Reader’s Question:

How far can an insurance company go back to check the driving record for DUI or DWI in Texas?

Jared

Thank you for asking Jared.

The Texas Department of Public Safety states that traffic violations appear on a driver record for a period of five years with the exception of serious offenses.

According to the Texas Department of Insurance also that a clean driving record can save you money. If you got involved in an accidents or tickets on your driving record, It will likely be placed in a nonstandard company, which charges higher insurance rates.

Additionally, insurance providers can add penalties - called surcharges - to your insurance premium for serious driving offenses, like DWI, DUI, and accidents resulting in property damage of $1,000 or more. Surcharges are mandatory for rate-regulated providers and remain on your premium for 3 years.

So since the DWI will stay on a individual’s TX driving record indefinitely the surcharge given to a motorist for this violation remains normally for 3 years. Typically, the longest amount of time a carrier will go back is 10 years, but that is rare. Five years is the average period of time that companies review the record.

Goodluck!

MariCAR