OAI: Teenage DUIs Amount to Thousands of Dollars in Extra Auto Insurance Premiums

A rate analysis by OnlineAutoInsurance.com shows that getting a DUI could end up costing a teenage Californian, on average, between $3,600 and $5,620 in extra car insurance premiums.

Los Angeles, CA, April 22, 2011 --(PR.com)-- High school prom is just around the corner, and OnlineAutoInsurance.com is highlighting one more reason that teenagers should stay sober on their big night.

As if the serious safety hazard caused by driving drunk wasn’t enough, the online insurance service provider ran the numbers for a teenage male driver profile across a handful of California coverage providers and found that a DUI could result in per-year premium increases of between $1,000 and $2,100.

Taking into account the fact that these major violations often affect coverage prices for up to three years, a California teenager could end up paying between $3,600 and $5,620 total in extra premiums just because of the fact that he has a DUI on record.

The site calculated average insurance prices for a male driver who lives in the 90039 ZIP code of California, drives a 2009 Honda Civic DX 4-door and has 25/50/10 liability, comprehensive and collision insurance coverages. They found the rates for ages 16 through 21, both with and without a DUI. (See image attached to this release for detailed results.)

The results show that the average six-month premium for all age brackets without a DUI was around $2,800. When the driver profile included a DUI, the average cost shot up to about $3,600 — a 28.6 percent increase.

A prospective policyholder’s having a DUI on record typically signals to an insurer that he or she is likely to be a high risk, meaning they are more likely to file a claim compared to someone who has a clean record. Because of this, most insurers are likely to charge higher premiums.

Of course, the safety implications of driving drunk far outweigh any monetary consequences. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 1,400 16- to 20-year-olds died in 2009 in accidents that involved a driver with a BAC of .01 or higher.

Source: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811402EE.pdf

To learn more about this and other insurance issues, readers can go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/buy/ where visitors will find informative resources as well as a quote-comparison generator that can help consumers find the bet rates for a policy.

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Online Auto Insurance
Benjamin Zitney
909-784-2475
http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/
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Multimedia
Teenager Auto Insurance Rates Graph

Teenager Auto Insurance Rates Graph

Comparison of average rates for a Californian male at different ages, with and without a DUI.

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