Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol can have a dramatic impact on your life and will cause you to look for cheap DUI car insurance rates. A DUI conviction goes onto your permanent record within the state and will show on your driving record for the next ten years in most states. Some states will even show it beyond ten years, depending on the state and their specific DUI policies. One should expect their car insurance to rise significantly after a DUI violation.
While the consequences for driving while intoxicated vary by state, every state will result in problems with your auto insurance coverage.
Financial Consequences of a DUI
Getting a DUI conviction is not only about a misdemeanor offense on your criminal history, but also financial consequences that follow the conviction. Upon conviction of a DUI offense, drivers often find that they are paying a large sum of money in various areas. Most states have a fee for DUIs, which varies in amount from a few hundred dollars to over $1000 depending on the state and the number of offenses. Usually, the first offense is lower than $1000 while subsequent offenses might rise as high as almost $10,000 in some states. Several states also require drivers who are convicted of a DUI to take a driver’s education course related to drunk driving. The price varies by state and the specific class, but is usually at least $100 or more. Another financial consequence is the reinstatement of a driver’s license after a DUI. Most drivers will need to pay a fee to reissue their driver’s license after the state allows. Some states will suspend a driver’s license for only a month or so while others will suspend it for six months or longer, depending on the situation. Afterward, drivers will pay around $100 to $125 to reissue their driver’s license. The cost of hiring a lawyer is another high fee charge that many drivers might pay while fighting their case in court. The cost of a lawyer will vary depending on the lawyers’ specific rates and the amount of time spent in court, but it will usually cost a few thousand dollars for a lawyer. The final cost consequence is perhaps the most expensive and long lasting financial result of the DUI charge. Insurance rates for the vehicle and driver will usually rise dramatically after a DUI.The DUI Insurance Problem
Auto insurance after getting a DUI is a complicated process that starts with filling out a SR-22 form. Only individuals who have a DUI or DWI conviction are required to fill out a form for SR22 insurance, so requesting one from an insurance provider sends up a red flag that the driving record now contains a DUI conviction. Insurance companies will see a DUI or DWI on the record as a high risk because it is assumed that a driver will make the same mistake again. As a result, many insurance companies might charge ridiculously high rates or they might even refuse to provide auto insurance coverage. One should check out the details on auto insurance and find the best ways to save! The cost of the rates is usually high enough to have a major financial impact on a driver’s life. It might rise as much as 400 percent of the original cost from one conviction. While it is challenging to find a company willing to insure a driver with a DUI conviction and even harder to find affordable and reasonable rates, it is not impossible.Finding Affordable Car Insurance for a DUI
Finding a reasonable auto insurance rate after a conviction will always require time, effort and plenty of disappointment before that one insurance company in any locality is willing to work with drivers who have a DUI or DWI conviction. When looking for a DUI insurance company, the first place to look is online. The Internet not only allows you access to auto insurance companies that might not be found in a phone book, it also allows you instant access to several companies so you can compare different rates faster than calling the company directly. Obtaining the quote from the company is the only way to find out their specific rates. Expect that most companies will disappoint you because the majority of companies willing to insure a driver with a DUI or DWI will charge high rates. This is due to the high risk associated with a DUI conviction. Anyone who finds that the rates are similar and always expensive might turn to an auto insurance broker who specializes in SR-22 insurance. Hiring a broker not only helps you save some time because the broker will search for your needs, it also helps you find a cheaper rate. Auto insurance brokers have access to companies that you might not have found in a simple search or that you might have overlooked while looking for an insurance company. Furthermore, they know more methods of lowering the rate as much as possible. Another key to getting lower rates is time. A DUI conviction is generally no longer on your driving record after ten years in most states. The longer you avoid a DUI after the initial conviction, the lower your insurance rate should go. Looking into the rates each year or two after the conviction might yield unexpected drops in your insurance rate, particularly as you get closer to that ten-year mark. States are continuing to pass new DUI laws to prevent people from driving while being intoxicated. Talk to a broker again after a few years to see if you can get a lower rate than the original rate you were offered. The cost should decrease over time as you prove that the DUI was a one-time mistake rather than a habitual problem.Search and Compare Car Insurance
The only way to find cheap insurance after a DUI is by shopping around. Most auto insurance companies might refuse to insure or charge high rates for the insurance of a driver with a DUI conviction, so looking at several companies can help. While the expense of a DUI conviction is high, careful searching can help minimize the cost and provide some financial damage control.Blog Category