DUI and Auto Insurance

Being arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) is possibly one of the worst things that could ever happen to any driver. You would not only be committing a felony or misdemeanor by putting your life and the lives of others in danger, but it can also have serious negative financial consequences.

Alcohol is considered to be the number one factor behind fatal car accidents. A car accident involving at least one drunk driver happens roughly every 29 minutes across the United States.

There are rare cases in which insurance companies don’t find out about their customer’s convictions for DUI. However, in the vast majority of cases they do learn of the DUI through a variety of reporting mechanisms. This is just about the worst case scenario for the driver. Once your insurance decides to label you a high-risk, dangerous driver, they might decide to not renew your policy or terminate your present policy on the spot, in which case you will have to find another insurance provider who most likely will give you a policy at double or more the previous price you were paying. Even if the driver gets “lucky” and the insurance company decides to renew the driver’s policy, your prices can skyrocket. Car accidents in which a DUI has been involved are stored in DMV databases so the chances of your DUI slipping through the cracks and your insurance company not discovering your conviction are pretty low.

For some careless drivers their road of luck is really short. Many states require you to file am SR-22 form in the case of a conviction for a DUI. What this form does is inform your insurance company of your conviction so you will have no way of escaping financial problems in case of a conviction. More and more states every year are passing a law that requires drivers to submit a SR-22 form in case of a DUI.

April 20, 2010, Posted by Rainy Day Mitch