That's correct, demerit points have no bearing with insurance companies. I know, I used to own an Insurance brokerage.
What's important to know is how tickets are classified which is as minor, major and criminal offences.
Very minor no demerit point $50 offences such as not producing an Insurance slip (even though the officer knows the car is insured) has the same effect as a 4 point 35 km/h over the limit speeding ticket.
So the last thing you want to do is just pay the minor offences which are often the easiest to defend.
Insurance companies will only find out what tickets are on your record when they order and pay for your drivers abstact. If you have an claims free and ticket free record for many years with the same Insurance company odds are they won't bother ordering your drivers record and the only time they order it is usually about 3 months prior to renewal.
Knowing that, if you do get a ticket that could potentially affect your Insurance premium, it could work to your advantage to choose the trial option which will delay the conviction date so that your Insurance renewal premium won't reflect that ticket.