Community College Student Finances – What a DUI Can Do to Your Insurance Rates

Anyone who has ever been charged with driving under the influence (DUI) can attest to the fact that the consequences of a conviction are detrimental. On just a person’s first offense, they can be jailed and fined. In certain cases a person may even lose their license or be forced to install an expensive interlock ignition device on their vehicle.

Being arrested for a DUI is bad enough, but if you happen be the cause of an accident and injure someone else while driving under the influence, the ramifications become exponentially more difficult to overcome. If you had the accident in South Carolina, now would be a good time to contact a Charleston car accident lawyer to discuss your DUI injury accident. Even these penalties pale in comparison to what a DUI conviction can do to a person’s motor vehicle insurance rates. Knowing the consequences of a DUI on a person’s insurance is necessary if that person hopes to get out of a DUI charge with minimal consequences.

What is an SR-22

If you happen to be convicted of a DUI in most states, you will have to fill out an SR-22 Proof of Financial Responsibility document. This is a form from a person’s insurance company informing the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) that the person has the correct amount of insurance as necessary from the insurance company. Insurance rates get very expensive after a DUI, and the DMV will not reinstate a person’s suspended license without proof that they have informed their insurance company of their DUI. This is an overall additional punishment from the government, but it is necessary to insure that people convicted with a DUI have the appropriate insurance. A Charleston personal injury lawyers can fully explain how the SR-22 requirement will affect a person in their locality.

How Insurance Rates Increase by DUI
There are instances where a person’s license may not be suspended after a first DUI. In these cases, an SR-22 form will likely not have to be filled out. A person’s insurance rates, however, will still likely go up. A DUI adds points to a person’s license in areas where points are accrued for driving infractions. Many insurance companies will charge higher rates for people with more points on their license than average.

Insurance rates for someone convicted of a DUI can be three to four times higher than the rates the person was initially paying. Because of this, it is important for a person to speak to a lawyer before standing in front of a judge. Prosecuting attorneys will often use scare tactics to get a person to just plead guilty on a DUI charge, but an attorney will make sure a person is given every right they deserve before their trial. There are legitimate defenses to DUI charges, but it is usually necessary to get a DUI lawyer to present these possible defenses.

A DUI is a serious charge in every state in America. Ever since the federal government threatened to pull highway funding from states that didn’t have a .08 percent legal impairment limit, the states have all increased the consequences of a DUI while lowering the threshold of driving impaired. These consequences include harsh insurance rates, and this increase in rates is often going to cost more than the fines imposed from the state for a conviction. Because of this, it is important for anyone charged with a DUI to contact a lawyer immediately.

About The Author:

Krista Langford is a contributing author for the Howell and Christmas law firm, they specialize in personal injury, criminal injury, and workers compensation. Although these attorneys can’t promise an outcome of your case, they strive for client satisfaction, personal attention, and quality work, as a part of their personal guarantee.