How long does a DUI stay on your insurance?

Everyone makes mistakes, but when it comes to driving under the influence, there is really no room for error. If you are caught driving under the influence, you can face serious and severe penalties. A DUI has the potential to impact your life for a long time, and one of the ways it can do this is through your driving record.

Depending on where you live, a DUI can stay on your driving record for anywhere from three to 10 years. During this time, you may lose your insurance altogether, or you may face extremely expensive monthly car insurance rates as a high-risk driver.

If you are shopping for auto insurance after a DUI, you will want to compare a lot of quotes from different companies that will offer you coverage. This will help you save as much as possible on your insurance rates.

You can use our free quote tool above to compare car insurance rates from one company to the next and see how much you can expect to pay for high-risk auto insurance after a DUI.

How long does a DUI stay on your insurance record?

A DUI is actually never added directly to your insurance policy. Instead, a DUI will be added to your driving record. Based on a number of factors, this DUI could simply mean you pay a hefty fine, cost you your driver’s license, or send you to jail.

If you’re wondering how long a DUI stays on your background check, the answer is similar to the one above. While a DUI will show up on a background check while it shows on your driving record, there’s not much chance of it impacting your background check once it is no longer associated with your driving record.

Once you get a DUI on your driving record, it can stay there for up to 10 years, depending on where you live. And this is how your auto insurance is ultimately impacted by a DUI. If you have a DUI conviction on your driving record, your insurance company will find out about it.

Once that happens, you will be paying more for coverage if your car insurance policy is not revoked altogether.

Can I keep the DUI conviction from my insurance company?

While you can avoid telling your insurance company outright what happened, there is no way to keep the information away from them. When it is time for you to renew your policy, or if you are shopping around for car insurance with another company, not telling insurance about your DUI won’t matter. Companies will access your driving record and find out on their own.

Because there is no DUI insurance trick to keep your auto insurance company from finding out, it is in your best interest to speak to a representative from your company. This way, you can let them know what happened and find out what your options are. An agent will be very honest with you about whether you’ll be able to keep a policy with your current company.

Many insurance companies do not want to insure people who have a DUI — especially if there are multiple convictions — or anything else that would cause them to be classified as high-risk drivers. This is because high-risk drivers pose more of a financial risk.

What makes me a high-risk driver?

Normally, auto insurance companies will classify you as a high-risk driver if one or more of the following applies to you:

• You’ve had multiple car accidents
• You’ve received multiple speeding tickets
• You’ve received multiple traffic citations
• You’ve been convicted of a DUI or DWI
• You are a fairly new driver
• You’ve had to file an SR-22 in your state
• You have a low credit score

Because insurance companies are all about assessing and minimizing risk, the factors listed above make you high-risk, as you could end up costing insurance companies more money as a driver. If you do fall under the high-risk category, you can expect your car insurance rates to increase.

But you may be able to avoid a tremendous increase in your insurance costs if you have only had one high-risk infraction instead of many.

For example, if you were convicted of a DUI but have an otherwise spotless driving record, you may not have to brace yourself for insanely high auto insurance rates. But if the DUI conviction falls on the heels of two car accidents and an SR-22 filing, you may have a difficult time finding car insurance at all.

You can always shop around to find the best auto insurance companies for high-risk drivers in your area. These companies may be more helpful for you than more traditional car insurance companies.

Can I find auto insurance after a DUI?

You may be able to find decent car insurance coverage after getting a DUI. But this will all depend on your driving record. You will also need to commit to shopping around and doing a lot of research before making any final decisions on coverage.

If you lose your car insurance after a DUI, some of your options for coverage include:

• Shopping around with other companies to see whether they will cover you and what your rates would be
• Purchasing non-standard car insurance from an insurance company that specializes in coverage for high-risk drivers
• Purchasing a policy through your state’s assigned-risk pool. These policies are normally very expensive and should be utilized as a last resort

Finding car insurance after a DUI is not impossible, but it will probably take a bit of effort. This is especially true if you want to try to find fairly reasonable rates for coverage. As you shop around, remember to compare quotes from multiple companies to make sure you won’t be overpaying for coverage.

Don’t forget to use our free quote tool below to find and compare rates from top non-standard companies in your area today.