How long do you have to carry an SR22 in the state of Texas? What if I don’t own a car, are you still required to get it?

Gerry

Houston TX

In Texas like in most states, an SR-22 is a certificate of insurance that provide proof of insurance for the future to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). This Texas SR22 insurance is not automatically considered as a “high risk” insurance. This is a certificate that requires the insurer to certify insurance coverage to the Texas DPS, and the insurer must inform the Texas Department of Public Safety whenever the insurance policy is canceled, terminated or lapses. If you let your SR22 lapse or canceled and the DPS has been notified, your drivers license will be suspended.

Generally, the Texas SR-22 insurance is required to be kept for 2 years from the date of the accident, conviction or court ruling was rendered. You may be able to read this at Texas Transportation Code 601.056.

If you do not own a vehicle in Texas, you can still get this type of insurance. There is a type called non owner SR22 for individuals who do not own a vehicle. You can get this from any insurance agent who is authorized to write Texas SR22 insurance for the State of Texas.

The Texas minimum liability amounts are as follows:

1. $25,000 for bodily injury per person per accident
2. $50,000 for bodily injury of two or more person per accident
3. $25,000 for property damage per accident

If you will be needing to get a Texas Sr22 insurance, it would be easier to get a quote first online. Insurance companies have different rating system that is why is is wise to shop for quotes and get the most affordable SR22 insurance from a reputable company in the state of Texas.

These San Antonio SR 22 car insurance policies end up costing a lot of money because it moves the owner of the policy to a whole new risk level. It is often the case that, once you begin filing SR 22 car insurance, your car insurance company will cancel or not renew your policy. There are many companies that do not carry SR 22 car insurance policies. However, instead of stressing over this, you should see it as an opportunity.

An opportunity for what, you might ask. To find a new company that offers you the best rates. There is no excuse for finding as many car insurance quotes as possible, which can be done in only a few minutes these days. There is no longer the hassle and wait of phone calls and car insurance offices and forms, only a few minutes on a website on the internet until you are given ten different instant online auto insurance quotes. Visiting several of these types of sites can give you a cross section of all the companies worth your time.

Twenty First Century car insurance is one of the best companies price wise when it comes to SR 22 car insurance. Another good one is Progressive. However, every company is different for every person, and you might find a different company that suits you better, perhaps a local one.

I’m a student and I got convicted for a DUI. Now that I have my license back, I’m supposed to file Texas SR-22 car insurance for two years. I hear it’s really expensive. Is there any way that I can get it to be cheaper?

George

Thank you for your question, George.

When you’re young, car insurance costs are often very high, especially while you are a college student and it is harder than usual to afford the Texas SR-22 car insurance rates. These high premiums might have you eating ramen more often than usual if you don’t step up and do everything that you can to get them to be lower. Lucky for you, being in Texas you only have to file SR-22 car insurance for two years, whereas in most places it’s between three and five years.

Over the next two years, though, I would pay close attention to my grades if I were you. The reason I say this is because the greatest car insurance discount you can get as a student is the good student discount, which most companies offer and which awards students who have a B average or above or a 3.5 GPA or above with a car insurance discount. I applied this to my own car insurance premium and receive fifteen percent off. When you are paying so much for Texas Sr-22 car insurance, such a discount can save a lot.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

How long does it take to go through with all of my SR-22 filing in Texas?

Rick

That is an excellent question, Rick.

SR-22 filing has often been a drawn out procedure, involving getting on the phone with your car insurance company and requesting the form, and then possibly waiting for it to come in the mail, or become available on your car insurance company’s web page for your personal account. Overall, your limbo between getting your driver’s license suspended and getting it reinstated could be as long as two or three weeks while you waited for the relevant information to come in the mail.

Now, though, Texas SR-22 auto insurance has this great service offered by the Texas Department of Public Safety. It’s called the DPS Express (thankfully, it’s a lot faster than the pony express). As soon as you get your Texas SR-22 form from your auto insurance company, instead of going through all of the red tape that is the DPS and spending a long time without your license, you can do the same SR-22 filing online at the Texas department of public safety’s website and get everything done with in that very day, so that you can get back on the road. It does have a small cost of twenty five dollars, though. However, this is nothing for anyone who would lose much more by being without a car.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.

I guess I wasn’t listening too hard. What I was supposed to do was get an SR 1 insurance form filed by my auto insurance company so that the department of motor vehicles would have continuous proof of my car insurance coverage. I didn’t do that, because I had no idea that I was supposed to. I did keep my auto insurance coverage going for the whole time, but when I got to court and didn’t have an SR 1 to show for the time, the judge was not impressed.

The reason why I am mentioning this under an SR 22 topic is because I think it is important for those doing Texas SR 22 filing to realize that there is a difference between having an SR 22 form and having three years of insurance cards. One the judge will accept as proper proof, and the other just doesn’t work.

It’s a funny system, considering that both methods prove the same point–that you had car insurance coverage during the time of punishment after your Texas DUI conviction. However, what the SR 22 accomplishes that the regular insurance card doesn’t is that it keeps the department of motor vehicles constantly informed of your insurance status. On the other hand, just the insurance card can only provide proof of this after your period is over. That’s the emphasis that I want to put behind proper Texas SR 22 filing–it has to be done because it is the only approved method. You can’t just prove financial responsibility any which way.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.