Georgia SR22 Auto Insurance Tips For Lower Rates

 

October 29, 2007 by · Leave a Comment
Filed under: SR22 - DUI Insurance 

As I addressed in the previous post, an SR22 form is something that needs to be filed by your auto insurance company with the Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles after you have committed a drunk driving offense or some other offense that ends you with a suspended license. Now that you know what  insurance SR22 filing is, though, how do you go about getting it? It might be a little difficult for you, but it can be rather easily explained.

  • Contact.

Get your insurance company on the line and talk with your agent. Tell them you have a suspended license and inquire if they can help you with getting an SR22 form set up so that you can restore your driving privileges.

This is where you might run into some hang ups. Just because you need SR22 insurance, doesn’t mean that your insurance company is going to provide you with it. You may find your renewal of insurance denied if you are at the end of your six month period, or you’ll see your insurance policy outright canceled. Unfortunately, if it’s going to happen you can’t avoid it, but you can start looking at other Georgia auto insurance companies and set yourself up with a new company.

  • Get a new quote.

Once you are required to file SR22 insurance with your  insurance company, you are no longer the same customer as before. Now that you are part of a higher risk group, you will need a new quote appropriate to your rating, and that is only if your Duluth GA automotive insurance company decides to keep you on board.

You have the best chance at getting a good rate and staying with your insurance company if you had a good track record with them in the first place. Many preferred and long time customers get DUI convictions and don’t see their insurance rates go up even a dollar.

  • Decide on your coverage.

As when you get any car insurance policy, you will need to choose your coverage. Collision will be through the roof if you have to file SR22, so avoid it unless you’re still purchasing your car and thus have no choice.

insurance law only requires that you get the minimum liability coverage for your SR22 policy, so unless you have no other option, I suggest you go with that. SR22 filing.

    Once you have made your down payment or paid your first premium bill, you will need to get your SR22 form. Your insurance company will provide you with this, and every one has its own way. With some, you’ll be able to access it online, and with others you’ll have to wait for it in the mail. Once it arrives, fill it out and turn it in to the DMV.

    Atlanta Georgia SR22 and Assigned Risk Auto Insurance

     

    October 29, 2007 by · Leave a Comment
    Filed under: SR22 - DUI Insurance 

    Reader question:

    I have tried everything, and I can’t find any Atlanta auto insurance company to insure me with an SR22 form. I really need to drive to get to work, but I don’t have a license! I can only beg rides off of people for so long. Help!

    Graciela

    Atlanta Georgia

    You’ll have to look a little harder, Graciela.

    SR22 insurance is a type of form that you are required to file through your Atlanta insurance company, for those who are new to the game, and it is only required after you have had your license suspended for some reason–such as drunk driving, speeding, or multiple traffic offenses. Having to file an SR22 form immediately pushes you into a higher risk group, which makes  insurance companies more reluctant to insure you. Some people with great records and a long history driving and insured with a certain company can weather the blow of an SR22 filing requirement, but for the rest of us being required to get an  insurance policy with the SR22 attachment can be a struggle.

    However, Atlanta is a big city and there are certainly options, so the fact that you haven’t found something means that you are either too picky, or you aren’t looking in the right places.

    • There are companies that will serve you.

    Most people think that insurance companies are only interested in people with impeccable driving records, but that is not true. While some companies prefer this sort of driver, there are many of high risk specific companies who are happy to insure even the worst of the worst. Some of the bigger companies that operate nationwide, such as Progressive Insurance, are among these companies. If you can’t get an SR22 policy with a regular insurance company, then you need to start looking for high risk companies.

    • Even if there aren’t…

    Most of the time you will be able to find a insurance company that will be happy to insure you for the price of a mansion’s down payment, even with SR22 filing. However, in some cases nothing can be found, and in such cases it is necessary to turn to the state to be your guide.

    If you can’t find a policy on the open market, then you will have to join the company high risk pool. This is a pool which high risk drivers join, and are then assigned by the state to participating companies. All companies that are licensed to sell insurance are required to participate, so you might find yourself with the very insurance company that denied your policy request in the first place.

    The catch about assigned risk insurance, though, is that it is even more expensive than SR22 insurance from a high risk company. This should be a last resort.

    Cheers,

    Fashun Guadarrama.