SR22 Issues And Concerns: What You Need To Know

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SR22 insurance is auto insurance that people with a suspended license need to carry so that they can continue to drive, even when their licenses are suspended. It is a short-term band-aid for what is hopefully a short-term problem. However, that depends entirely on the person with the suspended license. Here are some typical SR22 issues and concerns and what you need to know if you find yourself with a suspended license.

States That Will Require You to Purchase and Carry SR22 Insurance

All states, including Alaska and Hawaii and excluding eight other states, require SR22 insurance when a license is suspended. Live in Wisconsin? SR22 insurance is required. Live in Texas? SR22 insurance is required. Live in Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Kentucky, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and North Carolina? Lucky you—NO SR22 insurance is required. However, if you are caught driving without a license and get into an accident in these eight states, you could be facing some huge fines, jail time, and/or a much longer suspension of your license. 

Accidents and SR22

If you have to get SR22 insurance and you get into a car accident, what happens next? An SR22 filing for a car accident is not going to go well for you since you probably have this insurance because you had too many traffic violations to begin with. Another accident and filing a claim against your SR22 is going to cause long-term damage on your driving record. An accident will make it truly impossible to get the required regular insurance at an affordable price once you have fulfilled the requirements of the SR22. In fact, a car accident while you are on SR22 is going to result in regular insurance costs that could be up to four times what everyone else pays. If you are constantly at risk of getting into driving accidents, you might want to skip driving for a while or drive only once in a while.

SR22 and a License Suspended for DUI

This is a rare combo of offenses with allowed driving. Not too many states will still allow a person with more than one DUI on record to continue driving under SR22. If your state allows you to drive with DUIs on your record, that means that they are giving you one last chance not to screw things up. You will need to drive completely sober for months or lose your license indefinitely.


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