Non-Standard Auto Insurance After a Violation
Non-standard auto insurance is coverage offered to drivers considered high-risk due to violations, accidents, DUIs, lapses in coverage, or poor credit.
Find Coverage After a Traffic ViolationWhat Is Non-Standard Auto Insurance Insurance?
Non-standard auto insurance covers the same types of protection as standard policies—liability for injuries and property damage you cause, collision damage to your vehicle, comprehensive coverage for theft or weather damage, and uninsured motorist protection. The difference isn't what's covered, but who qualifies and what it costs. Non-standard carriers specialize in underwriting drivers that traditional insurers decline or rate prohibitively high. You get legal minimum coverage or full coverage options, just through a different tier of the insurance market designed to absorb higher claim risk.
Who Needs Non-Standard Auto Insurance Insurance?
Non-standard auto insurance is essential if you've been dropped or non-renewed by a standard carrier, received a DUI or multiple moving violations, had your license suspended, or experienced a coverage lapse of 30 days or more. It's also necessary if you're required to file an SR-22 or FR-44 certificate with your state and cannot find a standard insurer willing to provide that filing. Drivers rebuilding their insurance history after bankruptcy, young drivers with early violations, or those with multiple at-fault accidents in a short period typically need non-standard coverage to legally drive while working toward standard eligibility.
Use non-standard insurance as a bridge, not a permanent solution: maintain continuous coverage, avoid new violations, and re-shop your policy every 6 to 12 months as incidents age off your record, which typically happens at the three-year mark for most violations. If you can legally drive without SR-22 and have only one recent violation, exhaust standard market options first—even a high standard rate is usually better than a low non-standard rate.
How Much Does Non-Standard Auto Insurance Insurance Cost?
- Number of incidents—a single at-fault accident might push you into non-standard territory temporarily, but multiple violations within three years lock you into higher rates until the oldest incident drops off your record.
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