I had been found guilty of DUI and convicted a couple of months ago and my new auto insurance company has stated absolutely nothing regarding a SR-22. I’ve always got full coverage on my car and wanted to ask whether you believe the SR-22 in Florida is necessary or not.

Mike

Cape Coral FL

An auto insurance provider isn’t the one which requires an SR-22 to be maintained, it’s mandated by the courts or a state agency typically following specific traffic infraction such as DUI. State laws vary so it depends upon the state where you had been found guilty of a DUI if they require an SR22 to have your license reinstated or for some other reasons.

If you need to maintain an SR-22 in Florida then you need to be informed. When you have recently relocated or believe you might have overlooked this notification, you need to get hold of your local Department of Motor Vehicles to determine for sure if the financial responsibility certificate is required of you.

Since your DUI occurred in Florida, if that is the situation, here’s more info on Florida’s financial responsibility law. According to The Florida Driver’s Handbook, this Financial Responsibility law requires motorists to hold bodily injury liability (BIL) insurance as well as the mandatory PIP and PDL coverages should they have been convicted of certain traffic infractions, which includes DUI or DWI.

If you also you don’t have car insurance to abide by the Financial Responsibility Law, your driver license will be suspended for 3 years. You will need to pay a $15 reinstatement fee and present the department  proof of financial responsibility or SR-22 in Florida for 3 years from the date of the suspension to have your license reinstated.

Reader’s Question:

I received a ticket for intoxicated driving and I am 22 years old and was wondering about how much my vehicle insurance will go up in Florida? Who has the cheapest rates here in DUI insurance?

Alice

Jacksonville, FL

Intoxicated driving is considered a serious offense by insurance carriers and thus makes you more of a risk to them which will then cause your car insurance rates to increase. An individual that drives while intoxicated is more likely to have an accident than an individual that do not.

The Illinois Secretary of State, a driving under the influence (DUI) can subject you to high-risk car insurance rates for 3 years. According to the Illinois SOS DUI Fact Book high risk insurance for an individual convicted of a DUI averages an additional (over their normal auto insurance costs) $1500 per year.

With a major violation like this on your driving record and the needing to file a SR-22 car insurance you may not be able to find automobile insurance with a standard insurance company. Generally, a standard insurance company will provide better car insurance rates for those with clean driving history and may not offer competitive rates for those with DUI and other serious related offenses or bad driving history.

The best way to find the cheapest rates after you have been convicted of a DUI is to shop around and comparison shop here to get reasonable quotes in Jacksonville Florida.

Make sure you ask for any insurance discounts that are available to you such as safety features on your vehicle, anti-theft devices, traffic courses or driver improvement, etc.

Tags: auto insurance, DUI, sr22 insurance

Hi I’m Harry from Melbourne, Florida and was convicted few days ago for DWI. I’m not actually certain if I’m eligible to take the traffic school course. How do I find out if I am?

Harry

Melbourne, FL

Thanks for asking Harry.

In many states, even if the court does not require the traffic school program for a DWI offense, the Department of Motor Vehicles will, in order to regain your driving privileges. The Florida Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) generally allows a driver to take traffic school course once every eighteen months. The eighteen-month period is counted from the date you received the citation to the date you receive the second citation, not from the date you went to traffic school. Completion of a DMV or Court-approved traffic school course, will remove the moving violation from your driving history record.

The courtesy notice sent to you by the court will determine if you are eligible for traffic school. You can be eligible for traffic school program if you have not attended traffic school within the last 18 months. If there are any correctable violations on your citation, these corrections must be received along with any fines before you will be authorized to attend a traffic school course.

States have different regulatory agencies who approve the traffic school course. These regulatory agencies have different rules on how often you can take driving education courses and the purpose of the courses can vary from state to state or court to court (insurance reduction, point reduction, etc.). When you register online for a traffic school course, the school will tell you whether the program is approved in your state or court. However, you should always verify with your state or court before completing a traffic school course. Just be sure to take care of it before your appointed court date or due date.