After a DUI in Alabama you may face certain driving restrictions. Your driver’s license will be suspended – depending on the circumstances you may be able to drive for specific purposes, during certain hours. You may also be required to have an ignition interlock device installed on your car.
One of the most expensive consequences you’ll face after a DUI in Alabama is a possible increase in your automobile insurance premium.
If your automobile insurance carrier finds out that you’ve been convicted of drunk driving in Alabama, you’ll be considered high risk and your insurance premiums will skyrocket.
Some insurance companies will cancel your automobile insurance policy, even if you’ve never had a single driving offense before. Finding new automobile insurance after being convicted of a DUI and then being dropped by an automobile insurance company can be very difficult and extremely expensive. You may have to get your automobile insurance through a high-risk automobile insurance company or through one of Alabama’s “assigned risk” insurance companies.
This is how it works. The state of Alabama knows that insurance companies do not want to cover your automobile insurance because you are considered to be a high-risk individual. Because the state of Alabama knows that no automobile insurance company will voluntarily sell you an insurance policy, the state requires automobile insurance companies to provide automobile insurance coverage for high-risk drivers.
While the state makes automobile insurance available for you in this high-risk “pool” they don’t regulate the insurance premiums, so you will pay very high automobile insurance premiums for a few years until automobile insurance companies are willing to lower your premiums.
Depending on the circumstances of your DUI conviction, you may be required to obtain a SR-22 which is not an automobile insurance policy, but is proof that you have automobile insurance. A SR-22 is a document prepared by your automobile insurance company and then filed by the insurance company with the Alabama DMV.
A SR-22 is usually required when a driver wants to reinstate their driver’s license after their driver’s license was suspended. A SR-22 may be required of individuals who don’t actually own a car.
A SR-22 is usually required for three to five years after a DUI conviction. If you don’t pay your automobile insurance premiums, the SR-22 will be cancelled and the automobile insurance company will file a SR-26 with the Alabama DMV letting the DMV know that you don’t have automobile insurance, at which time your driver’s license will be suspended until a new SR-22 is filed.
If you’ve been charged with a DUI in Alabama, you’ll need to contact a Birmingham DUI Attorney to answer your questions about Alabama DUI penalties and to get more clarification about possible changes to your automobile insurance policy.
Facing DUI Charges? Our Birmingham DUI Lawyers Can Help
If you are facing criminal charges in Alabama, contact Alabama Criminal Lawyers at (205) 981-2450 or use our online contact form.