Friday, May 31, 2013

Getting Florida Auto Insurance after a DUI

If you have been convicted of a DUI in the state of Florida, it will stay on your record for 10 years. During this time, purchasing insurance can certainly be difficult. While some insurance companies may be lenient if it is your first offense, you may find yourself in the high-risk pool. You may even be required to pay high rates for minimum coverage.  

Your First Offense

If this is your first conviction for a DUI, then you may not notice much change as far as your Florida auto insurance goes as long as you continue to pay your premiums on time. Even if your driver’s license is suspended, you might be able to continue to pay for your insurance as you normally would in order to keep it effective. This often depends on the insurance companies as some will drop your policy soon after learning that your license was suspended. If this happens, then you’ll really have a problem because you’ll be forced to shop for a new insurance carrier with not only a DUI on your record, but also a cancellation.

High Risk Insurance

Most of the time, if you are convicted of a DUI, you will be required to pay much more for Florida auto insurance because these insurance carriers will view insuring you as a risky endeavor. In some cases, and generally if you are reinstating your license after a suspension, the court may order you to file an SR-22 document. This is often confused as a separate type of insurance, but it is actually a document you must file when the courts have ordered you to maintain a certain minimum in the form of liability insurance. This means that you will pay much more for basic coverage than other drivers for the entire time that the SR-22 is kept on file.

What are High-Risk Pools?

High-risk pools are maintained by each state and are essentially an assigned-risk pool for risky drivers. Each Florida auto insurance company is required to handle its portion of this pool, whether it will earn a profit or be required to absorb a loss because of it. When you cannot find a private insurance company to insure you, you will likely land in this pool. Regardless, there are insurance companies out there who are required to provide you with coverage, albeit at a much higher rate—and only for the absolute minimum coverage that is necessary in the state of Florida.

Improving the Situation

In many cases, there isn’t much you can do to improve your insurance rates after filing an SR-22 or falling into the high-risk pool until your DUI has come off your driving record or you are no longer required to keep the SR-22 on file. You’ll likely just have to bite the bullet and pay the higher rates. However, in other cases, and especially if you have been with the same insurance company for a long period of time and have maintained a good driving record other than the DUI, you may be placed on what is known as a ‘probationary period’. During this time, you will pay higher rates; however, if you do not receive a single traffic ticket or violation, your insurance rates will go back to normal.


The best way to avoid getting stuck with high Florida auto insurance rates due to a DUI is to simply avoid drinking and driving. Unfortunately, once your rates have gone up or your insurance carrier has cancelled your policy, high rates are simply something you will have to live with until your driving record returns to normal. 

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