Having a DUI on your motor vehicle record is pretty serious. People who drive under the influence are much more likely to get in to accidents than those who do not. This makes it difficult to find an insurance company that wants to insure you and impossible to find one that will do so at a low rate.  The time this will affect your rate will vary by state and insurance company but three years is probably the minimum time you can expect to pay more.

It can make purchasing car insurance very expensive. You can expect to pay two or three times what a person with a good driving record would pay.

SR 22 Financial Responsibility Filing

If you are convicted of driving under the influence, you will probably be forced to find an insurance company that will file an SR-22 for you. This means that your insurance company certifies that your policy meets the minimum liability requirements for your state. It also means that your auto insurance company will notify your department of motor vehicles if you lapse your coverage. The exact requirements vary by state but the rules regarding a California auto insurance sr-22 and an Oregon auto insurance sr-22 as well as SR-22 filing in other states will be very similar.

How Long Does a DUI Affect Car Insurance?

Depending on your state and the auto insurance company you select, you can expect to pay a lot more for three to five years. You may at that point be able to qualify for standard rates. However, you may have to wait a total of ten years before you qualify for a safe driver discount.

Comprehensive insurance is just one of the options offered in a standard personal automobile policy.  Comprehensive insurance isn’t “comprehensive.”  By that I mean, comprehensive coverage is just one part of a personal auto policy.  It is included in the optional Part D section that covers physical damage to your vehicle.

The other parts will typically include:

• Part A:  Liability Coverage
• Part B:  Medical Payments Coverage
• Part C:  Uninsured Motorists Coverage

Comprehensive insurance pays nothing toward the damage you might do to someone else’s car in a crash.  These payments come from the liability coverage.
The Comprehensive section of your auto insurance policy will pay you for damage to your car that is caused by certain perils.  These perils include falling objects, theft, vandalism and fire.  For the most part it covers things that can happen to your car when it isn’t moving.
Damage from collisions will usually be paid for by the liability section of the person’s policy who hit you if he or she is at fault or from the (surprise) collision section of your policy.

Collision and comprehensive coverage are both part of Part D of a personal auto policy.  This section of your policy may be entitled “Coverage for Damage to your Auto.”
These physical damage coverage are optional unless you have a loan against your car or have leased your car.  Even if they are mandated by the contract you have with your lender or lessor, you may be able to reduce the coverage and your costs by raising your deductible for one or both of these parts of your policy.

How Does Comprehensive Insurance On Your Car Work?

Comprehensive insurance reimburses you for some or all of the cost involved when your car is damaged by a covered peril.  Typically these costs are incurred at a body shop or glass repair facility.

The reason it costs so much to insure your teen age driver is because younger drivers have more accidents than older experienced drivers.

This may or may not be fair to your teenager. I’m sure that your child has lightning quick reflexes and always drives a few miles under the speed limit just to be extra safe.

The insurance companies don’t look at your child as an individual. They look at the statistics of drivers who share certain characteristics with your child.

There are several things that you can do to keep the cost at a ridiculous price range and out of the extremely ridiculous price range.

To keep costs down your teenage driver should:

• Take an approved driver’s education course
• Maintain a clean driving record
• Drive an older car
• Get good grades

Having your child take an approved drivers education course may qualify him or her for a discount. Most companies will make this worth your while.

The most important thing to do to keep the rates down for your young driver, is to make sure that he or she drives safely and doesn’t get into any car crashes. This means that although you won’t get any additional discounts for spending extra time driving with your child, the extra hours of on the road parental supervision may pay off in the long run. This can mean not only lower rates, but a longer life for your child.

Another thing you can do is to have your child drive an older car that you don’t need to insure for physical damage.

Do what you can to make sure that your child qualifies for a good student discount. If your child has a B average or above he or she should be able to qualify for a lower rate.

Why is car insurance so high for teenagers? Mainly due to conditions beyond our control. However, you can reduce some of the additional costs by using some of the strategies above.

The truth is that auto insurance isn’t technically mandatory in a lot of states. If you can prove to your state that you can pay an amount equal to the minimum liability amount required for an auto insurance policy, you may not be forced to get an insurance policy.

However, this is not practical for most people. Auto insurance allows those of us who don’t have tens of thousands of dollars we are willing to put at risk to drive our cars and meet the financial responsibility laws.

When did required car insurance start?

The first law requiring that auto insurance be mandatory went in to effect in Massachusetts in 1927. This, I’m sure was after many people had their lives ruined by uninsured drivers. Now only two or three states are without such laws.

Autos were even more dangerous than they are now. Our roads are better and our cars are better and seat belts are worn by more motorists.

Auto insurance became mandatory because few people have the resources to pay for the injuries a car crash can cause the way that an insurance company can.