I Was Arrested For Drunk Driving Now Need To File For SR22 Insurance?

Reader question:

A couple of days, I got arrested for drunk driving and now I have to file an SR 22 form. What is it? Thing is, I’m going to be getting a new car. Will I have trouble getting it financed because of my SR 22 insurance requirement?

Becca

You shouldn’t.

The SR 22 auto insurance form doesn’t do much at all to hurt you except that it makes your car insurance rates go up, except for in special circumstances when your car insurance company allows you forgiveness for your very first drunk driving offense. It is, essentially, a form that the company must file so that the state has proof that you are covered by an auto insurance policy. In most states, you are required to have an auto insurance policy anyway, but the SR 22 helps these states keep track of you in this special case so that if you cancel your auto insurance, the department of public safety is notified so that your license may be suspended.

A new car can easily be financed while you are using SR 22 auto insurance, because the only thing that the financer looks at is whether or not you have the right kind of coverage. All they want to know is that, if you get into a car accident and have to make a car insurance claim, they will still get their paycheck for the amount of the loan. I do think I should call into question how wise it would be to finance a new car while you have SR 22 auto insurance, just considering what the rates would be. Already, SR 22 auto insurance rates are much higher than usual, as are those for new car insurance. Putting the two together might be a hard hit on your budget.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

How Long Are You Required To Have an SR22 Filing

Reader question:

For how long are you required to have SR 22 filing done?

Adam

Excellent question, Adam.

The truth is that the necessity and length of the SR 22 filing process depends on a number of factors. The SR 22 filing requirement is one that comes after you have been convicted for something such as driving while intoxicated, driving under the influence of mind altering drugs (which also comes with even heavier penalties, along with the drunk driving), and driving without proof of financial responsibility; the requirement becomes even more strict when any of these actions result in a car accident. If you are simply caught from being pulled over by a police officer, then the requirements are less strict.

The first factor that affects how long you have to do SR 22 filing is your possession of a license. Normally, if you are required to file an SR 22 form, then you must first have had your driver’s license suspended. Sometimes the suspension lasts for a certain amount of time before you are able to reinstate it with SR 22 auto insurance coverage proof. Other times, it is only suspended until you pay a fee (which varies from state to state) and provide the DMV with your SR 22 form. The key to all of this is that the period during which you are required to do SR 22 filing applies whether or not you have a driver’s license. Theoretically, you could simply choose to take the bus for three years after your license was first suspended before reinstating it. If you did this, then you would never have to pay for expensive SR 22 auto insurance coverage.

The other factor that affects your SR 22 filing requirement is the number of times you have committed the offense in question. For example, if this is your second time getting thrown in jail for driving while intoxicated, then the amount of time you have to file an SR 22 form lengthens considerably. The normal amount for most first time cases is three years. For drunk driving, though, it is five years in most states. The second time you are caught drunk driving, that number of years doubles to ten years. The third time, it doubles again, to twenty years.

Cheers.

Fashun Guadarrama.