My Personal Finance Blog

In case you are caught being drunk behind the wheel your insurance rates will increase and you will most probably learn about a thing known as SR-22 to many. And it doesn’t matter what it’s called in your state – driving while being under influence or intoxicated – the result is the same. Your insurance rates rise dramatically even before you can actually drive a vehicle again.

The laws are different

Different states have different penalties regarding drunk driving, but in all states you will be denied of the right to drive for a period of time (starting with 30 days to 12 months). And in order to get your license back and drive again most states require you to present SR-22 form proving availability of necessary auto coverage. Such form can be presented by the insurance company unless your policy is lapsed, canceled or terminated.

Premiums will rocket sky-high

When time comes for taking the SR-22 form from your insurance company, the company will automatically put you in the “high-risk driver” category, which eventually means that your rates will go up. And by “go up” we mean double or even triple according to state you’re registered in. Of course, you can shop around as there are insurance companies with “high-risk” specialty.

SR-22 policies are not that accessible

Certain companies do not provide SR-22 insurance coverage, and if you’ll require one from them after being convicted in drunk driving, they are likely to cancel your policy. It will require you to address a company that provides SR-22, however your premiums will still be higher because you will already have a history of policy cancellation. However in some states, insurance companies have no right to cancel your policy before its term expires. So check your local laws to know better.

How long will it last?

This also depends on the state you live in, but the usual picture is that you will have to pay higher premiums for at least three years after being convicted. And if you’re caught driving under the influence again there will be more serious penalties.

It also depends on the condition you’ve been in while driving. In most states there are stronger penalties for increased alcohol blood levels, passengers (especially kids) in the car, damage to property or injury to people done and other factors involved.

How to avoid increased rates?

The most drastic measure to keep your auto insurance rates low is not driving at all after being convicted in drunk driving. Even if you were driving a car you don’t own you will still have to present a SR-22 form in order to restore your driver’s license.

Of course, there’s still the most effective way of keeping your auto insurance as it was. Simply don’t drive while being drunk, intoxicated, under the influence or any other altered state of mind. It will not only save you auto insurance but will save your and someone else’s life. If you’re messed up, call a taxi or ask your sober friend to drive. It’s not that hard, isn’t it?

It should be a big surprise to anyone that young drivers have higher insurance rates than older car owners. There is a set of reasons behind such a state of affairs and parents unwilling to pay high premium rates for their teenage drivers shouldn’t think about dropping the coverage altogether. Instead, there are effective ways your teen driver can opt for lower insurance rates and save you some buck from the family budget. Here are some tips on how to do that:

1. Learn the offers at the market.

Shop around and see what local insurance companies have to offer. There are providers that specialize in high risk drivers (and teens also make part of this group), however there is also a small number of companies that work exclusively with teenage car owners and offer preferential rates. If you are able to find such a company in your area that would be the best option for you. Otherwise, compare the rates with different companies and choose the one that is more liberal towards young car owners.

2. Be a good student.

Good students can usually opt for special discounts with the majority of car insurance providers. This is because the statistics have proven that good students are safer and less risky drivers and thus can have lower rates. However, you should ask the insurance company what are the requirements and will be ready to provide proof with your current

3. Encourage the teen to pay a part of the premium.

Nothing encourages better saving and hard work when financial interest, so when you make the teen pay a part of the insurance premium you will instantly see how he or she tries to minimize these costs. This can be a good push for better grades and research on other insurance options. But be realistic about it, if your teen can’t manage to pay the premium in whole don’t put the burden and make him pay only the part he can.

4. Raise the deductibles.

Deductibles are the amount of money you have to pay upfront from your wallet before receiving the insurance benefits. And they are reverse-related to the insurance premiums, meaning that the higher is your deductible the lower premiums you will pay each year. So if your policy carries the smallest deductible, it’s better to raise it to the amount you can really pay out of pocket if something happens. This will cut your premiums for about 10-20%

5. Buy a vehicle that will give you low car insurance quotes.

It shouldn’t be a revelation to most of you that the car you drive strongly influences the rates you pay for insurance. And finding an insurance-friendly auto for your teen will really help cut the costs. Try searching car insurance quotes online to see what autos offer you the best saving opportunities and cost less to insure.

6. See if you can include the teen into your policy.

Some auto insurance companies allow parents to include teens into their insurance policies and sometimes it will help you in saving on insurance rates compared to having a separate policy for the young driver. Ask your insurance agent about your possibilities and if has any financial sense and provides some money saving options then write your teen in.

If you are tired of paying the high cost of car insurance, then you need to know that it is possible to look for and find cheap car insurance.  In fact, many people could save hundreds of dollars off their current yearly insurance premiums if they simply take the time to shop around and do the research necessary.

In times past, you would go down to the only insurance agent in town and sit down with him and arrange for all your insurance needs.  Your parents did this and you may have done this too.  Your agent handled everything for you, and you simply wrote out the check.  However, the world of insurance companies has drastically changed from what it used to be.  Instead of only three or four companies that handled the insurance needs of 90 percent of the country, there are literally hundreds of insurance companies that are taking care of people throughout the United States.

The internet has actually greatly increased the availability of cheap car insurance because it has allowed for increased competition between the different insurance companies.  Older, more established companies are being forced to keep their premium rates in line with the newer companies that have very little overhead and that have found more ways to keep costs low.  In fact, studies show that insurance rates for new customers have gone down repeatedly over the past few years.

Because of the move away from a local office or branch, many insurance companies have a lower overhead cost.  They are not paying a lease for a building or paying salaries to employees.  Their office is essentially the computer, so they pass those savings on to the customer in the form of the different packages that are available.  Some of these agents work for the older, more established companies, but in the newer, internet world.

Using the internet to search for cheap car insurance quotes is quite easy, but it is important to spend enough time at it to really be sure that you are getting the best deal. If you only spend fifteen minutes, you might be able to find some great quotes, but it is important that you understand what you are getting.  You must provide certain information, such as your age, state of residence, make, model, and year of car you want to insure, and so forth.  Many companies are moving away from requiring any sensitive personal information until you are ready to purchase the policy from them.

However, the more detailed you get on the information you provide, the more accurate the quote will be.  You may want to use the coverage numbers from your current policy as a basis and then you can compare everyone equally.  You will also find that there are some websites that allow you to input your information one time and they send out and do a search for your, coming back with multiple quotes from different companies.  You can then make comparisons and find the cheap car insurance quotes that you were looking for.  experts say that  if people would examine their insurance premiums every three to five years as a minimum, they could literally save hundreds of dollars.