Insurance Rates After A DUI

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DUIs stay on your record for ten years. Your insurance rates are immediately affected by what happens in court and DMV.

If you lose in court or at your DMV hearing, you must file an SR-22 certificate to get your license back.

Do not notify your employer or insurance carrier that you have received a DUI arrest. Get legal advice first.

People loose their jobs, and it is well known that AAA Insurance routinely cancels your policy upon notice of a DUI conviction.

Hiring an attorney can be well worth the insurance savings alone over the next 10 years.

Many insurance companies check your motor vehicle record only once every three years or when you apply for a new policy. Sometimes, accidents, tickets, and drunk-driving convictions can escape your insurer's attention. If your insurer does find out about a DUI conviction, however, you're likely to feel the pinch of higher rates and possibly have to find a new insurer.

Your insurer will likely raise your insurance premiums and label you a high-risk driver. In this case, you must file proof of insurance for three, and sometimes five years with the DMV.

Also, your insurance may be terminated at the end of the term because of your DUI conviction, especially if you are currently in a preferred class.

Your company will notify you if you've been canceled. In that case you must find another insurer while having a cancellation on your claims history. This generally means you must pay higher insurance premiums.

The good news is California does not allow insurance companies to drop you in the middle of the policy term.

It's possible that your insurance company will never find out about your conviction if you don't have to get an SR-22.

Since insurance companies check motor vehicle records about every three years, your DUI conviction might go unnoticed.

You could also plea bargain your conviction down so that it never appears on your motor vehicle record as a DUI.

Your license might only be suspended for 30 days, making it unlikely that your insurer is going to find out about your conviction.

If your insurance company misses the conviction at the time it happens, it has three years to cancel your policy or raise your rates because of the DUI.

You may be surprised to know that when your insurer does find out about a DUI conviction it doesn't automatically impose higher premiums. The insurer will look at your history with the company, your claims record, and then decide.

For example, the action State Farm takes depends on which subsidiary you're with. If the policyholder is with State Farm Mutual Insurance Co. and the company doesn't cancel the policy, it also won't raise the rate based on the conviction.

On the other hand, policyholders with State Farm Fire and Casualty who are convicted of DUI but not dropped will definitely see a premium increase.

Nationwide Insurance Co. will cancel a policy in mid-term if that policyholder has been convicted of DUI.

Nationwide periodically checks the motor vehicle records of its insureds. If one of these checks shows a DUI conviction, the company makes a decision based on the person's driving history and insurance track record.