After losing your vehicle due to a violation, you may be asking yourself if you still need SR22 insurance without a car.
Mistakes happen when driving. You couldn’t afford insurance for a while and got pulled over. You drove on a suspended license and now the state requires you to file an SR-22.
You no longer own a car, but the state requires proof of insurance to keep your driver’s license active. Do you still need it if you don’t have a car? What’s to insure if you don’t have a car?
These are all common questions people who need an SR-22 insurance without a car have and we have the answers you need.
What Is an SR-22?
When you have a vehicle, you get insurance on it. It could be liability or full coverage, but the state has a set of coverage requirements needed to drive a car.
If convicted of violations such as driving without insurance, the state may need you to submit an SR-22 form via your insurance carrier.
It is also called a Certificate of Financial Responsibility.
How does an SR-22 work? When you pay for your car insurance, the insurance company sends a proof of insurance to the state, the SR-22.
It verifies they cover your car for the state’s insurance requirements. If the SR-22 doesn’t get to state, then they may suspend your license until they sent the form.
The SR-22 isn’t an insurance policy. It’s proof you have insurance or proof that you can cover the financial obligations if you were in an accident.
When Do I Need an SR-22?
If get caught driving without insurance or license, or driving with a revoked or suspended license, or getting to many moving violations, the courts may need you to file an SR-22.
It’s also required if convicted of repeat traffic offenses or if at-fault in an accident and you did not have insurance. There may be a processing cost for the SR-22, but that varies from state to state.
Do I Need SR-22 Insurance Without a Car in Florida?
If you no longer own a car, you still need to provide an SR-22 form to the state of Florida. If you do not, the state can suspend your license or not reinstate it. You need a non-owner SR-22 that comes from an insurance carrier that offers this type of coverage.
Non-owner insures you in case you drive someone else’s car and get into an accident. For example, if you’re at work and borrow a friend’s car to get lunch. You are not on that person’s insurance, but you have non-owner insurance.
Non-owner insurance does not insure the vehicle driven. The coverage will not take care of damage to the car you drive, but the car you damaged. It’s liability insurance for you.
The car is in an accident and the non-owner insurance covers you for damages. You have insurance, so the insurance company can send an SR-22 to the state.
Do All Insurance Companies Have Non-Owner Insurance?
Insurance companies are not required to provide non-owner insurance. You should ask your current carrier. If they don’t, then you’ll need to shop around and find one that will cover you.
Most insurance companies do provide SR-22 filing, but you must notify them. Once told to file an SR-22 by the court, contact the insurance company and tell them the situation. It’s important to follow up with them after a month to verify they sent the SR-22 insurance form.
You can also call your state Secretary of State’s Office to verify they received the form.
There may be some insurance companies that will not cover a driver that requires an SR-22. If this happens, you need to find a new insurer.
Does an SR-22 Cause My Insurance Rates to Go Up?
Generally, an SR-22 filing does not cause insurance rates to increase beyond the initial processing fee. If your insurance rates increase after the SR-22, it’s likely caused by the charges that required the filing.
The length of time required to file an SR-22 depends on the state and the charges involved. While most states need three years of consistent filings, it can vary between two and five years. If you are unsure how long you need to file, contact your local DMV.
You Still Need SR-22 Even If You Don’t Drive
We stated earlier that not owning a car doesn’t mean you don’t need to file your SR-22 because you may drive another person’s car. If you don’t own a car and don’t drive for the period of the SR-22 filing, the state may not remove the penalty.
If you need three years of SR-22 filing to reinstate your license, then don’t drive for three years, you might not need the SR22 anymore.
You Can Get in More Trouble Not Filing SR-22
For some violations, you need an SR-22 to keep your license active. If it isn’t filed, then the state suspends the license until they receive it.
If police pull you over and you never filed the SR-22, then they can charge you with driving with a suspended license.
Even with insurance coverage, but you never told the insurance company to file it, the state can suspend your license and police will charge you.
At the very least, you’ll go to court and prove to the judge you had insurance coverage and your SR-22 is now sent to the state.
Follow the Rules, You’ll Be OK
SR-22 insurance without a car is still necessary if you want to keep your license or have the filing nullified when the time expires. Work with insurance companies to file the SR-22 and stay on the straight and narrow path.
If you want to learn more about insurance coverage and the importance of SR-22s, then please explore our site.
