How High Can Your Insurance Rate Rise after a DUI?

You will be deluged with expenses after a DUI arrest. Posting bail, hiring an attorney, and paying for your vehicle’s towing expenses are just a few examples of costs you will face. However, in many cases, the aforementioned expenses pale in comparison to the rise in auto insurance rates that will occur after a DUI conviction. So just how high will your auto insurance premiums spike after a DWI or DUI? Read on to find out.

The Sky’s the Limit

How high your car insurance rates rise after a DUI conviction will largely depend on your driving record and your insurer. Don’t be surprised if your rates double, triple, or even quadruple after the offense. Your insurer may also move you to a subsidiary that writes policies for high-risk drivers if you were in a preferred-rate class at the time of the DWI or DUI.

As bad as that sounds, it could be even worse. Some auto insurers will drop you as a policyholder immediately upon learning of your DUI arrest. In that case, you would need to find coverage elsewhere, and you can count on that coverage being prohibitively costly. Your rates will remain elevated for three to five years following the conviction.

High-Risk Pool

In the event you are dropped from coverage after a DUI conviction and cannot find coverage on the private auto insurance market, you may have the option of purchasing a policy from your state’s assigned-risk car insurance pool. Don’t count on this option being cheap, though. For instance, in the state of Illinois, high-risk car insurance will cost you an extra $1,500 annually for three years, on average.