A DUI is the most expensive thing that can happen to a car insurance premium short of losing coverage altogether, and a bad record short of a DUI is expensive on the same scale. This guide covers what each mark actually costs on current data, how long insurers keep pricing it (which is not the same as how long the DMV keeps it), the filing requirements that follow the worst ones, which carriers price violations gently in each state we cover, and the path back to standard rates. Updated September 24, 2026.
In NerdWallet's September 2026 rate analysis, the average full-coverage premium goes from $2,344 a year with a clean record to $3,019 after one speeding ticket (+29%), $3,504 after one at-fault accident (+49%), and $4,433 after a DUI (+89%). The DUI surcharge alone is about $2,089 a year.
What a DUI Does to Your Premium
A DUI roughly doubles the average premium, and the range between carriers is wider than the average itself.
Nationally, NerdWallet's September 2026 analysis puts the post-DUI full-coverage average at $4,433 a year, 89% above the clean-record figure, and finds Progressive the cheapest large insurer for drivers with a DUI at about $238 a month for full coverage. Our state guides show how far the state and carrier picture departs from that:
| State | After a DUI | Clean record, same source | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | $314/mo average | +118% over clean-record average | KY guide, current Insurify data |
| Virginia | Auto-Owners $72, GEICO $141, Travelers $217 (liability) | Auto-Owners $56 clean | VA guide, Aug 31, 2026 |
| California | $186/mo all-coverage average (+30%) | $143/mo all-coverage clean average | CA guide, Aug 31, 2026 |
| Michigan | $288/mo average (OWI) | Auto-Owners $68 liability clean | MI guide, Aug 31, 2026 |
| Georgia | $191/mo liability average | Auto-Owners $76 clean | GA guide, Aug 31, 2026 |
| Indiana | $97/mo liability average (OWI) | Auto-Owners $34 clean | IN guide, Aug 31, 2026 |
| New Mexico | $98/mo liability average (DWI); Progressive $63 cheapest | $65/mo liability clean average | NM guide, Aug 31, 2026 |
| North Carolina | DWI = 12 insurance points = 340% surcharge | Set by the state's SDIP table, not the carrier | NC Department of Insurance |
The Virginia row is the whole argument for shopping after a conviction in one line: the same driver, the same record, $72 a month at one carrier and $217 at another. North Carolina is the other extreme — the surcharge for a DWI isn't a carrier decision at all but a fixed 340% under the state's Safe Driver Incentive Plan, per the NC Department of Insurance, so in North Carolina the only variable is the base rate it's applied to.
The terminology changes nothing about the price. Michigan and Indiana call it OWI, Ohio calls it OVI, and Texas and New Mexico say DWI; our Ohio OVI post covers why the label doesn't matter to an underwriter. California's wet reckless plea is the one variant that can — sometimes — price differently, and our wet reckless post explains when it does and when it doesn't.
What Other Violations Do
Tickets and accidents cost less than a DUI, and more than most drivers expect — because the surcharge comes with the loss of the good-driver discount.
On the national averages, per NerdWallet's September 2026 analysis, one speeding ticket adds 29% and one at-fault accident adds 49% to the full-coverage premium. In our state data the cheapest carriers price minor marks gently — Auto-Owners in Indiana goes from $34 a month for a clean liability record to $47 after either a ticket or an at-fault accident — but the state rules underneath can be harsher than the carrier:
- North Carolina assigns insurance points by conviction under its SDIP, and each point tier carries a fixed surcharge; reckless driving is four points, a DWI twelve. For convictions on or after July 1, 2025, of four or more points (other than speeding), the surcharge now runs five years instead of three, and new drivers licensed on or after that date carry an inexperienced-operator surcharge for eight years instead of three, per the NC Department of Insurance. Our North Carolina guide has the carrier table.
- Virginia treats 20 mph over the limit or anything above 85 mph as reckless driving — a Class 1 misdemeanor, six demerit points, eleven years on the DMV record — which most carriers price as a major violation in the same tier as a DUI. Our Virginia reckless-driving post has the numbers.
- Not-at-fault accidents shouldn't raise your rate, and at some carriers they do; our not-at-fault explainer covers how to tell and what to do.
- A lapse in coverage is priced as a risk signal on its own, with no accident required; our coverage-lapse guide covers the mechanics and the SR-22 trap it can trigger.
For what happens in the years after an at-fault accident, and the moves that shorten them, see our post-accident rate guide.
How Long Insurers Price a Violation
Two clocks run at once: the carrier's pricing window, which runs in three- and five-year tiers, and the state's record, which is often much longer.
The two clocks are tracked by two different systems, and drivers routinely confuse them; our insurance points vs. license points explainer walks through where a DMV point and an insurance point diverge.
The carrier window is visible in published discount structures. Progressive applies an automatic discount for three years without an accident and further discounts at five years accident-free and five years claim-free, per its discounts page as of September 21, 2026 — so a violation costs the three-year tier at once and the five-year tiers for longer. North Carolina writes the same shape into law: SDIP surcharges apply for three policy years, or five years for convictions of four or more insurance points on or after July 1, 2025, per the NC Department of Insurance. That is the clock that decides your premium.
The state clock is the one that decides what an underwriter can see:
| State | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| California | A DUI stays on the DMV record for 10 years from the arrest date and counts as a prior for 10 years under Vehicle Code § 23540; a wet reckless counts the same way | California Vehicle Code; DMV |
| New York | Most violations show for up to 4 years; alcohol and drug convictions for 10 or 15 years depending on the violation | New York DMV |
| Virginia | Reckless driving stays on the DMV record for 11 years | Virginia Code § 46.2-862, per our VA post |
| North Carolina | Surcharge period is 3 years, or 5 years for 4+ point convictions on or after July 1, 2025 | NC Department of Insurance |
The practical rule: your rate usually improves before your record clears. A California DUI is visible for a decade, but most carriers stop pricing it well before that — which is why the re-shopping schedule in the last section is built around the third and fifth anniversaries, not the tenth.
Filing Requirements: SR-22 and FR-44 at a Glance
After a DUI, a suspension, or driving uninsured, most states require your insurer to file proof that you carry at least minimum coverage — the SR-22 — typically for three years. The filing is cheap; the policy behind it is priced on the violation that triggered it. In our state data, SR-22 policies average about $81 a month for liability in Indiana, $151 in Michigan, and $171 in California. How the certificate works, who files it, and the lapse rule that restarts the clock are in our SR-22 explainer.
Two variations matter:
- Florida and Virginia use the FR-44 after a DUI, which requires liability limits well above the state minimum. The exact limits for each state, and how the FR-44 differs from the SR-22 in cost and duration, are in our SR-22 vs. FR-44 explainer; our Florida guide and Virginia guide cover the carrier side.
- Eight states don't use SR-22 filings at all: Delaware, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. A DUI still raises your rate in those states — Kentucky's $314 average is the proof — but there is no certificate to maintain. Our Pennsylvania and Kentucky guides cover what replaces it.
If the state suspends your license, reinstatement runs on its own track; our suspended-license guide covers non-owner policies and getting back on the road.
An SR-22 policy that lapses — a missed payment, a cancellation, a gap between carriers — is reported to the state, and in most states the filing period restarts. Keep the policy continuous for the full term, and if you switch carriers, have the new insurer file before the old policy ends.
Which Carriers Price Violations Gently, by State
The cheapest carrier for a high-risk driver is usually a regional insurer, not the national brand a driver with a DUI assumes will take them — and the spread between the gentle carriers and the harsh ones is where the savings are. From our state guides, current as of August 31, 2026:
| State | Cheapest carrier for high-risk drivers | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Virginia | Auto-Owners | $72/mo liability after a DUI (GEICO $141, Travelers $217) |
| Indiana | Auto-Owners | $47/mo liability after a ticket or an at-fault accident |
| Illinois | Auto-Owners | $52/mo liability, high-risk |
| Michigan | Auto-Owners | $88/mo liability, high-risk |
| Georgia | Auto-Owners | $97/mo liability, high-risk; $95 after a ticket, $99 after an accident |
| Pennsylvania | Plymouth Rock | $57/mo liability after a violation |
| California | USAA (military only) | $82/mo liability, high-risk |
Auto-Owners is the answer in five of the seven states, and it sells only through independent agents with no online quoting, as our Indiana guide notes — which is the practical reason an independent agent is worth the call for a driver with a record. Nationally, NerdWallet's September 2026 analysis finds Progressive the cheapest large insurer after a DUI at about $238 a month for full coverage, but in every state above a regional carrier beats it.
Non-standard carriers — the companies built for high-risk drivers — belong in the quote set too, because some standard carriers won't write a DUI at all and a non-renewal forces the move anyway. The point isn't to buy the non-standard policy; it's to find out whether the standard market has a place for you before you assume it doesn't. Compare quotes for your actual record across both, and treat the range you get back as the real price of the violation.
The Path Back to Standard Rates
The surcharge fades on the carrier's schedule, not the DMV's, and carriers don't share a schedule — which makes re-shopping on a calendar the single most effective move.
- Shop at the moment of conviction. Your current carrier will reprice you at renewal, or non-renew you; either way the market is wider than the renewal notice. The state table above is where to start.
- Take a defensive-driving course where the state pays you to. New York's DMV-approved course cuts the base liability, no-fault, and collision premiums 10% for three years by law; Pennsylvania's mature-driver course is worth at least 5% for drivers 55 and older; elsewhere the discount is at the carrier's discretion. Our discounts guide lists the mandates.
- Keep the policy continuous. A lapse is a second violation in the underwriter's eyes and restarts an SR-22 term.
- Prove risk directly if you drive well. A telematics program that can't raise your rate — Nationwide SmartRide or State Farm Drive Safe & Save, per their published terms — lets driving data argue against the record. Our telematics comparison covers which programs can and can't.
- Fix the other rating factors. In states that allow credit scoring, poor credit adds 68% on the national average per NerdWallet's September 2026 analysis — a swing on the same scale as the violation. Our credit-score guide covers what moves it.
- Don't cut liability limits to pay for the surcharge. The exposure from a second at-fault accident with minimum limits is the one outcome worse than the premium.
- Re-shop at the third anniversary and again at the fifth. Those are the two tiers carriers publish — Progressive's three-year and five-year clean-record discounts — and the two surcharge periods North Carolina writes into law. Check what you'd pay today, and set the two reminders now.
Related Guides
- What Affects Auto Insurance Rates? — how a violation ranks against every other factor
- Credit Score & Insurance — the second-largest swing on the policy
- How to Comparison Shop — comparing quotes on equal footing after a violation
- The 2026 Savings Guide — every state guide and the full high-risk post series
National averages and violation surcharges per NerdWallet's September 2026 car insurance rate analysis (median rates via Quadrant Information Services; 35-year-old driver, 2023 Toyota Camry LE), including the Progressive post-DUI figure; Progressive's three-year and five-year clean-record discount tiers per Progressive's auto discounts page, checked September 21, 2026. State DUI, high-risk, and SR-22 figures per the linked Premier Auto Savings state guides, each built on Insurify data current as of August 31, 2026 and dated at its footer. North Carolina SDIP points, surcharge percentages, and the July 1, 2025 five-year and eight-year surcharge changes per the North Carolina Department of Insurance. California record and lookback rules per California Vehicle Code § 23540 and the California DMV; New York record retention per the New York DMV; Virginia reckless-driving terms per Virginia Code § 46.2-862 as cited in our Virginia post. Non-SR-22 state list per state financial-responsibility law. Page rewritten September 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; individual rates vary by driver profile and insurer.