What to Expect when Dealing with Auto Insurance and a DUI

Drunk driving is a serious offense that carries with it consequences that can affect your lifestyle and pocket book! One of the consequences of being charged for a DUI is that your auto insurance can go up and this can lead to a great deal of frustration when shopping for insurance. Car insurance companies now consider you to be a risky driver. There are a few things to expect when it comes to dealing with auto insurance and a DUI on your record.

Huge Down Payments and High Premiums

A drunk driving charge may not immediately affect you right now if you have insurance because some insurance companies will only screen your driving record every few years or so. There may be a time delay before your insurance company finds out about the drunk driving charge. Until then you can shop around to find the best deal.

When shopping around for insurance, it's a good idea to get several rate quotes before you decide on a policy . If you have a DUI defense attorney working for you, he/she will probably your best source of information when looking for insurance companies that can help you with filing your SR-22. There are a few insurance companies that will cover you, but you will have to pay huge down payments and high premiums.

What Auto Insurance Companies Look At Before Extending Coverage

When you apply for auto insurance, an insurance company looks at many things when deciding on whether or not to to insure you. An insurance company may just take a quick look at your driving record. On the other hand, there are other companies that will look at your driving record and in addition to that, they will look at your credit report in order to make a decision on extending you coverage. Then there are other companies that will look at your claims history reporting. These are just some of the things that insurance companies look at to come up with an "insurance score" - much the same way that credit card companies come up with your FICO score.

Request a SR-22

After you've been charged with drunk driving, you'll have to obtain a SR-22 which shows that you have auto insurance. DUI laws are different for every state, so you may want to check first with the Department of Motor Vehicles to see whether or not a SR-22 is required. Essentially what a SR-22 does is notifies the DMV that an auto insurance company has given you minimum liability coverage. You'll need a SR-22 if you want to request a restricted license.

The best way to avoid all this hassle is, of course, to not drink and drive at all! At the very least, we hope that you've taken away some valuable lessons from this experience and will think twice about drunk driving again.