Auto Insurance And Drunk Driving
Here in Florida, we are a town that likes a nice glass of wine or a salt laced margarita. It’s just kind of a staple of life when you live near the beach. Especially when Volusia County has such lively and entertaining hot spots all along the coast. Sometimes we let the night get ahead of us and have a little too much of this good time and make the mistake of getting behind the wheel. Driving under the influence of alcohol is never a good decision, and it can have some serious ramifications. You could cause easily cause an accident by hitting someone’s property, someone’s vehicle, or even just someone. Something else you have to consider is how will your insurance company handle an accident you caused while driving intoxicated?
Here in Florida, we are a town that likes a nice glass of wine or a salt laced margarita. It’s just kind of a staple of life when you live near the beach. Especially when Volusia County has such lively and entertaining hot spots all along the coast. Sometimes we let the night get ahead of us and have a little too much of this good time and make the mistake of getting behind the wheel. Driving under the influence of alcohol is never a good decision, and it can have some serious ramifications. You could cause easily cause an accident by hitting someone’s property, someone’s vehicle, or even just someone. Something else you have to consider is how will your insurance company handle an accident you caused while driving intoxicated?
Believe it or not, intoxicated driving might not affect your auto insurance at all. It might just cover the claim up If your insurance plan has liability coverage it will cover the other drivers involved rather you are truly at fault or if it was just an accident. Some auto insurance plans might have a clause, however, that states that intoxicated driving won’t cover you. If this happens, the cost will come out of pocket and could potentially lead to a lawsuit filed against you. The plus side is that even if they don’t pay for the damages, they won’t cancel your insurance policy. They might, however, not renew your insurance policy once it runs out. So that is something that you need to keep in mind both when signing up for auto insurance and deciding if you should drive intoxicated or not.
It should also be noted that auto insurance if it does cover the incident, won’t cover any legal consequences against you. Paying fines and/or an attorney will still come out of your pocket. If the insurance policy does decide to cover the damages, a lawsuit is still possible if it doesn’t cover the full extent of the costs. Drunk driving tends to lead to severe collisions and the base level of protection likely won’t be enough to cover it all. Leaving you to pay the rest or face a lawsuit from the injured party.
The best thing you can do is to resist driving intoxicated. Have a friend drive you home, use Uber, or if you can manage to do so, get a hotel room for the night. It might cost a little now but it will cost less in the long run. Another good idea is to get insurance that covers everything. To make sure your coverage doesn’t leave any blind spots, contact O’Quinn Insurance Services. We can connect you with a plan that will cover what you need while keeping your budget in mind. For more information and to request a quote, visit us here.