 |
| image courtesy jdpower.com |
HOW YOUR CAR INSURANCE
is Affected by a New York DWI or DWAI (alcohol) or DWAI drug conviction
So it's now February 2016, and I've started getting all of my insurance renewal paperwork in the mail. Every year around this time, we get loads of paperwork about our homeowner's policy, our car policy, our life insurance polcy -etc, etc, etc
Crippling us with paper. But...have you ever read any of the reams of paper that comes with a car insurance renewal policy?
Nowadays, most car insurance companies literally spell out what will happen to your policy if you get convicted of a DWI or DWAI drug charge.
Here's the exact language from my renewal paperwork I just got in the mail:
ALCOHOL/DRUG-RELATED CONVICTIONS AND YOUR AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE POLICY
"Suspension or revocation of your driver's license (or the driver's license of the person who normally operates an automobile insured under your policy) is just cause for your insurance company to cancel your automobile policy.
A conviction of driving while impaired or intoxicated through the use of alcohol or drugs will probably result in non-renewal of your insurance policy, and in your inability to obtain insurance with another company in the voluntary market. You will then find yourself relegated to the New York Automobile Insurance Plan (Assigned Risk Plan), at a substantially higher cost.
Currently, under the Assigned Risk Plan, a conviction of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or impaired by use of alcohol or drugs will result in a 75% surcharge, increasing your automobile insurance premiums for 3 years. Most automobile insurance companies will also surcharge your premiums substantially for any convictions of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs."
In a nutshell, the insurance company spells out that if you are convicted of a DWI or the lesser DWAI alcohol or DWAI drugs --then they can and will drop you from coverage. They also go on to tell you that the only kind of car insurance you can likely get is from the State of New York's Insurance Plan at a significantly higher cost.
New York has made getting a DWI extremely expensive. The legislature has gone after impaired drivers in their wallets! Some of the obvious costs of a DWI are:
-fines
-court surcharges
-DMV driver responsibility fees
-Ignition Interlock Device costs
-relicensure costs
....but car insurance is probably the biggest cost of them all.
Here's the final kicker for car insurance and a DWI:
IF YOU ARE INJURED AS A RESULT OF YOUR DRUNK/DRUGGED DRIVING...
...then your car insurance company NO-FAULT benefits will NOT be available to you (except for necessary emergency medical services---that the insurance company can seek to have you pay them back later!).
BOTTOM LINE:
The insurance companies have smart lawyers who have drafted policies that protect the company from their insured drivers who are convicted of DWI. If you hurt somebody, then your company will sue you for any money they are initially forced to dole out to people you hurt.
BY ATTORNEY MIKE CYR
Cyr & Associates 2016
www.ithacadwi.com
www.twitter.com/ithacadwi
www.facebook.com/ithacadwi
EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. COPYRIGHT CYR & ASSOCIATES 2016
*Attorney advertising*
