Among the substantial expenses a person deals with on a regular basis are their car insurance payments. Now, there are some things that can push a person’s auto insurance rates to particularly high levels. One of these is being convicted of drunk driving.
Just how big of a rate hike are we talking about? Well, every individual situation varies, but a study on car insurance rates by NerdWallet gives a picture of the typical magnitude of a DWI-related car insurance hike here in Minnesota.
According to the study, the average rate hike getting a DWI triggers here in Minnesota is a 29 percent increase. While this is lower than the national average (a 62 percent increase), it can still mean hundreds of dollars more in car-related expenses a year for a person. Such added expenses could have considerable implications on a person’s overall financial situation.
This underscores that, along with the criminal penalties DWI convictions can bring along with them, being convicted of drunk driving can also have a range of additional financial implications. A person could be feeling the impacts of a drunk driving conviction in their wallet long after they fulfill the terms of any sentence they were given.
So, the decisions a person makes when facing allegations of DWI could have ramifications that could hang along for a very long time. So, it can be important for a person to have guidance from a lawyer with a thorough understanding of state DWI laws and the workings of DWI cases when these decisions come before them. This underscores how critical promptly reaching out to a skilled DWI defense attorney can be following being accused of driving while drunk in Minnesota.
Source: Star Tribune, “The Drive: The high cost of DWI, speeding,” Tim Harlow, March 27, 2017
