How Getting a DUI Affects Your Car Insurance Rates

Ron Trumbo Insurance Editor

Reality Check: Do you have a DUI in your past? What did it do to your car insurance? Please share your experience if you can on our Facebook page and help others!

For decades now, the cries against drinking and driving have been ubiquitous with every holiday season, special occasions, and television programming. If you need any more reasons not to do it, consider the fact that a DUI with cost you between $10,000 and $15,000 by the time you settle your bail, your fines, fees and of course, your car insurance.

Beyond the retribution, the financial costs of a DUI are to discourage drivers from making the same mistake a second time and taking the risk of a killing a person. Did you know that alcohol was involved in almost 40% of U.S. automobile deaths in 2008, or 16,885 deaths, a figure nearly unchanged over the past decade, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Last year, there were 1.37 million people arrested last year for DUI, about one in every 140 licensed drivers.

Unfortunately, a DUI will generally affect your auto insurance rates between 3 to 5 years.

Cost of Drunk Driving Bail

Since you will be going directly to jail without passing go, you will being paying bail, which will cost you between $250-$2,500 depending on the state you live in.

Cost of Towing

When you're arrested, your car gets towed. In some places, retrieving it costs only $100 or so. In Illinois, you can expect towing to cost about $1,200 for the first 24 hours and $50 for each additional day of storage. If you can't afford to get your car after 30 days, your car will most likely be auctioned and then the local government may come after you with a civil judgment for the impoundment bill, if the car's sale didn't cover the fees.

Cost of Car Insurance and DUIs

One of the biggest hits a drunken driver takes is in his insurance premiums. If you are convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, it will generally affect your insurance rates between 3 to 5 years. In some states, it can be 7 years. A DUI can easily double, triple, and even quadruple what you were paying before, if you can find an insurance company to cover you for that matter.

It's common for many insurance companies simply drop the policyholder upon being arrested regardless of a conviction. Interestingly, if your policy isn't renewed, you may have to find insurance elsewhere or inquire into your State's assigned-risk insurance packages, which are generally outrageously priced.

In the time that you are effectively on "probation" with your insurance, even one moving violation, speeding ticket, or late payment can hurt you. But the financial impact of that DUI doesn't end after three years: You'll likely have to go as many as five more years, incident-free, to get back to the "preferred" status with the lowest premiums that you perhaps once enjoyed. Average additional insurance cost: $4,500 or more.

Cost of Drunk Driving Legal Fees

In many situations, a DUI arrest may require the assistance of an attorney, which can cost as little as $500, just to enter a plea. But with so much at stake, many people accused of DUI fight the charge. That's when things start to add up. Legal representation can cost anywhere between $2,500 to $25,000, depending on how complex the case is.

Cost of DUI Fines and Fees

Fines and court fees for breaking the law range from state to state, from a minimum of $300 in Colorado and $685 in Washington to as much as $1,200 in Illinois. Additionally, an alcohol evaluation is usually required of anyone who is sentenced by the court for drunken driving and this can cost as much as $300. An alcohol education and treatment program may be required if you're convicted of a DUI and generally this can cost as much as 350 to $2,000. Once a convicted DUI driver has demonstrated completion of the courses and treatment, having a drivers license reinstated by the state can cost between $60 and $250. Furthermore, if a judge orders an ignition lock be placed on your car to test your breath and prevent your car from starting if you're intoxicated, this can cost between $65-$70 a month.

Cost of DUIs and Life Insurance Premiums

With a DUI arrest or conviction, you could see an increase in your life-insurance bills because insurers may ask if your license has ever been suspended.

More information online about driving under the influence, Mothers Against Drunk Driving