Drink driving car insurance

Insurance companies don't just randomly decide the amount you pay to insure your car and yourself as a driver. Highly paid specialists called actuaries make complicated statistical calculations based on many variables such as where you live, how old you are, the type of car you have and so on. That way they can make an educated and fairly accurate guess at the odds of you having an accident where you're at fault and making a claim. When you are caught drink driving you eliminate a huge amount of that statistical judgement as the insurer can classify you as Very-High-Risk because you do not understand the dangers of driving with alcohol in your system and therefore providing car insurance cover to you is not very wise for their business.

There are obvious risks with drink driving which could result in the writing off your car or someone else's vehicle, injuring yourself or your loved ones, or even killing passengers or some innocent road users.

The sad truth about drink driving

Many companies will simply not want to do business with you if you have been convicted of drink driving; once that conviction goes on your file, it will become very hard to find an affordable car insurance quote. The companies which will be willing to take the risk will penalise you to a huge degree. You may find that your insurance premiums jumps up by 3 or even 4 times what it was before you got caught drink driving and as a result cheap quotes are a thing of the past and you'll have to live with that.

Many drivers will try to avoid the huge increase in their car insurance quotes by not declaring the drink driving conviction they have, however that's a bad idea because you will end up paying your car insurance premiums for no cover at all as the insurers will refuse payout in the event of a claim due to non-disclosure of information. As soon as you have an accident and make a claim the insurer will then make enquiries and discover the undeclared conviction for drink driving that you have and subsequently nullify your policy with them and leave you liable for all damages and costs which need to be settled.

The best way to avoid pricing yourself out of the car insurance market is to avoid drinking when you have to drive. Many people who are caught are not "blind drunk"; they are simply a little over the limit. Possibly, in their minds, they not a risk to other road users, but the courts will still find them guilty and with any kind of drink driving records, car insurance companies react very badly and start thinking in terms of 5 digits for car insurance premiums.

Got a DR10 or DR20, can I get cheap car insurance?

A DR10 is issued to someone who is driving or attempting to drive with alcohol level above limit while a DR20 is given to somebody who is driving or attempting to drive while unfit through drink. You will get between 3-11 penalty points and a DR10/DR20 will stay on your licence for 11 years from the date of conviction. Insurers usually ask for any convictions within the last 5 years though so after a period of five years, you can stop declaring this offence but that means you're likely to get expensive quotes for at least 5 years.

There are now specialist companies which can help drink drivers get good rates on car insurance and can offer assistance in working with insurers to negotiate a better deal for you. This is not an easy way to 'get off' with your drink driving and insurers may put restrictions on your driving and on the policy itself but at least you will get a valid car insurance. Please check Adrian Flux, DNA Insurance or Acorn Insurance for your convicted driver quotes.