I Got a DUI — What Coverage Do I Need Now?

What This Situation Means for Your Coverage

An SR-22 is not insurance and not a coverage type. It is a form your insurer files with the state confirming you carry at least the required liability limits, plus a standing promise to report it if that stops being true. The Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles requires an SR-22 after DUI and Refusal convictions for a set period measured from the end of the revocation — not from the conviction date — and requires the insurer to notify the DMV any time the policy is canceled, terminated, or lapses (Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles, undated). Allstate states the same obligation in its own guidance (Allstate, undated).

The form, and the limits behind it, are set by state law rather than by your insurer. Florida does not use the standard SR-22 for a DUI at all. Under section 324.023, Florida Statute, drivers convicted after October 1, 2007 must obtain form FR-44 carrying bodily injury liability of $100,000/$300,000 and property damage liability of $50,000, or a combined single limit of $350,000, for three years from reinstatement of driving privilege (Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, undated). Those sit above Florida's ordinary financial responsibility minimums, so an FR-44 usually means buying up, not just adding a form (SR22Adviser, undated). Florida also charges a reinstatement fee for subsequent DUI violations (Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, undated).

Three years is the most common filing period across states, though a small number require only one year (SR22Adviser, undated). Moving does not end it — you must complete the period mandated by the state where the violation occurred, even if your new state does not use SR-22s (Allstate, undated).

On price, two charges stack: a one-time filing fee paid to the insurer, and a separate rate increase driven by the conviction itself (Insurance.com, undated; ChooseFI, undated). Premiums rose after a DUI in every state in one multi-state analysis, with North Carolina showing the sharpest average percentage increase (LendingTree, undated). The size of your own increase moves with the state, the insurer and underwriting company you land in, your limits, your vehicle, and your zip code — and many standard carriers decline the filing outright, pushing drivers into higher-priced non-standard companies.

Do You Need It? Quick Check

Check each against your court judgment, DMV order, declarations page, and registration — not against memory.

• Your court judgment shows a conviction for DUI, DWI, or chemical test refusal, not a reduced non-alcohol charge.
• Your DMV or court paperwork names a specific form: SR-22, SR-22A, or FR-44.
• You were convicted in Florida after October 1, 2007, and your declarations page shows bodily injury limits under $100,000/$300,000 or property damage under $50,000 (Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, undated).
• No vehicle is titled or registered to you, and none appears on your declarations page.
• You have a cancellation or non-renewal notice dated inside the required filing period.
• You have moved to another state, or plan to, before the period ends.
• Your paperwork shows a second or subsequent DUI violation, which in Florida triggers a reinstatement fee (Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, undated).

Your Next Steps

1. Within a few days of conviction, get the written court judgment and DMV order and confirm three facts: the form named, the start date, and the end date. Alaska runs the clock from the end of the revocation (Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles, undated); Florida runs three years from reinstatement of driving privilege (Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, undated).
2. Before you drive again, call your insurer's SR-22/FR-44 filing department — not general customer service — and ask whether they file that form in your state and whether they will keep you at renewal.
3. If they will not file, shop the non-standard market and bind a new policy with the filing attached before the old one ends. Do not cancel first; any gap is reportable by the insurer (Allstate, undated).
4. Within a week of binding, confirm with the state DMV that the filing has been recorded. The insurer files it; only the DMV can confirm it landed.
5. If you switch mid-period, budget for a second filing fee, since the new insurer must file fresh (carregistrationfee.com, undated).
6. Before your end date, ask the DMV in writing to confirm the requirement is satisfied. Keep paying until they do.

Coverage Options Compared

A non-owner policy is liability only. It does not cover damage to a car you own or a vehicle furnished for your regular use, so it is the wrong tool if a vehicle is still registered to you. Read the filed language before assuming a borrowed or rideshare vehicle falls inside it.