Car Insurance Cost After a DUI

A first-offense DUI typically raises your car insurance premium by 50 to 100 percent at the first renewal after the conviction hits your motor-vehicle record. In published aggregator benchmarks the national average full-coverage premium climbs from about $2,400 to about $4,000 after a single DUI; the surcharge persists for 3 to 5 years in most states and up to 7 or 10 in a few. State-level dispersion is extreme: Hawaii's published post-DUI benchmark is over 250 percent above the clean-record base, while Washington, DC comes in under 50 percent.

What drives the increase

• DUI surcharge. Carriers add a line-item surcharge to the base rate for every policy term that falls within the lookback window. Most surcharges are front-loaded (highest in year one, lower in years two and three) rather than flat.
• Loss of standard-market eligibility. Many mainstream carriers (State Farm, USAA, Erie, Amica) decline new business after a recent DUI. Non-standard carriers (Progressive, Dairyland, The General, Kemper, Bristol West, National General) write the policy at a non-standard rate.
• SR-22 or FR-44 filing fee. Required in nearly every state after a DUI conviction. See our SR-22 coverage explainer. Filing fee itself is $15 to $25; the required coverage adds premium (FR-44 is noticeably more expensive than SR-22 because FR-44 requires double the state minimum liability).
• Loss of good-driver discounts. The clean-record discount is worth about 10 to 25 percent at most carriers and disappears after a DUI until it ages off the record.

How long the surcharge lasts

Carrier lookback windows vary:

• Progressive: 3 years for most non-serious offenses; 5 years for DUI in most states.
• Allstate: typically 5 years for DUI.
• State Farm: 3 to 5 years depending on severity.
• GEICO: 5 to 7 years for DUI in most states.
• California: Prop 103 restricts how long carriers can surcharge; most California DUI surcharges run 10 years and then drop off hard.

Carriers that write post-DUI policies

The following non-standard specialists routinely write post-DUI business:

• Progressive : standard-market SR-22 posture; often the lowest cost for a one-event DUI with clean overall record.
• Dairyland : Sentry-owned non-standard specialist; SR-22 at no additional filing fee; FR-44 same-day in Florida and Virginia.
• The General : Sentry-owned direct-to-consumer; 2-minute quote-and-bind.
• Kemper : pure specialty writer post the 2023 preferred-business exit; strong California and Florida footprint.
• Bristol West : Farmers-owned non-standard; 41 to 43 state footprint; non-owner SR-22 named product.
• National General : Allstate-owned non-standard; Direct Auto sibling for DTC bind.

The cost math over 3 years

For a clean-record 35-year-old whose pre-DUI full-coverage premium was $2,400 per year:

• Year 1 post-DUI: ~$4,200 (75 percent surcharge, SR-22 fee, loss of good-driver discount)
• Year 2: ~$3,600 (surcharge steps down)
• Year 3: ~$3,000 (last year of surcharge in most 3-year states)
• Year 4: ~$2,500 (back to near-baseline; good-driver discount begins reinstating)

Total 3-year cost impact: approximately $4,200 to $5,400 above the clean-record baseline. In 5-year-lookback states, add another $1,000 to $2,000. Hawaii and Michigan can double these figures.