Cheap DUI Car Insurance: Best Companies & Rates for Offenders

Being found guilty of driving under the influence (DUI) carries a variety of negative consequences, with the fines and penalty points being the most obvious. While these are often the more severe punishments, what many drivers may not have thought of is the effect it will have on their insurance.

Typically, drivers convicted of a DUI will face an increase in their insurance premiums by 80%, although this can vary wildly. Much of this is driven by the state that you’re in, as well as the particular insurance company that you’re with.

There can be other factors at play, and drivers can minimize this potential impact. While you should expect a higher premium, much of this increase can be avoided under certain circumstances.

As a result, it’s worth looking at what these factors are, as well as how you could be affected after receiving a DUI.

DUI, OUI, DWI, OVI

Before we look at how drunk driving violations can affect your license and insurance, we should ensure that everybody is on the same page with what constitutes a violation. While a DUI is the most obvious, there are a few other legal terms that you should be aware of.

The first of these is ‘operating under the influence’ (OUI), while ‘operating vehicle intoxicated’ (OVI) and ‘driving while intoxicated’ (DWI) are terms that can be used. These are common across many states and are often used interchangeably for drunk driving.

In some states, there can be key differences between a DWI and a DUI. This is especially the case where recreational or medical marijuana is legalized. DWI will be used to refer to people who have been caught drunk driving, while DUI will focus on anybody under the influence of marijuana or any strong medication.

In a few states, DWI and DUI will be separate charges, with a DUI being the lesser charge. For the sake of simplicity, we’re using DUI as a catch-all term for the convictions, as each of the above will affect your vehicle insurance in much the same way.

Will I Lose My License After A DUI?

This is one of the biggest questions that many drivers will have. Typically, you should expect to lose your license for between three and six months. There are two ways that this will be done, with the first being that a court will order for your license to be suspended or revoked.

Alternatively, the state department of motor vehicles will revoke or suspend the license. The exact amount of time that it will be suspended or revoked for can depend on the severity of the crime itself, i.e., your blood alcohol level and how poorly you were driving.

First-time offenders should expect to get their license back after 90 days, although this depends on local laws. There may be a variety of conditions and restrictions may be placed once you have gotten your license back.

For example, some drivers may be able to drive to and from work for a certain period. This can vary wildly from state to state, and possibly even from judge to judge. Repeat drivers will have their license suspended for longer periods, with this eventually culminating in their license being revoked.

As a result, they shouldn’t be allowed drive for several years afterward, if at all. This can depend significantly on the case itself, as well as state and local laws.

Should you refuse to take a blood-alcohol level test when questioned, such as through a blood test or a breathalyzer, your license will be automatically suspended. This will be done regardless of the results of the case.

This means that it’s recommended that you comply, regardless of whether or not you’ve been drinking.

The Cost Of Car Insurance With A DUI

There’s no trick to avoid a hike in insurance premiums after you’ve been convicted of a DUI. This is because insurance companies will see you as more of a risk while driving, as they believe that you’ll be more likely to have an accident.

This increased risk means that it may be more likely that they’ll have to pay out on a policy. To cover for this extra risk, they’ll subsequently charge you more. On average, you should expect a jump of about $1,163 per year, although this changes drastically depending on where you live and which insurance company you work with.

In some cases, you can expect your premiums to double. According to most studies done on the topic, the jump in insurance rates for DUI drivers ranges from 28% to 371%. This is just for one DUI, so if you’ve accumulated several of them in recent years, then you can expect it to roughly double or triple again.

Maryland offers the lowest jump in insurance rates at 28%, while Indiana and Maine come joint second-lowest in this ranking, with both having a 37% hike. Rounding out the rest of the bottom five are Vermont and Oklahoma, which both add 41% and 44%, respectively.

Each of the other states has rate hikes of between 45% and 88%, with Nevada taking the higher spectrum of this range, and Nevada taking the lower end. On average, these counties seem to average in the mid-60% range.

However, it’s recommended that you look at the typical increases in your particular state to get a more accurate picture of what you might have to pay.

How To Get Cheap DUI Insurance

Each of the above jumps in premiums will lead to many people wondering how to find cheap DUI insurance. While there’s no such thing as this, there is insurance that shouldn’t be as expensive as others, although you’ll need to put the time and effort into finding in.

The easiest way to do so is by shopping around. This is because different insurance companies will rate risk differently. This is highlighted by the fact that some companies will simply avoid DUI clients, while others will specialize in them, though many others will fall into the middle of these two views.

Shopping around will be the only way to see where you’ll find the cheapest insurance. As difference providers will rate the risk differently, you’ll be able to collect a variety of quotes to determine which is the best one for you.

In many states, larger insurance companies will have specialized divisions that will deal specifically with drivers who have poor records. These will be people who they deem high-risk or non-standard, and they may have cheaper DUI insurance rates than other providers.

Because of this, it’s worth getting a quote from them before making your decision. Some of the more well-known providers include:

• The General, which is a subsidiary of American Family;
• Dairyland Insurance, a branch of Sentry Insurance, and;
• Titan Insurance, which is a division of Nationwide.

How Long Does A DUI Stay On A Driving Record?

How long a DUI stays on your driving record can vary from state to state, although you can typically expect that it will remain for about five years. There are a few states that go much farther than this, however, such as New York and California, where it will be visible for a decade.

Alongside this are states such as Iowa, where a DUI will stay on your driving record for 12 years. As it can vary so dramatically, you should check local and state law to determine how long it will affect you.

How Long Does A DUI Affect Insurance Rates?

Similar to the DUI itself, this can vary wildly from state to state. However, you should typically expect that the DUI will affect your insurance rates for as long as it stays on your driving record, i.e., five to 12 years.

This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be able to bring your premiums down during this time. Instead, an insurance company should take your driving since you were convicted into account when determining these rates.

As a result, you should pay a particular amount of attention to driving safely after you’ve been convicted of a DUI. While there’s the apparent reason for not breaking the law again, it also means that you’ll see your insurance premiums become increasingly more affordable over time.

This also means that you should eventually see your premiums come back down to what they were before you received the DUI, and possibly even lower.

How To Keep Your Car Insurance With A Suspended License

Your license will typically be suspended after a DUI, which means that you should expect to be off the road for a significant period. Depending on the case, this could be a year or more. Should you not renew your insurance during this time, then it could have a large impact on your premiums. This is especially true when coupled with the DUI itself.

One of the larger aspects that an insurance company will look at when determining a quote is continuous coverage. As a result, if your insurance has lapsed for any period, then you should expect to see a jump in price.

This means that you should ensure that you keep your insurance while you’re off the road, although this may be difficult. There are few companies who will maintain a policy when a driver is off the road, especially in the wake of a DUI, which means that you may need to shop around for a provider.

When you’re doing so, you should also see if they will cover another driver in your car. This is because you may end up requiring that a friend or family member drive you around at times, which is something that you should factor into your insurance.

Though this may seem like a minor factor, it’s something that many providers may not cover, and which may affect your premium.

While keeping your insurance when you’re not driving may seem like a waste, this can save you a significant amount of money in the long-term, which is why it’s recommended.

What Is An SR-22?

When a driver has a DUI or has been convicted for driving without insurance or reckless driving, then they will need to have insurance policies that are higher than state minimum coverage limits. These minimum policies will need to be proven before a driver can have their license back.

This is where an SR22 insurance comes in, although many drivers may not know what they are. Simply put, this is a document that an insurance company will file with the state to prove that you have a certain level of insurance.

Should your insurance be canceled or lapsed, then a provider will revoke the SR-22, which will subsequently impact your driving license, and may lead to another suspension. You should inform your provider when you need an SR-22, as not all companies file it with the state.

Non-Owner SR-22 Insurance

SR-22 typically only covers drivers who own their vehicle. This can present an issue for drivers who need the document but don’t have a car, although there are a few ways around this.

The most notable of these is to file for Non-Owner SR-22 insurance, which will allow you to keep your current coverage while being relatively affordable. It should be noted, however, that this only offers liability coverage; as a result, it’s not as comprehensive as other policies.

The main reason that non-owner SR-22 insurance is much more affordable is that providers expect that you shouldn’t have regular access to a car. This means that there should be considerably less risk involved with covering a particular driver.

FAQ

General Questions About DUI Car Insurance

This section covers general questions people have about DUIs and car insurance.

DUI’s and Car Insurance in Specific States

We’ll answer the most common questions about DUI insurance in specific states in this section.

DUI Car Insurance Prices

This section will help you understand how pricing works for DUI car insurance.

DUI Car Insurance Reporting and Coverage

We’ll cover questions about DUI car insurance reporting and coverage in this section.

DUI Insurance and Specific Companies

This section answers the most popular questions people have about DUI car insurance and specific companies.

Other DUI Car Insurance Questions

We’ll cover questions that don’t fit into our other sections here. Check this category if you can’t find your question elsewhere.