One of the questions I am often asked when I'm talking to someone who has been arrested for a DWI in Lubbock is "how will my Lubbock DWI arrest affect my insurance?" Most people have a pretty good idea that a DWI conviction will mean that there is a good possibility that their insurance rate will increase.
What they don't know is about the very confusing world of the Department of Public Safety and a SR-22.
What is an SR-22? According the Texas Department of Public Safety, An SR-22 is:
A Form SR-22 is a 'certificate of insurance’ that shows the Department proof of insurance for the future, as required by law. It is motor vehicle liability insurance which requires the insurance company to certify coverage to DPS, and the insurance company must notify DPS anytime the policy is cancelled, terminated or lapses.
Basically an SR-22 is a guarantee by an insurance company to the DPS that you have the minimum amount of insurance required in the state of Texas. The insurance company that you use to write the SR-22 issues a policy that does not have an end date. That means that the policy is good until DPS receives something from the insurance company canceling the policy.
“How long do I have to have this SR-22?” Basically that depends on why your Texas driver license was suspended. Here are the typical areas of suspension.
Arrested for a DWI and my license was suspended for either being over .08 or refusing to take the test-- You must have the SR-22 during the suspension time (90 days to 2 years) if you get an occupational license.
My license was suspended because I was convicted of a DWI and I was under 21. SR-22 will be required for 2 years
My license was suspended because I paid a no insurance ticket. Typically the SR-22 will be required for 2 years.
My license was suspended because I was convicted of ANY drug offense in Texas. The SR-22 will be required for 2 years from the date of conviction.
“Can I get an SR-22 from some company besides my current insurance company?” Many people arrested for a DWI in Lubbock ask me this question. The basic idea is that they do not want their “real” insurance company to know about the DWI and want to get the SR-22 from another company. The short answer is that any insurance company in Texas can offer the SR-22 policy. However, there is a real potential problem area. Almost every Texas auto insurance policy has a termination provision. In the termination provision one of the areas is “Automatic Termination.” Basically the policy allows for your insurance policy to be terminated if “at any time you obtain other insurance on your insured auto, any similar insurance provided by this policy will terminate as to that auto on the effective date of the other insurance.”
For example let’s say you own a 2011 Ford F150. Your financed thru your local credit union making monthly payments. Your arrested for a DWI in Lubbock and your license is suspended for 180 days. You need an occupational license to get back and forth to work and school so you obtain an SR-22 from an insurance company that is different from the company that carries your comp and collision policy on the truck.
Now let’s say that you wreck the truck are you covered? The key could be if the SR-22 is an “owners” policy or a “non-owners” policy. If it is the “owners” policy then your “real” insurance company may try to use the cancelation provision of your policy to not pay the claim. Remember the SR-22 is only the minimum liability required in Texas so there is no coverage to repair your vehicle. If the SR-22 is a non-owners policy then you should still be covered on your regular policy because the non owners policy does not create the cancelation issues. In this case the SR-22 is issued for you as a person, it covers you and does not list any vehicles. The idea being that this is not insurance on your similar auto.
Special thanks to Jay Freeman of Accurate Concept insurance for all the time he has spend educating me in the area of the SR-22.
