A Pennsylvania drunk driving charge can cost you in more than a few ways, potentially endangering everything from your livelihood to your driver’s, professional or recreational license, depending on circumstances. A Pennsylvania DUI will also take a serious toll on your finances, and unfortunately, some of the financial repercussions of a drunk driving conviction are long-term in nature.
Almost all automotive insurers, per Insure.com, will raise your premiums once you have a drunk driving conviction on your record. However, you can expect there to be some variation in terms of how much an insurer might charge you after a DUI in exchange for coverage. Typically, though, a Pennsylvania driver who has a first-time DUI in his or her driving history pays more than 50% more than the average state driver to maintain automotive insurance coverage.
To put this in actual numbers, the average Pennsylvania resident who has a driver’s license, but no DUIs on his or her record, will pay somewhere around $1,438 a year to cover his or herself on the roadway. With a DUI, however, most Pennsylvania drivers find that they have to pay an average of $2,192 annually for auto insurance, which is an additional $754 per year.
A drunk driving conviction almost always brings with it significant consequences, and many of them are financial. Holding down a job in the absence of a driver’s license can prove challenging in and of itself. However, getting to and from that job once you regain the privilege to drive can become even more difficult if you are also dealing with sky-high auto insurance rates.
This copy about insurance rate hikes after a DUI is informational in nature and does not constitute legal advice.
