A DUI conviction in California will adversely affect your car insurance rates for a period of 10 years. A California DUI conviction will not only disqualify you from obtaining a "good driver" discount but you could also result in you being labeled as a "high risk" driver causing your car insurance rates to rise substantially.
Effective January 1, 2007, new legislation changed the reporting period for California DUIs from 7 to 10 years for all public requestors which includes car insurance companies. Based upon this new law, drivers with a California DUI conviction will not be eligible for a "good driver" discount for a period of 10 years.
This law really affects those of you who were benefiting from a "good driver" discount at the time of their California DUI conviction. Not only will you lose your "good driver" discount but you will most likely be labeled as a "high risk" driver (see below). Thus, the increase of your car insurance premiums will be substantial. However, for those who were not benefiting from a "good driver" discount at the time of their California DUI, the increase in car insurance rates will not hurt as much.
Additionally, if the DMV suspends or revokes your license as a result of your California DUI conviction, you will be required to submit an SR 22 certificate. An SR 22 is a certificate of insurance that confirms that you meet California minimum requirements for car insurance liability coverage. If you are required to obtain an SR 22 certificate, you will have to pay more for you car insurance as you will be labeled as a "high risk" driver.
Just how much your car insurance rates will increase is hard to say as car insurance premiums can vary greatly between companies.
At the end of the 10 year period, the California DMV will automatically remove your California DUI conviction from your record in which case you will once again be eligible for the "good driver" discount (provided you don't have anything else on your driving record that would disqualify you from eligibility). As for as car insurance companies are concerned, it is as if you never had a California DUI conviction.
So what is the good news? The good news is that your car insurance company cannot immediately raise your rates if you suffer a California DUI conviction in the middle of your policy term. California insurance law forbids car insurance companies from taking action against your policy midterm. That means that if you suffer a California DUI conviction in the middle of your policy, your car insurance company cannot raise your premium or cancel your policy.
The only time your car insurance company can make changes to your policy is at the time you renew your policy or apply for new coverage.
Your best bet is to do everything you can to avoid a California DUI conviction whenever possible. To that end, if you happen to get arrested for California DUI, you should immediately do two things: First, consult with and hire an experienced DUI lawyer to help you navigate through the complex world of DUIs; Second, immediately request your administrative hearing with the DMV as you only have 10 days from the date of your arrest to do so in order to avoid having your license suspended automatically.
Written by Gabriel Dorman
Los Angeles, California
gabedorman@gmail.com
www.criminaldefenseduilawyer.com/blog/
Exclusively for HULIQ.com
Comment and add to the story without registration, but keep the comments meaningful please. Links are not accepted.
