Understanding The Aftermath Of A DUI Offense

Thousands of people across the country commit DUI offenses every year. It is important to understand how to address having a DUI offense and getting or maintaining car insurance coverage.
By law, once a person is found guilty of a DUI offense, they must take out SR-22 or FR-44 insurance coverage. This is basically a promise stating that you will be insured for the next three years continuously. If at any time the car insurance coverage lapses, then the driver will face a driver’s license revocation and fines.
Some drivers are under the impression that they have to maintain this coverage through the same car insurance company for all three years. However, this is not true at all. Every driver has the right to switch car insurance companies if they wish. Many drivers do make a switch after six months or more to try and save money on their insurance coverage because the DUI offense has made their premium rates skyrocket.
A person who switches providers does not have to worry about getting any surcharges if they do not allow the coverage to lapse. It is important to time the switch accordingly to avoid getting into any trouble. It is important to shop around for this type of coverage because each car insurance company assesses a person’s driving record differently when they have a DUI offense on it. Shopping around can save a person thousands of dollars which can be a lifesaver in today’s economy.
It is crucial for people to keep their driving records clean after committing a DUI offense because each additional traffic or criminal offense adds an additional time period where the driving record will have blemishes.
One way to help to alleviate the higher premiums is to try to take defensive driver and other courses to show insurers that the DUI was a one-time mistake.  It is a good idea to meet with an independent insurance agent when transferring a SR-22 or FR-44 from one insurance company to another. This is due to the fact that the switch needs to be done very quickly.
The process has to work in order for the state to not issue a penalty. This means that the new insurance company needs to have processed all of the paper work and submitted everything on their end to the state so that the coverage stays in effect. If it does not, then there are big problems.
Getting a DUI offense is something that is very serious. States know this which is why they penalize drivers by making them produce proof that they will be financially responsible for maintaining insurance coverage at all times for three years. It is important for drivers to educate themselves on this law because it could impact them at some point in time.