Sunset Plaza Insurance

Time is of the Essence!

If you were recently involved in a DUI in California contact our office immediately. As long as you have not gone to court and been convicted of a DUI you have the opportunity to save a lot of money on your first year DUI insurance. You will be assigned a personal agent who will help you get locked in for a twelve month policy before the DUI makes it on to your driving record. This is a fantastic way to save money but you cannot waste any time. Contact our office right away.

Driving Under the Influence

DUI or Drinking Under the Influence goes by many other terms and phrases like DWI, Driving While Intoxicated, drunk driving, impaired driving, operating under the influence and other terms.  This is the crime of driving a motorized vehicle while the driver is impaired from alcohol, drugs or prescription drugs.  In the case of alcohol, the intoxication level is typically determined by the BAC or Blood Alcohol Content level. A measurement of 0.08 or greater in California will constitute a criminal offense where one is charged with a DUI.

How a DUI in California affects your Insurance premium

After getting a DUI your license will be suspended or revoked for a certain period of time, usually six months, with a hefty fine. If the courts grant you a restricted license you will be able to drive to and from work as well as certain other destinations for example traffic school. At this point you will have your license suspended, two extra points on your driving record and you will need an SR22 form to be filed with the DMV. Your insurance premium could raise anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars a year to reaching new highs of double or even triple your current rate.

Filing the SR22

A common misconception about an SR22 is that it is a form of insurance when in actual fact it is only a document filed with the DMV. This form notifies the DMV that you have the minimum liability limits to legally drive. If your policy lapses the DMV will know at once that your insurance is cancelled and your license will be suspended. Typically the courts will require you to carry an SR22 for three consecutive years. An SR22 is most common with DUIs but it can also be issued to drivers with too many tickets on their driving record within a certain period of time or involvement in an accident without any liability coverage .

Shotgun Approach: Getting Multiple Quotes

With Sunset Plaza Insurance you will have an agent assigned to you where you will be able to go over multiple quotes simultaneously. You will be able to get some of the best rates from our top carriers as well as any other insurance carriers you have in mind. In fact we can go over the top five insurance programs that we offer so you can pick and choose which you like best. This is a great place to start as you will have a better understanding of what kind of rates you are dealing with. You will be able to eliminate any extremely expensive insurance companies as well as any that won’t accept you.

While an extremely well known company may offer some of the best rates in some zip codes, it’s not necessarily the case everywhere. Non-standard insurance carriers may offer some of the best DUI insurance quotes for certain zip codes. With our expansive range of non-standard insurance carriers we will find the best one for you.

If you are currently with a well known provider and you just got a DUI, chances are you will get dropped or the insurance premiums will skyrocket to new highs. Don’t wait to find out how much your insurance premium will be, get insured right away before you go to court.

Save Time: Be Straightforward

To start the quoting process an agent will need to get some basic information. Some of the things that could affect your rate are ZIP code, marital status, date of birth, driving experience as well as other factors. An important point to keep in mind is if you have received any DUIs, tickets or accidents in the past it is important to disclose them all, even if they did not make it onto your driving record. The reason for this is insurance companies use a program called CLUE to communicate amongst one another regarding clients and accidents. This program was created so insurance companies have a better view of the person’s diving history as a significant percentage of accidents do not get reported to the DMV.

If the information the agent receives is incorrect we will be unable to provide you with an accurate quote. Once the agent starts binding your insurance the insurance carrier may run CLUE and find other accidents or claims that have come up in the past causing your insurance premium to go up. This is a lot time wasted for the agent as well as for yourself as the agent will have to go back and adjust the paperwork. Your insurance rates are affected by your driving record along with anything that comes up from CLUE. If it is not on your driving record or CLUE then you do not have anything to worry about. Moral of the story be straightforward with your insurance agent.

Getting Back On The Road

Once all the insurance paperwork is complete and your policy is bound with the insurance carrier you will be able to get temporary ID Cards emailed to you as well as an insurance packet mailed to you which contains hard copy ID cards. You will have a copy of your SR22, which you can take to the DMV, if you are in a rush to get back on the road. The DMV will not always accept the SR22 directly from you as the proper channel of communication is from the insurance carrier directly to the DMV in Sacramento. If they do not, they may accept a fax, in which case you will have to contact our Customer Service department and request a fax to be sent to their fax number.