How to Get Car Insurance After a DWI
Insurance:
Knowing how to get car insurance after a DWI is critical to getting your life back on track. Having car insurance is important to obtaining your driver’s license again, which is crucial to having a means of transportation to work to support yourself and/or your family. Getting caught driving under the influence happens, but you can work to make the right decisions to put that behind you and move forward with obtaining your automobile insurance, and thus gaining your mobility back.
Realize going into it that this is not going to be an easy process. You will be moved to a high-risk group, and some major insurance companies may not even pick you up for coverage for a minimum of three years
Fight the charge if you can. A good attorney may be able to get the charges dropped or reduced. This is the best case scenario because if your license is not suspended, your insurance carrier may not find out now or later. Even if the charges were reduced, though, and you didn’t lose your license, there is still a chance that your DWI would show up on your record with the insurance company. So use caution the next time you go in to have your rates looked at. If the charges are reduced but you don’t lose your license, the insurance company won’t look into your record until you go in and have them run your file. Most people have their insurance rates looked at once per year or every two years. Just be mindful that when you go in, unless the charges are dropped completely, the DWI will appear on your record.
Find a high-risk insurance carrier such as Eastern Insurance if your coverage was dropped completely by your current insurance company. Note, though, that you will pay a higher price for their coverage.
Take the appropriate punitive actions from your DWI charge including required restitution or community service
Know about the SR-22. Your SR-22 Filing is what certifies that you have been issued certification by an auto insurance company verifying to the state and the Department of Motor Vehicles that you have an automobile insurance policy that meets your state’s minimum liability limits. The time line for taking care of this paperwork is generally six months after losing your license, but this may vary depending on the severity of your charges and when the court says you can drive again.
Compare options of insurance carriers. Look at who will help you with your SR 22 paperwork the fastest. Who has the best price? Who gives you ample coverage with immediate SR22 filing.
Tips
- Many people look for state minimum coverage when shopping for car insurance, but it is in your best interest to look for at least standard coverage because if you get into another incident that causes an accident, if you have cut rate coverage, you may be sued for the balance of what is owed. Anything above and over your policy will then come out of your pocket.
- 02/04/2015