We will provide you with a number of potential insurance carriers so that you can examine the California DUI insurance rates that are available in your area and choose the one that is the best fit. In addition, we can help educate you as to the differences between one kind of DUI insurance policy and another, so that you can make an informed decision as to which policy gives you the best value.

Although there is no such thing as “cheap DUI insurance” as compared to regular insurance, we will help to find you the most competitive insurance rates available.

What Happens When You Get a DUI?

If you are arrested for a DUI, in addition to the jail time, fines, and license suspension that will occur, you will also have to purchases DUI insurance. DUI car insurance in California—also referred to as SR-22 insurance—has specific provisions and requirements and is not offered by all insurance providers.  In fact, it is quite possible that the insurance provider that you had at the time of your DUI will either drop your policy once they find out about your DUI, or raise your rates to the point where it is no longer affordable for you.

This is because many insurance providers simply choose not to carry California DUI insurance. When this happens, you will be required to find an insurance provider who does DUI auto insurance before the Department of Motor Vehicles will reinstate your driver’s license.

Some drivers try to retain their current policy by not reporting their DUIs to their current carrier and simply choose to buy a basic SR-22 policy from another carrier so that they do not lose other privileges stemming from their current insurance policies (such as reduced home owner’s insurance rates tied to bundling insurance policies).  Although this may work in the short term, it is likely that your current insurance provider will discover your DUI sooner or later when they check your DMV record (a protocol most major insurance providers conduct annually for all their policy holders).

On discovery of your California DUI, auto insurance providers usually will drop your policy. One way to avoid this occurrence—which will also have a negative effect on you insurance rates—is to square away a DUI insurance policy before your current insurance provider drops you from their policy.

What Happens if I have multiple DUI arrests?

For obvious reasons, with each subsequent California DUI, auto insurance rates climb as do the other consequences of DUIs like license suspension and jail time.  In addition, if there is an accident and others are injured, penalties like jail time tend to be even more severe.

For that reason, it is, of course, of utmost importance to avoid situations that could lead you to driving under the influence.

Is SR-22 auto insurance—DUI insurance—required for a restricted license?

After a period of having a suspended license, the Department of Motor Vehicles will allow you to apply for a restricted license so that you may drive to work and back.  In order to get this license—just as when you get your normal license back—you will need to have your auto insurance provider file an SR-22 with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

This form indicates that you have purchased the correct amount of liability and auto insurance.  DUI insurance—or SR-22 insurance—as it is known shows that you have met your financial responsibility for your license.  (In  fact, the SR-22 form is also required when someone has been stopped when driving with a suspended license or has had their license suspended due to excessive unpaid traffic violations. Thus the emphasis of the SR-22 is on the driver’s financial responsibility.)

As mentioned, SR-22 insurance is filed by your insurance company, not by you individually.  Even if you try to get the SR-22 form from the DMV and file it yourself by showing a valid ID and using your policy number, the DMV will not accept your form.

This is because part of the SR-22 is an agreement between your DUI insurance provider and the Department of Motor Vehicles.  This agreement basically states that the insurance provider will contact the Department of Motor Vehicles should you let your DUI insurance lapse or should you be dropped by your insurance provider.

How can IIS help me?

Incorporated Insurance Services can help you by finding the cheapest and most fitting DUI insurance for your situation.  Our experienced insurance agents know which providers offer the best California DUI insurance rates and they know how to decipher the policies for you so that you can select the insurance policy that best fits your situation.  In addition, because our agents can offer you multiple providers from which to choose and since our providers know that, there is a natural competitive incentive for them to drop prices for you.

So if you are in the market for DUI insurance and would like to expedite the process so that you do not have to spend hours trying to make sense of the dense legal jargon involved in policy statements, then you need to call IIS today.  We can quickly and efficiently locate the best insurance policy for you so that you can move on with your life.

Just leave it to the pros.