What do Khloe Kardashian and Nick Carter have in common?
Both Khloe, and the youngest member of the Backstreet Boys, Nick Carter, have DUI arrests on their record. While it may be easy for celebrities to recover from a DUI, the majority of Americans find themselves struggling to survive financially.
Court penalties, legal fees, and DUI insurance costs create financial burdens that weigh DUI offenders down. Individuals dealing with the impact of a DUI can begin to feel hopeless as if there’s no way out.
Fortunately, there are ways you can get your life back on track, even if you have multiple driving offenses. There are also car insurance discounts available to DUI offenders, that you might be missing out on. Read on to learn how your DUI will affect your car insurance rates, and what you can do about it.
DUI Insurance Costs
Every individual’s car insurance rate is specifically calculated to fit their lifestyle. Insurance companies look at a variety of factors, to determine how much each driver will need to pay. Knowing the factors insurance companies use, can help you find ways to maximize discount opportunities.
Here are the different DUI insurance costs factors:
- Age
- Time
- Number of DUI’s
- Insurance Provider
- State
Other factors to consider include your car’s make and model, and how long you’ve been driving for. Insurance companies use these factors to determine how much of a risk you pose, and what the likelihood is you’ll have another DUI offense.
It’s impossible to provide you with an exact amount your insurance rates will rise, without getting insurance quotes. When you call to get a quote, you’ll need to have all of your personal information with you. Your social security number, driver’s license, and current policy information are a good place to start.
Finally, when you call for quotes, be upfront about your DUI offense. Every new policy will have to go through a motor vehicle check. Hiding your DUI will only end up wasting your time if the company doesn’t work with DUI offenders.
How Age Affects DUI Insurance
Your age is probably one of the biggest factors insurance carriers will use to calculate your rate. For example, car insurance for an 18-year old who has a DUI offense will be more expensive than DUI insurance for a middle-aged adult.
However, this doesn’t mean that older DUI offenders will be able to get off scot-free. No matter what, life after a DUI means having higher car insurance payments.
If you’re a young driver, dealing with a DUI, make sure you’re capitalizing on every discount opportunity you do qualify for. For example, if you’re in school, or have a college degree, this could help lower your monthly payments. Insurance companies tend to offer student discounts and even larger discounts for degree holders.
Your DUI Date Affects Premiums
When did your DUI offense occur? The amount of time that’s passed since the DUI happened, is something else insurance providers will be looking at.
How far back will insurance providers look when reviewing your motor vehicle record? For the majority of traffic violations, insurance companies will care about what’s on your driving history for the past 3-5 years. However, since DUI’s are a serious offense, they can affect your insurance rates for up to 10 years or more.
Liability Versus Comprehensive Car Coverage
Your DUI will also affect the type of insurance you qualify for. For example, you may find that the cost for comprehensive coverage for your vehicle itself isn’t astronomically high after a DUI. However, the cost of liability coverages, or uninsured motorist coverages, are more likely to go up.
The reason for this is that coverages that protect your vehicle from theft, or storm damage, don’t require you to be a good driver. While coverages like liability, are directly impacted by the type of driver your motor vehicle record shows you to be.
Insurance Rates for Multiple DUIs
After taking your age into account, and the date of your DUI, insurance carriers will want to know if this has happened before. The number of DUIs driver has will greatly impact their rates, and whether or not their current provider chooses to not renew their policy.
Having multiple DUIs sends out a red flag to providers that you might be a high-risk driver. If you are a high-risk driver, you’ll most likely need to obtain SR-22 insurance. This form will let the state know that you’re fulfilling your insurance obligations as a driver.
Discount Opportunities for DUI Offenders
Whether or not you have a DUI, you can still qualify for some major discounts on your car insurance. Do you own a home? Most insurance providers view homeowners as a lower risk, so they’ll be willing to give you a percentage off of your policy.
A great way to make sure you don’t miss out on any discounts is by asking the insurance agent to tell you about every discount available. While this will make the quoting process take longer, it could end up saving you hundreds of dollars off your policy premium.
Finally, if you have the funds to pay for a full year of coverage, find out if there’s a discount for that as well. Insurance carriers will usually provide large savings if you’re willing to pay ahead of time or set up automatic payments.
Compare Insurance Quotes
A big part of overcoming DUI insurance costs relies on your ability to shop around for lower policy prices. As you call different insurance companies, be sure to always have them email you a copy of the final quote.
You can use the email with the low quote as a bargaining tool when price shopping with other companies. Oftentimes, major providers will be eager to beat a competitor’s price.
Need more ideas on how you can save on your car insurance? Check out our Financial section today!
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