How Much is Car Insurance for High-Risk Drivers in Florida
if you’re young or have a spotty driving record, you can expect car insurance companies to charge you more than the average driver.
Written by Sean Boehme
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Florida
is one of the most expensive states in the U.S. when it comes to insurance rates, with Floridians paying almost $750 more per year for full coverage than the average nationwide. If you’re deemed to be a high-risk driver, your rates will go up even higher. You can be labeled as a high-risk driver for violations ranging from a simple speeding ticket to a more serious DUI charge. You can even be considered a high-risk driver because of where you live or how old you are.
Read on to learn how much more high-risk drivers have to pay for insurance in Florida, and how the comparison app
Jerry
can help you find cheap car insurance
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What is a high-risk driver?
Being a “high-risk” driver is not an official category in most cases. It essentially just means that insurance companies view you as someone more likely to file a claim, and therefore they are more likely to lose money by insuring you.
Every insurance company will have a different way of determining whether you are a high-risk driver or not, as well as how extreme that risk is. If one (or several) of the things that they look out for applies to you, you can expect more expensive coverage as a result.
Although high-risk auto insurance exists in every state, you might find it especially noticeable in Florida. That’s because Floridians already pay around 30% more than the national average for full coverage car insurance.
What makes you a high-risk driver?
There are a lot of reasons that insurance companies might identify you as a high-risk driver, and some of them are through no fault of your own. A few of the reasons that
your rates might climb
include:- Your age
- When you got your license
- Your sex
- Your accident history
- Any moving or traffic violations you have
Although it’s true that age can play a big role in the price of your car insurance, the price difference generally pales in comparison to what you’ll face if you have a history of violations.
A single DUI violation can lead to you spending $1000 more on car insurance every year, much more than what you’ll have to pay for being young or old.
MORE: How to get cheap car insurance for young drivers
Rates after a speeding ticket in Florida
Speeding tickets are the most common moving violation in the United States, so you may be wondering if just one of these tickets will encourage car insurance companies to designate you as high-risk.
Since there is no official category for high-risk drivers, your insurance company won’t put you on some sort of blacklist for a
small speeding ticket
. With that said, you can still expect an increase of around 20% on your insurance rates.If you’re hit with a more serious speeding violation, which means you were driving 15 mph or more over the limit, the change in your insurance rate is going to be a lot worse.
Drivers in Florida can expect to pay over $1500 more per year after receiving a speeding ticket for going more than 15 mph over the speed limit. Of course, that expense is in addition to the fine you have to pay for the violation itself, which is probably going to run you a few hundred dollars.
Rates after a DUI in Florida
DUIs are one of
the most serious traffic violations you can commit, so it’s no surprise that having one on your record is going to make car insurance companies worry. Your rates will rise if you have a DUI, and some insurance companies may even refuse to cover you.Compared to someone with a clean record, a driver with a DUI on their record is going to end up paying around 41% more on their insurance per year. After multiple years, you’ll be looking at thousands of dollars for a single violation.
Since DUI violations usually remain on your record longer than something like a speeding ticket, you can expect your high insurance rates to stick around for a while.
Rates for teen drivers in Florida
Although it may seem unfair, age also plays a big part in how much you have to pay for car insurance. Here is a look at the average insurance rates for different age brackets in Florida:
Age Group | Average Cost | Annual Savings with Jerry |
|---|---|---|
18-20 | $3,055 | $860 |
21-24 | $3,048 | $914 |
25-34 | $2,894 | $901 |
35-44 | $2,794 | $941 |
45-54 | $2,672 | $892 |
55-64 | $2,637 | $874 |
65+ | $2,787 | $878 |
On average, 18- to 24-year-olds will have to pay $250 more per year than people over 25.
Insurance companies do this because young people are more likely to be new to driving, and new drivers are more likely to get into accidents and file claims as a result. As drivers with clean records get a little older, their insurance gradually becomes less expensive.
When you reach 65+, your rates will probably rise back up again. This is because car insurance companies will assume that you have slower reaction times than you did when you were younger. Still, your rates probably won’t be as high as what teenagers have to deal with.
How long are you considered a high-risk driver?
If you are considered a high-risk driver, the good news is that your rates will probably go down over time. For teen drivers, putting more years under your belt and maintaining a clean record will do the trick.
If you have a poor record with one or more moving violations, how long it takes for your record to clear up will depend on the violations as well as the state you live in. Many insurance companies pay close attention to the points you accrue on your license, which usually disappear after 3 years in Florida.
DUIs and other alcohol-related charges remain on your record for 75 years in Florida. This is much longer than most other states, and if you’re charged with a DUI, you can pretty much expect it to remain on your record for your entire lifetime.
If you have exceptionally high insurance rates, there are a few options that you could turn to to get them under control. Florida DMVs offer driver improvement programs that may earn you a discount from certain insurance providers, for example.
Where to find cheap car insurance
If you’ve been marked as a high-risk driver by your insurance company, you’re probably paying through the roof just to
insure your car
. Luckily for you, it’s possible to find cheap high-risk auto insurance in just seconds using Jerry. Jerry
is a licensed broker
and shopping app that can find you cheap quotes fast. When you find a plan that works for you, Jerry’s team of experienced agents can help you make the switch, taking care of any phone calls and paperwork along the way.The best part is that the average Jerry user saves $887 a year on their car insurance payments.
“Since I’m under 25, I thought paying a lot for insurance was normal.Jerrymade it easy to find affordable insurance. It was even easy to switch insurance agencies. I went to bed and woke up with new insurance.” —Steven C.
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How much does a DUI affect insurance?
A DUI is a serious charge that is going to have a major effect on your insurance. The average driver with a DUI charge will pay $1353, or 41%, more than a driver with a clean record per year.
Every state varies when it comes to how long a DUI remains on your record, but it’s usually a long time.
In Florida
, an alcohol-related moving violation will remain on your record for 75 years.How long are you considered a high-risk driver?
Since “high-risk driver” isn’t an official category for many insurance companies, it’s more helpful to understand when certain violations will be removed from your record.
How long a violation remains on your record is determined by what state you live in as well as what the violation is. Speeding tickets generally fall off in just a few years, but more serious violations can take 10 or more years to disappear from your record.
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