DUI Car Insurance: How a Conviction Affects Your Premium

With a DUI, car insurance companies consider the policyholder a “high-risk” driver, which means that premiums can be pegged at a higher cost. Where a non-DUI offender will find it easy to obtain required and optional coverage at a premium they can afford, a driver with a DUI record will not be as fortunate. In general, a DUI conviction affects the car owner/driver in two ways: either the insurance provider will give a higher-than-standard premium or the vendor will reject the application altogether.

Unfortunately, with a DUI record, state governing bodies will not allow a driver to get behind the wheel again unless they have liability coverage at the very least. Keeping this in mind, your only option is to obtain the required insurance coverage if you wish to be allowed to drive again.

SR22 Certification

One of the things that will be requested from the DUI offender by the State is to immediately obtain an SR22 certification from their insurance provider. This is a mandatory requirement that needs to be furnished to the DMV or the State before a driver can be allowed to operate a vehicle again. The repercussions of this request are immediate: your current insurance provider will instantly increase your premium or your insurer will drop you once the policy expires.

In most cases, the insurer will increase the premium upon renewal of the policy but the increase will include a retroactive surcharge to cover the period following your conviction, where the increase was not yet in place.

DMV Record

Following a DUI conviction, the State will put you under a probationary period, the terms of which will depend on the severity of your case. Your probation will also state the restrictions that will be applied on your temporary license to drive.

As for the matter of your DUI offense in the DMV files, the record will remain for at least five years. In some States, the DUI record will remain active for at least ten years. It is for this reason that even after several years of driving carefully and conscientiously following your DUI, car insurance companies will still give you a high premium. Your record will keep showing up every time insurers do a background check on you.

If you need help obtaining a reasonable and affordable DUI car insurance, contact Breathe Easy Insurance at 866.822.7755.