National General With Points: Appetite and Rate Behavior

National General owns three auto insurance underwriting companies: Integon National Insurance (preferred), National General Insurance Company or NGIC (standard), and AIC or American Independent Insurance Company (non-standard). Each subsidiary has different point appetite thresholds and surcharge schedules. A driver with one speeding ticket typically qualifies for Integon with a 15-20% surcharge, while the same driver quoted through NGIC faces a 25-35% surcharge for identical coverage. Most agents have appointment agreements with only one or two of the three subsidiaries. If your agent quotes you through NGIC because that is their primary National General contract, you will not see the Integon rate even if you qualify. The tiering system is invisible to most shoppers because all three subsidiaries use National General branding on marketing materials and customer-facing documents. Drivers with 2-3 points from a single violation should request quotes from both Integon and NGIC directly. Drivers with 4+ points or multiple violations within 36 months will route to AIC automatically, where base rates run 40-60% higher than standard market but acceptance appetite extends to drivers declined elsewhere.

Integon declines new business at 4 points within a rolling 36-month window in most states. The 36-month lookback starts from the violation date, not the conviction date or policy effective date. A speeding ticket from 35 months ago still counts if the policy bind date falls within that window. NGIC accepts drivers with 4-6 points but adds tiered surcharges: 4 points typically trigger a 30-40% increase, 5 points trigger 45-55%, and 6 points trigger 60-75% or referral to AIC depending on state and violation type. At-fault accidents with points attached count more heavily than non-accident violations — a 4-point at-fault accident routes to AIC faster than two 2-point speeding tickets. AIC has no published point ceiling but uses qualitative underwriting for drivers above 8 points or those with any major violation (DUI, reckless driving, license suspension) on record. Acceptance is state-specific and subject to regional underwriting restrictions that change quarterly. Drivers in this tier should expect assigned risk pricing or non-standard market rates, meaning 2-3x the cost of a clean-record policy.

National General applies surcharges for 36 months from the violation date across all three subsidiaries, but the surcharge percentage and decay schedule differ by tier and violation type. Integon uses a step-down schedule: full surcharge for months 1-12, reduced surcharge for months 13-24, minimal surcharge for months 25-36. NGIC holds full surcharge for 24 months, then removes it entirely at month 25. AIC holds full surcharge for the entire 36-month window with no decay. Speeding tickets of 1-15 mph over the limit add 15-20% at Integon, 25-30% at NGIC, and 35-45% at AIC. Speeding tickets of 16-25 mph over add 25-35% at Integon, 40-50% at NGIC, and 55-70% at AIC. At-fault accidents with bodily injury or property damage over $1,000 add 40-50% at Integon (if accepted), 60-75% at NGIC, and 80-100% at AIC. Defensive driving course completion removes 2-3 points from the DMV record in most states but does not automatically trigger a surcharge recalculation at National General. You must request a re-rate at renewal and provide proof of course completion to the underwriting team. The surcharge reduction appears at the next renewal anniversary, not mid-term.

National General restricts point appetite by state based on loss ratios and regulatory environment. In California, Integon accepts up to 3 points but declines drivers with any at-fault accident in the prior 36 months regardless of point count. In Florida, NGIC accepts up to 5 points but excludes drivers with any license suspension history even if reinstated. In Texas, all three tiers write pointed-record drivers but AIC dominates the market share for drivers above 4 points. National General does not require SR-22 or FR-44 filing for standard point violations like speeding tickets or minor at-fault accidents. Filing requirements trigger only when a state DMV mandates SR-22 as a condition of license reinstatement after suspension. If your state requires SR-22 due to accumulated points crossing the suspension threshold, National General files electronically through all three subsidiaries but adds a $25-50 administrative fee per filing period. Drivers in states with point-triggered suspension rules (typically 8-12 points within 12-24 months) should confirm whether their current point total is approaching the threshold before shopping. A quote from National General will pull your motor vehicle report, and if the report shows you are one violation away from suspension, underwriters may decline coverage or require proof of defensive driving course enrollment before binding the policy.

National General rates competitively for drivers with 1-2 points when quoted through Integon, often undercutting Progressive and GEICO by 10-15% in standard markets. At 3-4 points, NGIC rates fall into the middle of the standard market, typically matching Allstate and Nationwide but running 15-20% higher than specialty carriers like Dairyland or The General. Above 4 points, AIC rates lose competitiveness quickly. Drivers in this bracket should compare quotes from Bristol West, Infinity, and Direct Auto alongside National General because AIC's non-standard pricing often runs 20-30% higher than these alternatives for identical coverage limits. The gap widens further for drivers with both points and a lapse in prior coverage — AIC penalizes coverage gaps more heavily than most non-standard carriers. National General's multi-policy discount stacks with point surcharges, meaning bundling home or renters insurance can offset 10-15% of the point penalty. This discount applies across all three tiers and does not require the home policy to be underwritten by a National General subsidiary. Drivers with 3-5 points should request bundled quotes from both NGIC and competing standard carriers to isolate the true cost of the point surcharge after all available discounts.

National General recalculates surcharges at each annual renewal based on the motor vehicle report pulled 30-45 days before the renewal date. If a violation has aged past the 36-month surcharge window, the surcharge drops automatically at renewal without requiring a policy rewrite or re-quote. The new rate appears on the renewal declaration page mailed 30 days before the renewal effective date. If points fall off your DMV record mid-term due to defensive driving course completion or state expiry rules, National General will not recalculate your rate until the next renewal anniversary unless you request a mid-term re-rate and provide updated MVR documentation. Mid-term re-rates require underwriting review and may trigger a policy rewrite with new fees, so most drivers wait for the natural renewal cycle. Drivers whose records improve enough to qualify for Integon after starting with NGIC or AIC must re-quote as a new customer rather than requesting an internal tier transfer. National General does not move existing policyholders between subsidiaries at renewal. This means a driver who started at NGIC with 4 points and now has 0 points after 36 months should shop their renewal quote against a new Integon quote to capture the tier-change savings, which typically range from 25-40%.