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Entry in Car Insurance After a First DUI Offense

Do You Have to Tell Your Insurer About a DUI?

What your policy requires you to disclose, when the insurer will find out anyway, and the difference between not volunteering information and misrepresenting it.

Daniel Okafor, Senior Editor at Car Insurance After DUI

By · Senior Editor

Published · Updated

Answer in brief

You are generally not required to volunteer a DUI to your insurer before renewal unless your policy requires notice of licence suspensions or you need an SR-22/FR-44 filing (which requires telling them). You are required to answer truthfully any question on an application or renewal questionnaire. Insurers re-pull driving records at renewal and will see the conviction then. The line that matters is between silence, which is usually permitted, and misrepresentation, which can void a claim.

Do You Have to Tell Your Insurer About a DUI? — Car Insurance After DUI

What your policy says

Personal auto policies contain a duty to report changes that materially affect the risk. The wording varies. Some policies specifically list licence suspension or revocation as a reportable change; many do not list convictions. Read the "Duties after an accident or loss" and "Changes" sections of your policy. If a suspension is listed as reportable and your licence was suspended, you have a contractual obligation to tell them.

When they will find out regardless

  • At renewal, when the insurer orders a fresh driving record.
  • Immediately, if you request an SR-22 or FR-44 filing—the request discloses the reason.
  • At any claim, when the adjuster reviews your record.
  • When you apply to a new insurer, which pulls your record at quote or binding.

Silence versus misrepresentation

Not calling your insurer to announce a conviction is, in most circumstances, permitted. Answering "no" to "Have you or any household driver been convicted of a DUI in the last five years?" when the answer is yes is misrepresentation. Insurers can rescind a policy or deny a claim for material misrepresentation, and a DUI is unambiguously material. The cost of a denied liability claim dwarfs any premium saved.

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What to do in practice

  1. 1

    Read your policy's change-reporting clause

    If suspension is listed, report it.

  2. 2

    If you need a filing, contact the insurer now

    There is no way to get an SR-22 without disclosing.

  3. 3

    Otherwise, start comparing quotes before renewal

    You will be asked about the conviction by every new insurer; answer truthfully.

  4. 4

    Never misstate on an application

    Including the conviction date, which insurers verify against the record.

Questions & answers

Can my insurer cancel me for not telling them about a DUI?

Only if your policy required disclosure (for example of a suspension) and you failed to comply, or if you misrepresented on an application. Silence where no duty exists is not usually grounds.

Will an arrest without conviction show up to my insurer?

Generally not. Insurers act on convictions reported to the driving record.

Terms: DUI (Driving Under the Influence), Nonrenewal

Sources and references

Legal figures on this page (minimum limits, filing periods, statutory benefits) are checked against the primary law or the state insurance regulator listed below. Links and figures last verified Nov 2026.

  1. Fla. Stat. § 324.023 — financial responsibility after a DUI conviction — Florida Legislature (Online Sunshine), Fla. Stat. § 324.023Primary lawAfter a DUI conviction (since 1 Oct 2007): $100,000 per person / $300,000 per crash bodily injury and $50,000 property damage, maintained for three years from reinstatement — the FR-44 requirement.
  2. Va. Code § 46.2-316 — proof of financial responsibility after certain convictions — Virginia Law (LIS), Va. Code § 46.2-316(C)Primary lawAfter DUI-type convictions, proof must be at double the § 46.2-472 limits (the FR-44 requirement, currently 100/200/50) for three years after becoming eligible for a licence.
  3. Insurance Code § 1861.025 — Good Driver Discount eligibility — California Legislative Information, Cal. Ins. Code § 1861.025Primary lawQualified if licensed for the previous three years, no more than one violation point, not principally at fault in an injury or fatal crash, and no DUI-type conviction in the prior ten years.
  4. Alcohol and drugs — Insurance Institute for Highway SafetyIndependent researchImpaired-driving crash risk, BAC laws and ignition-interlock effectiveness.
  5. Facts + Statistics: Alcohol-impaired driving — Insurance Information InstituteStatistical dataAlcohol-impaired crash fatalities, BAC thresholds and state ignition-interlock context.
  6. Consumer insurance information — National Association of Insurance CommissionersConsumer guidancePlain-language guides from the body of state insurance regulators; links to every state's insurance department and complaint process.
  7. Buying tips — United PolicyholdersConsumer guidanceNon-profit guidance on choosing coverage, deductibles and limits, and on handling claims.
  8. Responsibility.org — Foundation for Advancing Alcohol ResponsibilityConsumer guidanceImpaired-driving data and prevention programmes; state DUI law summaries.

Practical guidance on this page is original editorial work. Cited sources support factual statements and do not endorse this site. Dollar ranges described as typical or illustrative are editorial estimates, not figures from these sources.

Entry

When to Switch Car Insurance Companies After a DUI

Whether to move before or at renewal after a first DUI, how mid-term cancellation refunds work, and the sequencing that avoids a coverage gap or a reset filing clock.

Parent guide

Car Insurance After a First DUI Offense

The sequence after a first DUI: when to tell your insurer, whether to wait for renewal, what filings apply, and how to avoid the mistakes that make it worse.