I'm just curious how long will a Driving while suspended affect my insurance rates? Initially when I got my conviction with DWS my rates went from 180 a month to 390, since then I've had no tickets or even been pulled over and my rates have gone down to 240 since then. I believe it will be 3 years in Sept 2017. Will the DWS affect my insurance for 6 years because thats how long it stays on my record? or is it three years? Thanks

I think insurance companies are only allowed to use last 3 years convictions to affect rates.

Anyone know for sure?

it very much depends on the insurance company;

most forms I've seen they ask "have you got any convictions in the past 5 years"

as long as you keep your nose clean the rates will go down.

unsureof wrote:

Anyone know for sure?

Why not give your insurers a call? They're obviously aware of the issue so it shouldn't have any impact.

I'd agree with pretty much everyone who gave a reply.

The conviction is on your record for life. When it shows up depends on what type of record is requested and who is looking at it.

Insurance providers use a 3 year abstract, so that's pretty much the standard. Your "serious" bracket surcharge (which is usually around 100% increase), will stick around for those 3 years. Will it return to where it was 3 years ago? Probably not, because rates are constantly fluctuating and not everyone is paying what they were paying 3 years ago. That being said, it will normalize.

When you switch providers, they may ask you about your driving history exceeding the 3 years. If you don't answer truthfully, you'll risk having your insurance deny you coverage when you need it most.

If you want a better answer, take argyll's advice and just call your provider.

bend wrote:

I'd agree with pretty much everyone who gave a reply.

The conviction is on your record for life. When it shows up depends on what type of record is requested and who is looking at it.

Insurance providers use a 3 year abstract, so that's pretty much the standard. Your "serious" bracket surcharge (which is usually around 100% increase), will stick around for those 3 years. Will it return to where it was 3 years ago? Probably not, because rates are constantly fluctuating and not everyone is paying what they were paying 3 years ago. That being said, it will normalize.

When you switch providers, they may ask you about your driving history exceeding the 3 years. If you don't answer truthfully, you'll risk having your insurance deny you coverage when you need it most.

If you want a better answer, take argyll's advice and just call your provider.

Sorry I'm a bit confused by this, it will show up whenever a new insurance company takes me on? If I don't tell them they could deny me charges? Right now I go through an insurance broker who has me with a high risk insurance company she tolde next year I should be able to go back to a yearly renewal and lower rates as it stands right now I have to renew my policy every six months and every 6 months it has gone down a bit.

The conviction doesn't disappear after 3 years. If you pull up a three year abstract, sure, you wouldn't see it. If an officer pulls you over and asks you when the last time you were convicted of an hta offense, don't assume because it's been more than 3 years that it doesn't exist anymore. It does.

When you sign up with a new provider, they'll ask you plenty of questions before you sign up. Stuff like who else lives at your residence, etc. They may ask you for your driving history exceeding the last 3 years. If they do, you'll have to disclose your conviction. It doesn't mean they'll check or use it against you. What they do with that is up to them. It might not matter, but you'd have to disclose it either way. Once you're insured you'll likely only need to worry about the last 3 years.

bend wrote:

The conviction doesn't disappear after 3 years. If you pull up a three year abstract, sure, you wouldn't see it. If an officer pulls you over and asks you when the last time you were convicted of an hta offense, don't assume because it's been more than 3 years that it doesn't exist anymore. It does.

When you sign up with a new provider, they'll ask you plenty of questions before you sign up. Stuff like who else lives at your residence, etc. They may ask you for your driving history exceeding the last 3 years. If they do, you'll have to disclose your conviction. It doesn't mean they'll check or use it against you. What they do with that is up to them. It might not matter, but you'd have to disclose it either way. Once you're insured you'll likely only need to worry about the last 3 years.

Thank you for clarifying that for me Bend