Reader question:
When I went to court for my speeding ticket, they told me that I would have to file an SR 22 form from now on. What does that mean?
Gale
Great question.
The SR 22 form is something that must be filed by your car insurance company whenever you commit a serious traffic violation, such as driving drunk or speeding fifteen miles over the limit. In some states, you don’t even have to commit an offense to have an SR 22 form filed. They file them for everybody. In states where they are filed for everybody, such as New York, it is pretty much impossible for someone to go without car insurance and not get found out. It’s the same way for anyone else who needs to file SR 22 car insurance. If you don’t have a car insurance company to file a form, then you could risk such serious consequences as losing your license.
The kind of car insurance that requires an SR 22 form is of the most expensive variety. When you commit an offense such as speeding or driving under the influence, then you are often moved into the highest risk group in the car insurance industry. A lot of times, your car insurance company will cancel your policy outright. If this happens, you might have a hard time finding a company to give you a policy and file an SR 22 form for you. If all else fails, you might be forced to join a state sponsored risk pool. Whatever you do, you will end up paying probably twice as much as you did on your previous premium now that you’re a high risk driver.
So does everything to do with the SR 22 form rest on your company’s shoulders? Nope, not at all. First of all, your car insurance company won’t know automatically that you need an SR 22 form, so if you don’t tell them, then you will get in trouble concerning your license. You have to call up your company, first, and tell them that you need SR 22 insurance. Sometimes you will need to take the SR 22 form to the Department of Motor Vehicles in addition to having your company file one. If this is the case, you can either have the insurance company mail you one, or print one out from your computer.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.