Compare Rates From Top Providers
Save Up To 46% on Car Insurance
Enter Zip Code:

How Bad Does a DUI Affect my Car Insurance?

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Ask An Insurance Question Last Updated: 09/30/2017

Q: I just got my first DUI, what is that going to do to my car insurance?

A: Wow, I don’t even know where to start to explain to you how badly this is going to jack up your insurance rates. First, you aren’t going to see it right away, because most likely your license is going to be suspended for a certain period of time. And please don’t bother driving during this time period, because if you get caught you can add another serious infraction to the list of things that are now going to increase your rates.

When you get your license back, most states require that you now carry SR-22, FR19 or some other form of financial responsibility addition to your insurance policy. So first, you can add the filing fee for this financial responsibility that your car insurance company now has to send to your state. Second, most insurance companies also increase your premium, on top of the filing fee,  if you have to carry an SR-22 or other form of financial responsibility. Third, that SR-22 or other financial responsibility filing that you had to ask to have added to your policy midterm is going to flag your insurance company that something is up and they will run your MVR the next renewal, which may be much sooner than they had originally planned on running it. Fourth, once they do run that MVR they are going to find your DUI (which is a serious infraction charge, by the way) and anything else that has been added to your MVR since the last time your car insurance company ran it.

All-in-all, you shouldn’t have got yourself a DUI if you wanted to keep your car insurance rates reasonable.

Trackback from your site.

Michele Wilmonen

Michele's first introduction to insurance was working for a major insurance company as a file clerk and a mailroom supervisor in a regional office. She learned insurance directly from underwriters and claims adjusters from questions and also watching them do their job. Since then, she's earned a number of insurance certifications from the Insurance Institute of America and also a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho. She blogs at Car Insurance Guidebook.

Leave a comment

Overall Rating
Price
Service
Claims

Save Up To 46% on Car Insurance
Enter Zip Code: