troy Simpson of Trafficare and Troy Oglesby of TCOA:

So there you have it TICK ASSURE, ticket insurance, or whatever you want to call it, is the new wave of the future and it is ready to explode across the country. In an age where we must now have some kind of insurance policy, even now for healthcare, it probably now makes sense to have some kind of insurance to help with parking and traffic violations. I want to hold off an opinion until I have more information. If there is anyone out there who has any kind of experience with ticket insurance or ticket clubs please let me know as I would like to monitor this industry and see how it progresses. Let me know! Safe driving!