A DUI or DWI charge may indicate a high risk of possible accidents, enabling insurance companies to inflate auto-insurance rates tremendously for approximately three years for anyone facing intoxicated or drunk driving charges.
High-risk driving is associated with DUI charges, as driving while impaired is an extremely dangerous situation to the driver and everyone else in the vicinity. People driving with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.09 percent are 11 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than those with a 0.0 BAC, Esurance reports.
That type of high-risk driving is a red flag for insurance companies to exert higher premiums. Having a DUI on their driving history shows greater risk of being involved in or causing an accident.
How much will insurance rates increase with a DUI charge?
Insurance rates depend on a variety of factors including age, gender and driving records. For example, someone with only one DUI charge where no one was injured and no property was damaged, insurance premiums alone – not including the other costs of a DUI like treatment program, court and attorney fees – can increase to $2,700, making insurance hundreds of dollars more expensive each month.
Premiums will remain high for years depending on the state and it’s individual laws. In Arizona and Texas for example, DUI charges affect insurance rates for three years after the date of the incident, Progressive said.
During that three year period, high-risk drivers will most likely not be able to switch insurance policies, qualify to use insurance promotion deals or change companies because of extra fees and added challenges starting the evaluation process once a DUI is on his or her record.
A conservative cost estimate for the total amount of money spent on a DUI charge is just under $9,000. Thousands of dollars, possible injuries, property damage, emotional distress and other threats of a DUI are not worth it, call a cab or designate a driver before getting behind the wheel while intoxicated.
