Are you wondering how a DUI will affect your insurance rates?
Well, you’ve come to the right place. I will tell you.
It’s not called DUI in Ontario
First off, though, it’s not called DUI around these parts. DUI stands for Driving Under The Influence and I’m pretty sure that’s a charge from south of the border.
In Ontario, there are three possible drinking and driving charges, all of which come from the Criminal Code:
1. Driving With More Than 80 MGS Alcohol In Blood
2. Impaired Driving
3. Refuse Breathalyzer
Before I move on, I’ll offer you a little tidbit of info – You don’t actually have to have a blood alcohol level of greater than .08 to be charged with an alcohol offense. You can be charged with impaired if the police officer thinks you’re too impaired to drive. It’s more difficult to get a conviction for impaired, so they tend to charge with over 80. And, if you think that refusing to blow into the machine will help you… IT WON’T!!! Refuse Breathalyzer is a charge that is just as severe as over 80 and a lot easier to convict.
So how, then, does an alcohol charge affect your insurance?
An alcohol conviction surcharges your rates by 50%. However, it’s not as simple as calculating a 50% increase from what you’re currently paying because your current insurance company will cancel your renewal when they find out about the conviction. You’ll have to get a new policy with a “high risk” insurance company, where the starting base rate will be higher.
Other factors can also affect your rate, like where you live and if there are any other tickets or any accidents on your record.
This is all probably a little too much to explain here. If you give me a call at 1-888-467-5499, I can get you a quote and walk you through the process of setting up a new policy.
