DUI and Insurance rates

Will a DUI Affect Your Rates? You Bet!

 Drinking and driving can take you down many roads, everyone of them, risky. You could be pulled over which can result in a breath test. You can refuse to submit to the breath test and have your license immediately taken from you and suspended for 6 mos. You can submit to the breath test and end up with a DUI that will follow you for years. Your night could end in a crash, with you and/or someone else in the hospital. Or worse, in the morgue. That will follow you around for life.
   Our moral responsibility, as decent human beings, is evident.  But people make mistakes, thinking "it will never happen to me" or "I can handle it".  I want you to think about the practical consequences of drinking and driving. 
  A DUI will show up on employment back ground checks and insurance history reports for years to come. You will have to pay fines for 3 years, have your license suspended and possibly spend 6 mos in jail. That is if it is your first offense. The penalties increase with each offense. If you are drinking and driving with a child in the car, it is a felony and you will immediately lose your license for an undetermined amount of time. The penalties can also vary, depending on the amount of alcohol in your system.
   Auto insurance rates can increase as much as 4 times after a DUI. It is the most expensive motor vehicle offense you can have (in more ways than just insurance rates!) You will be required to obtain an SR-22, which will notify the state if you have lost your insurance. You must maintain it for at least 2 years. This will automatically place you in higher risk tier for all insurance. It can affect Home insurance rates as well, because you are an all around bad risk with the DUI on your record. At the bare minimum, you will see these increased rates for 3 years. Most likely they will remain on there longer, although the severity will decrease with time.
Please consider these consequences the next time you go drinking.
Designate a driver who will not drink. Don't become a statistic!
Thanks for reading!
Nancy Brockman

Please contact  The Brockman Agency for quotes and answers to your questions about Home, Auto and Commercial insurance. We partner with 20 carriers, so we do the shopping for you!