DUI - State Laws, Its Implications and Effects on Auto Insurance

Here is a very startling fact that everybody should know about. Roughly every 45 minutes, an American dies of an alcohol related car or traffic accident. To stress the number further, think of this, one fatality for every 45 minutes can translate to 32 people gone in a day, nearly 1,000 in a month and that makes 11,000+ in a year. Now that can be a lot of fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters lost because of neglect and the irresponsibility of several people.

Recognizing that, respective governments on most states have made laws that tackle the growing DUI problem. As such, in most states, a proven DUI driver can be subject to suspension of license, paying fines, doing community service and in worse cases, being faced with criminal charges if they end up doing some serious damages. Apart from that, previous offenders may be required to install an ignition interlock that prevents them from starting the car once they detect that the driver has had too much to drink.

In addition, to support the state's "fight" against DUI, insurance companies have also made things a little bit tougher for the past, current and maybe future offenders. How exactly?

You see, when your insurance company finds out that you have had a DUI problem, they would usually increase your insurance rates. This is because you get to be categorized as a high-risk driver who they think has more tendencies to get involved in an accident. And if your DUI case is "big" you may end not up not having any insurance at all. Of course, as you may know, that also means that you cannot drive your car unless you consider selling it, or naming it to someone in your family.

Now, to address the question that may be running in your mind right now - how do these insurance companies find out?

They conduct their own investigation of course. They will try to contact the appropriate department in every state where you have resided to find out if you have any records there. Sometimes the so-called "investigation" may take some time so it is possible that your DUI offense may not resurface up until 1 to 2 years. But that, again, is very unlikely to happen.

Those are the implications of a DUI offense with auto insurance. So if you have a previous DUI offense under your name, then you better be sure that you behave better and you work on becoming a more responsible driver, otherwise you may end up being denied any insurance at all. In addition, if you have "penalties" that you have to work out, like community service for example, make sure that you work on them and you do not attempt to escape them. This is because if you do, you may end up giving yourself more troubles and more penalties to deal with in the long run. But if you own up to them, you may have the chance of getting your record be put under the water.