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You may be required to prove you’ve bought a certain amount of car insurance if you’ve been convicted of a serious driving violation in Florida. Your conviction for driving under the influence, getting multiple speeding tickets in a row or being caught driving without car insurance can result in your insurer needing to file an FR44 or SR22 form on your behalf. These forms prove you carry the proper amount of car insurance required to drive legally in Florida after your conviction.
An FR44 or SR22 requirement can be a blow to your wallet because car insurance after a serious violation isn’t cheap. But shopping around for a new carrier, seeking discounts and other steps could help you find the most affordable policy possible.
Here’s what you need to know about SR22s and FR44s in Florida.
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FR44 insurance in Florida
You may hear the terms "FR44 insurance" or "DUI insurance," but these are not a type of coverage. An FR44 is a form your auto insurer files with the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to prove you bought the required amount of liability coverage after a serious conviction.
If you’re convicted of a DUI or DWI in Florida, you’ll need an FR44 to reinstate your license and prove you’ve bought enough car insurance. If you don’t get an FR44, you could lose your driving privileges.
Some other reasons you might be required to have an FR44 in Florida include:
- Driving with a suspended or revoked license for the third time.
- A hit-and-run.
- Vehicular manslaughter.
- Fleeing from a police officer after being caught for a traffic violation.
In addition to Florida’s minimum requirement of $10,000 of personal injury protection, or PIP, drivers with an FR44 requirement must buy liability insurance with these minimum limits, sometimes abbreviated as 100/300/50:
- $100,000 bodily injury liability coverage per person.
- $300,000 bodily injury liability coverage per accident.
- $50,000 property damage liability coverage per accident.
Although these liability coverage amounts are typical for many standard auto insurance policies, they are much higher than Florida’s minimum requirements of $10,000 for property damage liability per accident and $10,000 for personal injury protection.
The insurance required by an FR44 form won’t pay to fix your car after a wreck. Liability insurance pays only other people’s expenses if you cause an accident that results in an injury or damaged property, and personal injury protection pays for injuries resulting from a covered incident, regardless of fault.
SR22 insurance in Florida
Similar to an FR44, the term “SR22 insurance” might be used, but it’s not a type of insurance. An SR22 form, or certificate of financial responsibility, proves you’ve bought the correct amount of car insurance required in Florida.
An SR22 is typically required to reinstate your license if it’s suspended for offenses like:
- Being caught driving without auto insurance.
- Getting too many traffic violations or repeat offenses.
- Not paying court-ordered child support.
If you’re required to have an SR22 form, you’ll need to carry at least:
- $10,000 of bodily injury coverage per person.
- $20,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident.
- $10,000 of property damage coverage per accident.
- $10,000 of personal injury protection, or PIP.
The difference between an FR44 and SR22
While an FR44 and SR22 prove you have the required amount of car insurance needed to legally drive, the key difference between them is:
- An FR44 proves you’ve bought the higher liability amounts (100/300/50) Florida requires after convictions like a DUI or DWI.
- An SR22 shows you’ve bought liability insurance in limits of at least 10/20/10.
How much an FR44 and SR22 costs in Florida
The fee to file an FR44 is typically $15 to $25, while an SR22 is about $25. But a filing fee isn’t the only expense you’ll face. Your car insurance costs could change dramatically because:
- After a DUI or other violations, insurers consider you a riskier driver and charge higher rates.
- With an FR44, you’ll have to buy more than the minimum required limits for most drivers in Florida. If you had minimum coverage before, increasing the limits will raise your premium.
- You may be required to pay upfront for at least six months of coverage.
- You’ll need to pay an insurance reinstatement fee if you have a DUI conviction, which can range from $150 to $500.
Not every insurance company will charge you the same price. When insurers set their rates, they weigh your driving record and other factors differently. That means the company that was cheapest for you before your FR44 or SR22 requirement may not have the lowest rates for you now.
A DUI is a common reason why some drivers are required to have their insurer file an FR44 for them, so NerdWallet analyzed rates to find the cheapest auto insurance companies in Florida for drivers with an FR44 requirement after a DUI conviction.
The cost of Florida FR44 insurance after a DUI
The average cost of car insurance in Florida for a policy with minimum coverage and an FR44 requirement due to a recent DUI is $1,309 a year, or $109 a month, according to NerdWallet’s May 2024 analysis. But our analysis found that some insurers offer cheaper coverage, so it pays to shop around and compare car insurance quotes.
Below are the five cheapest minimum coverage car insurers in Florida after a DUI and an FR44 requirement, according to our analysis.
| Company | Average annual rate | Average monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
| $724 | $60 | |
| $848 | $71 | |
| $971 | $81 | |
| AIG | $1,189 | $99 |
| $1,358 | $113 |
How to get an FR44 or SR22
Your insurer will need to file an FR44 or SR22 form on your behalf. These forms are your insurance company’s guarantee to Florida that you’ve bought the required level of coverage. You can't file either of these forms on your own.
Not every insurance company is willing to file an FR44 or SR22 form. If your insurer won’t file one for you, you’ll need to find a company that can.
How long you'll need to carry an FR44 or SR22
An FR44 or SR22 requirement typically lasts three years, starting on the day your license is suspended. You must maintain continuous insurance coverage during the entire period. A lapse in coverage could mean having your license suspended again.
When your requirement ends, it’s time to shop around for insurance quotes. If you’ve remained violation-free, you'll likely be able to find much lower rates.
See what you could save on car insurance
Easily compare personalized rates to see how much switching car insurance could save you.
FR44 or SR22 insurance without a vehicle
You will be required to get car insurance with an FR44 or SR22 filing even if you don’t own a car, which means buying a non-owner car insurance policy. If you borrow a vehicle and get into an accident, this policy will provide the liability coverage required by an FR44 or SR22 to pay for injuries or damages you cause.
To buy a non-owner policy, you’ll likely need to call several insurance agents or companies to compare quotes — you typically can’t get a non-owner policy quote online.
How to get cheaper SR22 or FR44 insurance in Florida
To find the most affordable rate possible, compare car insurance quotes from at least three insurance companies that will file an SR22 or FR44 form.
Once your SR22 or FR44 requirement ends, you should shop around again. Car insurance rates decline when a violation is three to five years in the past, so compare quotes to snag cheaper coverage after those anniversaries. NerdWallet’s car insurance comparison tool can help.
Some other strategies that can help you lower your car insurance bill after an SR22 are:
- Asking about discounts. Take advantage of discounts for things like bundling multiple insurance policies, having a car with anti-theft technology, or even your age and profession.
- Dropping unnecessary coverage. You can lower your car insurance premiums by getting rid of optional coverage types you no longer need. For example, comprehensive and collision insurance cover repairs for damage to your vehicle in a variety of situations, up to the market value of your car. If you own an older car that’s not worth much, you can likely drop these coverage types.
- Raising your deductible. A car insurance deductible is the amount of money you pay out of pocket before your car insurance kicks in. The higher your deductible, the lower your car insurance premium. Just make sure you have enough money stashed away to cover the higher amount.
Methodology
METHODOLOGY
NerdWallet found median rates based on public filings obtained by pricing analytics company Quadrant Information Services. For "good drivers," we examined rates for men and women for all ZIP codes in Florida. Although it’s one of the largest insurers in the country, Liberty Mutual is not included in our rates analysis due to a lack of publicly available information.
In our analysis, “good drivers” had no moving violations on record; a “good driving” discount was included for this profile.
To find median annual rates for Florida drivers with a DUI, we added a single drunken driving violation and an FR44 requirement. We used a 2020 Toyota Camry LE in all cases and assumed 12,000 annual miles driven. We analyzed rates for 35-year-old drivers.
Sample drivers with a DUI and an FR44 requirement had the following coverage limits:
- $100,000 bodily injury liability per person.
- $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident.
- $50,000 property damage liability per accident.
State minimum additional coverages were added.
These are rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your rates will be different.
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