1. How much does a DUI raise my insurance in California?
Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs causes car insurance rate increases of up to 148%. If you have repeat DUI offenses, you may see your car insurance premiums double or triple.
Average rates vary depending on the company, so you should compare auto insurance quotes for the best rates.
Cheapest insurance
The following are some cheap car insurance companies if you are convicted of a first-time DUI in California:
| DUI Car Insurance Provider | Average Annual Car Insurance Costs After DUI |
| USAA | $2,751 |
| Progressive | $2,776 |
| American Family | $2,983 |
| State Farm | $3,235 |
| Auto-Owners | $3,363 |
| Erie | $3,390 |
| Geico | $3,451 |
| Farmers | $3,517 |
Other, lesser-known insurers that offer the cheapest car insurance include:
- Anchor
- Aspire General Insurance
- Bristol West
- CSAA
- Freedom National
- Kemper
- National General
- SafeAuto
- Sun Coast General Insurance Agency, Inc.
- Workmen’s
How insurers determine your risk
If you have a DUI conviction or license suspension, insurance companies consider you as high risk. Though insurance carriers take many factors into account when calculating premiums, including:
- age,
- gender,
- marital status,
- driving experience and driving history,
- residence, and
- homeowner or renter status.
Auto insurance rate hikes are common following traffic violations, including reckless driving (VC 23103), racing, and at-fault accidents. Though DUIs cause the highest increases.1
2. How long does a DUI affect my car insurance in California?
Most insurance carriers (including Progressive) start to reduce your insurance rates within three to five years following the date of your DUI conviction. Sometimes it takes up to seven years or longer for insurers to completely disregard past DUIs when calculating premiums.2
3. How long after a DUI can I get regular insurance?
California law requires that all drivers carry auto insurance, so the state has a duty to ensure that everyone can obtain coverage at any time. Brokers can often help you find the best car insurance for you. Failing that, you can apply for liability coverage through the California Automobile Assigned Risk Plan (CAARP).
CAARP is a program that matches high-risk drivers with companies willing to insure them. These companies will issue policies to you if you are unable to obtain high-risk or SR-22 coverage on your own after a DUI. CAARP coverage can be obtained through any auto insurance agent or broker or by calling 1-800-622-0954.3
There is no California law mandating that you tell your insurer about DUI arrests.
4. Do I have to report my DUI to my insurance company?
You are not required to notify your auto insurance company about DUI arrests, DUI convictions, or driver’s license suspensions.4 Though you are required to tell your insurer if you were involved in an accident, DUI-related or not.
California insurance carriers often do find out about past DUI cases when either:
- The company runs a background check when your existing car insurance policy comes up for renewal.
- The company runs a background check when you apply for a new policy.
- You self-report your conviction to the insurer.
- The arrest results from an accident, and you or another party reports it to the insurance company and/or California Department of Motor Vehicles. Or
- You ask the insurer to send the California DMV an SR-22 form (which is required to reinstate a suspended license or grant a new one following a DUI).
5. What is SR-22?
The SR-22 certifies that you have auto liability insurance that meets California’s minimum coverage limits of “15/30/5”. This means that for any single accident, your liability coverage will pay up to:
- $15,000 for the death or bodily injury of one person,
- $30,000 total for the wrongful death or bodily liability of all people hurt or killed in the accident, and
- $5,000 for property damage.
Note that you typically need to keep your SR-22 “proof of insurance” for three years. If you let your insurance lapse, the SR-22 will be revoked. Then the DMV will re-suspend your license.
Note that cheaper, non-owner SR-22 insurance is available if you do not have a motor vehicle.5
6. Can my car insurance be canceled after a DUI?
California law prohibits insurers from canceling auto insurance policies before the policy term ends, even after a DUI. But once the policy comes up for renewal, the carrier can legally:
- cancel the policy; or
- offer a renewal on different terms, such as a higher premium.
By law, insurers who renew policies to you following a DUI must remove your “good driver discount.”6
7. Will getting my record expunged lower my premiums?
No. Expunging a California DUI conviction removes it only from your criminal record. An expungement will not erase your DUI conviction from your California driving record.
A DUI stays on your California DMV record for a “lookback period” of 10 years. This means that an expunged offense will not save money in premiums for as long as an offense remains on your record.7
8. What are standard DUI penalties?
The punishment for drunk driving in California depends on whether you have any prior DUIs in the 10-year lookback period. If you are a first-time defendant, you can generally avoid jail by doing probation or agreeing to alternative work programs or home confinement (“house arrest”).
| California DUI offense (VC 23152(a)) | Jail time | Fine | Mandatory ignition interlock device (IID) period | DUI School |
| 1st offense misdemeanor DUI | 2 days to 6 months in county jail | $390 to $1,000 | 6 months (otherwise, the DMV would suspend your license for 4 months; after 30 days, you could get a restricted license allowing you to drive to and from work for 5 months) | 3 or 9 months |
| 2nd offense misdemeanor DUI | 96 hours to 1 year in county jail | $390 to $1,000 | 1 year (if you choose not to get an IID, the license suspension period is 2 years; after 1 year, you can get a restricted license allowing you to drive to and from work for 1 year) | 18 or 30 months |
| 3rd offense misdemeanor DUI | 120 days to 1 year in county jail | $390 to $1,000 | 2 years (if you choose not to get an IID, the license suspension period will be 3 years) | 30 months8 |
Meanwhile, DUIs that cause serious injuries or death are automatic felonies. Learn more about vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (PC 191.5(b)) and DUI murder.
If you have past DUIs in other states
Note that you still face repeat-DUI charges in California if your prior convictions were in other states.
The district attorney checks national databases for past convictions when bringing DUI charges. All states’ DMVs update the NDR (National Driver Register) within 31 days of every license suspension, denial, and revocation.
Underage DUI
Also note that California has a zero-tolerance policy for underage drinking and driving. Therefore, motorists under 21 face penalties for driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.01% or higher.
| California offense | BAC | Penalties (1st offense) |
| “Zero tolerance” — VC 23136 | .01% to less than 0.05% | Civil offense: 1-year driver’s license suspension |
| Underage DUI — VC 23140 | .05% to less than 0.08% | Infraction: 1-year driver’s license suspension; $100 fine; and an alcohol education program |
For more discussion, see our California DUI/DWI defense lawyers‘ article on how much does a DUI cost in California?
Additional Resources
For more in-depth information, refer to the following scholarly articles:
- Accidental Death Insurance Coverage of Drunk Drivers – Missouri Law Review.
- Restructuring Insurance Coverage for Drunk Drivers – Harvard Law and Policy Review.
- Effect of Tort Liability and Insurance on Heavy Drinking and Drinking and Driving – Journal of Law and Economics.
- Drinking, Driving, and the Price of Automobile Insurance – The Journal of Risk and Insurance.
- Dying Under The Influence: Drunk Driving And Accidental Death Insurance – Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Law Journal.
Legal References
- Penny Gusner, How Much Do Car Insurance Rates Go Up After A DUI?, Forbes (September 11, 2023).
- Same.
- California Vehicle Codes 16000 – 16078 (“The Compulsory Financial Responsibility Act”).
- See California Vehicle Code 23152 VC. There is nothing about requiring drivers to notify their insurers following a DUI arrest.
- California Insurance Code 16056(a). See, for example, State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. v. Superior Court, (Court of Appeal of California, Fourth Appellate District, Division Two, 1989) 215 Cal. App. 3d 1455. See, for example, Colonial Ins. Co. v. Montoya (Court of Appeal of California, Fifth Appellate District, 1986) 184 Cal. App. 3d 74. Note that only Virginia and Florida require FR44 insurance, which is evidence that the driver has higher liability limits.
- See, for example, California Insurance Code 1861.025c.
- California Vehicle Code 1808b1 VC.
- California Vehicle Codes 23536 VC, 23540 VC, 23646 VC, and 23566 VC.