If got convicted of DUI and I would like to know if my insurance carrier in Palm Beach, FL will just cancel my car insurance policy or does it has to go through some sort of procedures?  Do I need a specific auto insurance specialist?

Josh

Palm Beach, FL

Insurance carrier’s guidelines vary however a conviction for driving under the influence (DUI) could result for an insurance provider terminating your automobile insurance policy. Usually your insurance carrier may cancel your insurance mid-term or cancel the car insurance policy at the end of the term due to your conviction for DUI.

If your insurance policy is terminated in this manner in Florida, your insurance carrier must send you notification stating why your car insurance policy have been canceled and then you will have to find another insurance carrier while now having a cancellation on your auto insurance claims history. Most states do not allow insurance carriers to just drop you in the middle of the car insurance policy term, even for a DUI. If you want to get more information about your state guidelines with regards to this, verify with your state’s insurance regulatory body.

Reader’s Question:

How long does a DUI remain on my driving record in Louisville, Kentucky?

Helen

Louisville, KY

Your driver’s license record is maintained by the Transportation Cabinet, Division of Driver Licensing. This agency keeps record of all traffic violations, suspensions, accidents, reinstatement, and assignments to traffic school. If you have any questions regarding your driving record, you may contact them directly.

According to the Kentucky’s driver’s manual convictions of violations stay a part of your driver’s record for a period of 5 years for an operator’s license and 10 years for a commercial driver’s license. It does not say specifically driving under the influence offense here though so you may want to contact the KY Transportation Cabinet to check if this violation is also on your driving record for five years or more.

The penalties for the first DUI offense in Louisville, Kentucky may include:

• $200 – 500 Fine
• 90 Day Alcohol or Substance Abuse Program
• 30 to 120 Day License Suspension
• 2 to 30 Days in Jail
• Possible 48 Hours – 30 Days Community Labor
  

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.

When you get a DUI, do your car insurance rates always go up?

Dwayne

They do usually, but not always.

Most states require you to file an SR 22 form to prove that you have DUI car insurance, but not every state does. If you want to know if your state is one of the ones that does not deal with the SR 22 form, then you should contact your state department of insurance. If they don’t, then it’s very possible that your car insurance company won’t find out about your drunk driving offense until you give them the heads up. The reason for this is primarily because the insurance companies aren’t keeping a constant eye on the record, and if anything, they probably only look at it every six months, if not less.

There are a couple of other reasons though. One of them is that the courts don’t automatically give all of their information over to the DMV, so even if your car insurance company does look at your record, the offense might not be there. Another is that a lot of times, when people commit moving violations, they will take defensive driving courses in order to wipe the violation from their record. This is one of the very popular possibilities when it is offered, because most courses are either very cheap or free. Sometimes when you commit a DUI, your license gets suspended, but the shorter the time of the suspension the less likely is your car insurance company to find out.

Even if they don’t know right away, though, they still have a period of three years to find out. During that time, they can cancel your policy as soon as they find out. Aside from the misrepresentation, that in itself doesn’t mean that your rates will go up or you’ll get canceled, either. Some companies have policies where, if you have been a customer with a good history and driving record, you can be forgiven for an offense, even one as serious as driving under the influence of alcohol. Sometimes you don’t even lose your safe driver discount, so long as you keep driving clean.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.