Auto Insurance Following a DUI Conviction

If you have been charged with drunk driving in Maryland, find out about getting auto insurance following a DUI conviction in this educational video.

Question:

Will I be able to get auto insurance after being convicted of a DUI in Maryland?

Answer:

Cindy:  How does a drunk driving conviction impact a person’s ability to obtain or maintain motor vehicle insurance coverage? That’s our topic on this episode of State Law TV. My guest today is Andy Alpert, a nationally renowned DUI defense lawyer, and he’s going to talk with us about this topic. Andy, thank you for being here today.

Andy:  It’s my pleasure to be here.

Cindy: Andy, I prepared for this, and I have a couple of notes. I’m going to read this one just to make sure I get it exactly right. If someone is convicted of drunk driving, how likely is it that their motor vehicle insurance company will be made aware of their arrest? In other words, is there any reason that the insurance company has to be made aware of this?

Andy:  Cindy, in the state of Maryland, there are a number of different outcomes that can occur as a result of the DUI arrest. It depends on what happens when the person eventually goes to court and resolves their case. Maryland has what’s called probation before judgment, which is available to most first offenders. Probation before judgment is not technically a conviction.

The question is, what will your insurance company do with a probation before judgment finding? Some insurance companies know about this, and they send letters to individuals who they underwrite and they have insurance with. They ask them if they have been adjudicated. In other words, have you gone to court, and have you gotten a probation before judgment, or what’s called a deferred judgment. They understand that these dispositions are available, and you would have to report that to your insurance company.

That’s different from a conviction, and if you have a conviction, they will be able to get a copy of your driving record. You are also under an obligation to report that to your insurance company, and more than likely, your insurance company in either instance will take action against you, by increasing your premium or  dropping you from the insurance and putting you into what’s called high-risk insurance. You want to avoid both if at all possible.

Cindy:  This is complicated stuff too. Let me ask you this: following a DUI conviction, how long is it before the convicted person is likely to be able to return to having their vehicle insurance at what we would call an average rate, or does that every happen again?

Andy:  It’s entirely dependent upon the insurance companies and the underwriting process, and there’s no standard out there. One insurance company may say we’re not going to insure you. You’ve had a DUI. Another one would say maybe five years has gone by and nothing has happened. You’re now a good risk for us. You’re a better driver, and so we are going to insure you.

The goal is not to be convicted of a DUI or to even have a probation before judgment, and then you won’t have to deal with these issues. Otherwise, there’s no exact answer, and there’s no predicting exactly what various insurance companies are going to do. We know one thing, if you go into high-risk insurance, it’s going to cost more to get insured, and you’re not going to get the coverage that you necessarily want in the state of Maryland.

Cindy: Okay. Now, Andy, you’re a very experienced DUI attorney. Is there anything that you can do to help with that situation? Does having an attorney really help to mitigate the problem of these extremely exorbitant insurance rates?

Andy:  The reason you need to have a lawyer, and I explain this to every single client who comes to my office, is that a lawyer can look at your case and can determine whether or not anything can be done to avoid the conviction or avoid even the probation before judgment. In other words, can you win your case? There are many cases that come into my office where the individuals feel that it’s an absolutely hopeless situation. They walk away without convictions. I can’t give you the laundry list of the reasons why that occurs, but I can tell you it happens. It happens more frequently than people would think, and as a result, they then don’t have to report a conviction to their insurance company.

Cindy:  Andy, if someone has specific questions, how can they reach you?

Andy:  The best way to reach me is to call my office, which is 301-262-7005. If you should be on the side of the road or at the station and you need to know what to do and you’ve asked to speak to an attorney, you can call my cell phone, which is 301-775-4572. If you want further information, in general about DUI and specifically about our firm and how we handle DUI cases, you can go on the internet at AndrewAlpert.com or Maryland-DUI.com.

Cindy:  Very good. Andy, thank you so much for being here today.

Andy:  Thank you for having me.

Cindy: This is Cindy Speaker for State Law TV.

Have you or a loved one been charged with a DUI and worried about buying auto insurance following a DUI conviction?  Contact our experienced Maryland DUI attorneys to be your guide.