Can I Get Car Insurance if My License Is Revoked
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UPDATED: Feb 19, 2021
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Here's what you need to know...
- Even if your license is suspended, you will need to carry insurance for your vehicle
- Your license could be suspended for drunk driving or reckless driving
- Car insurance will be quite high after your license has been suspended
Sometimes things happen that cause you to lose your driving privileges. Often this is the result of multiple reckless driving charges or of being convicted of driving under the influence.
Despite your inability to drive, if you own a car and it is registered with your state, then you will be required to maintain your car insurance.
The problem that you will face, however, is that many insurance companies will refuse to insure someone who has had their license suspended or revoked for reckless or drunk driving.
Even if you do find an insurance company that will cover your vehicle, you can expect to pay far more than you would if you weren't in this position in the first place.
There are some specialty insurance companies that you may have to consider if you find yourself with a revoked driver's license.
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Alternatives to Paying Car Insurance with a Revoked License
In many states, if you are convicted of drunk driving, your license is revoked.
Usually, for the first offense, it is suspended for six months; however, multiple offenses can lead to your license being revoked for two years or longer.
If this happens, in order to earn your license back, you will have to go through a state-sanctioned rehab program as well as pay fines and possibly spend some time in jail.
In most cases, however, your ability to actually own a car is not affected.
What this means is that, in most states, you will have to maintain the same level of auto insurance that you carried before.
If your vehicle is financed, then you will likely need to maintain comprehensive and collision coverage as well as the liability insurance required by your state.
If you want to avoid paying for insurance during this time, you will have to turn in your license plates so that the car isn't considered to be registered.
While it can cost several hundred dollars to re-register your vehicle once you are able to get your license again, this will be far less expensive than maintaining car insurance for your vehicle.
The problem that many people face is that they share a vehicle with a family member or a partner. If this is the case, a few things could happen:
- You could remove your name as a driver of the vehicle in order to get a lower rate
- Some insurance companies will still consider the fact that the vehicle is registered under your name, so this may have no impact at all
- You also have the alternative of signing over your vehicle to the other driver of your car. If your car is financed, however, you will still be responsible for the payments
As we've mentioned, being convicted of reckless driving is one of the quickest ways of having your license revoked. But there are certain states where this issue is a bigger problem than in others.
Check out our list of the 10 states with the most reckless drivers to find out where your state stands when it comes to drivers operating vehicles recklessly.
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Can I get car insurance if my license is revoked?
Yes. As mentioned earlier in this article, carrying car insurance if you have a revoked driver's license can be very expensive, but you may not realize just how expensive a proposition this may be.
On average, the rate increase for a DUI conviction is 30 percent. Your rates could increase by up to 50 percent.
If your license is revoked due to multiple reckless driving charges, then your rates could see the same type of increase.
The major difference between the two is that in most cases, your rates will slowly decrease each policy period that you don't get another reckless driving ticket, but your rates won't decrease with a DUI until the five- to ten year period that most states impose expires.
If you aren't sure how your insurance company handles these problems, you need to check it out for yourself.
According to the NAIC's consumer guide, it is your responsibility, and not the insurance company's, to know every detail of your policy.
If you think you are being unfairly treated by your insurance company because your rates are too high or they aren't changing when they should, you do have some recourse.
You can inform your local government's Department of Insurance and file a complaint. If things are very bad, you can use resources such as the Consumer Watchdog to see if they can help.
Overall, however, you need to be prepared to spend more on your insurance than the average safe driver.
Choosing the Right Car Insurance with a Revoked Drivers License
As with any other type of car insurance, you will want to shop around for the car insurance that you need.
If you have a DUI or multiple reckless driving charges, then you may have to go with a specialty company.
Fortunately, there are multiple specialty companies and even some major companies that handle this type of car insurance.
This means that you can still get competitive quotes from multiple companies.
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Can I Get Car Insurance if My License Is Revoked
Source: https://www.carinsurancecomparison.com/revoked-drivers-license-and-car-insurance/#:~:text=car%20insurance%20rates.-,Can%20I%20get%20car%20insurance%20if%20my%20license%20is,Yes.