Get Cheap DUI Car Insurance Today

If you’ve been convicted of DUI (Driving Under the Influence), you may have found that purchasing car insurance has become harder than it was before your conviction. You may also have discovered that your car insurance has higher rates than before. As part of being labeled a higher-risk driver, you most likely will need to file an SR-22 certificate with your state.

At Freeway Insurance, we can help you navigate the twists and turns following a DUI conviction, including finding affordable “DUI insurance.” You made a mistake, but you still need to drive to work, pick up the kids and run errands. We can help you get back on the road legally.

DUI insurance is not a thing. What people refer to as insurance for DUI is actually normal car insurance after a DUI and it’s the same insurance you had before you were convicted of DUI. It’s just that now your status has changed and you will be paying high-risk auto insurance rates.

Drivers with a DUI may find it more challenging to get insurance. That’s because some insurers don’t want to take a chance and provide car insurance for DUI offenders who they feel may be irresponsible when behind the wheel. All insurers decide who to insure and what to charge them based on many factors, one of the biggest being previous driving history.

Your auto insurance rate could be anywhere from $1,800 to upwards of $4,000 annually after a DUI conviction. This is roughly an increase of $800 per year and up, depending on the state you live in, who you get your DWI insurance from and your own unique set of factors, such as age, type of vehicle and more.

For example, if you live in a state where minimum state-required liability is already high, such as car insurance in Florida, ($1,101), and you add $800 (the low end for a DUI), you’ll be looking at $1,900 for basic liability insurance per year. If you live in a state where the minimum required coverage is low, such as Maine ($294), then you may be looking at about $1,100 per year. States like Nevada can also impact pricing differently, as insurers may weigh risk factors more heavily depending on local driving trends.

Add in your unique factors, such as age (young – high, middle age – lower), the type of vehicle you drive (expensive sports car – high, Toyota sedan – lower) and your driving history, including your recent DUI (lots of tickets – high, clean record – lower) and you’ll arrive at a rough guesstimate of what you may pay for insurance after a DUI.

Not all insurance companies are equal. It pays to shop around and compare car insurance quotes. Or let Freeway do it for you – after all, that’s what we specialize in.

Both SR-22 insurance and insurance for DUI are terms for high-risk auto insurance that costs more and follows some action on the part of the driver. You may receive a directive from your state to have an insurance company file an SR-22 certificate for you which proves you have the state-required liability insurance. People get this requirement for a variety of reasons, including DUI. If your state is one that uses the SR-22 (or FR-22) system and you get convicted of DUI, you’ll almost certainly need to have an insurance company file an SR-22 form for you.

Typically, insurance companies will look back three to five years when determining a premium, but some may take into account serious infractions such as DUI for up to 10 years after the fact.

Years. A DUI mark on your record can stay for years, depending on the state’s laws where the violation occurred. Depending on the seriousness of the offense, a DUI may end up on both your driving record and your criminal record and require you to disclose this fact to future employers. First-time DUIs are often classified as misdemeanors, but if your BAC is significantly high, or you were cited for an offense like reckless driving, you could as well be charged with a felony. A DUI is a serious offense and can set a driver back significantly.

In most cases, a DUI is never removed from your record. “Taking a DUI off your record” doesn’t actually happen. What courts use is called the “look-back” period, and that period usually is 5-10 years. Some states have a lifetime look-back, like Texas. This means that prior DUI convictions within the look-back period can be considered in your ruling in subsequent cases.

Additionally, a driver will have points assigned to their record for getting a DUI in states that use a point system. This amount can range widely—for example, Arkansas will assign 14 points that remain for three years, while California gives 2 points and suspends your license when receiving 4 points in a year. Additional penalties may be applied beyond points, like in Texas, which puts a DUI on a driver’s record for life, with an annual surcharge of $1,000 for three years.

Also, thanks to the Driver License Compact, once you get a DUI in one state, driving records in all the other states will show your conviction.