FR-44 insurance: What it is and how to get covered
If you live in Florida or Virginia, you may need your insurance company to file an FR-44 form and increase your car insurance coverage after a DUI or suspended license.
Anna Swartz is a senior managing editor and auto insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our car insurance coverage. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic.com, as well as an associate writer at The Dodo.
Andrew Hurst is a senior editor and a licensed auto insurance expert at Policygenius. His work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, ValuePenguin, and Property Casualty 360.
An FR-44 isn't really a type of car insurance coverage. Instead, an FR-44 is a certificate that proves that you have insurance after a serious driving violation.
Like an SR-22, you may be required to carry an FR-44 after you were caught for driving under the influence or after your license was suspended. Most states use SR-22s, but Florida and Virginia are the only states that may require you to get an FR-44.
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FR-44 insurance is more expensive than standard car insurance. For as long as you carry an FR-44, your rates will be much higher than drivers without FR-44 insurance. However, if you have to get FR-44 insurance, State Farm has the cheapest coverage for drivers with DUIs, on average, in both Florida and Virginia.
Key takeaways
If you live in Florida or Virginia, you may have to file an FR-44 form to prove that you have car insurance after a serious traffic violation.
An FR-44 form is like an SR-22, but it requires you to purchase higher amounts of car insurance coverage.
You don’t file the FR-44 form yourself, instead you have to get your car insurance company to do it for you.
If you have to carry an FR-44, insurance from State Farm or high-risk insurers like National General and Direct Auto may be the cheapest companies for most drivers.
What does FR-44 insurance cover?
FR-44 insurance covers the cost of property damage or injuries that you cause, just like a regular auto insurance policy. The main difference between a regular policy and FR-44 insurance is that drivers who have to file an FR-44 also have to get more liability coverage than a typical driver.
If you live in Florida or Virginia and you have to get FR-44 insurance after a serious traffic violation, your state may require you to buy at least the following amounts of liability coverage before you can drive again:
Coverage
Florida
Virginia
Bodily injury liability
$100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident
$60,000 per person, $120,000 per accident
Property damage liability
$50,000
$40,000
If you have to get FR-44 insurance in Florida, you'll also still have to have at least $10,000 of personal injury protection. Florida requires all drivers to have at least this much PIP — but there is no such requirement in Virginia.
FR-44 vs. SR-22
An SR-22 and FR-44 are both forms, sometimes called Certificates of Financial Responsibility (CFR), that prove you have car insurance.In most states, high-risk drivers have to file a form called an SR-22 to prove they have purchased a car insurance policy, but in Florida and Virginia drivers may also have to file an FR-44.
Who needs FR-44 insurance?
Florida and Virginia are the only states that require some drivers to get an FR-44 form. Drivers usually have to get an FR-44 because they received a DUI. You have to carry an FR-44 for at least three years, though it depends on your violation.
Florida requires all drivers who have been found guilty or pleaded to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs to get FR-44 insurance. In Virginia, you may have to obtain an FR-44 if you:
Drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs
Drive with a forfeited or suspended license
Violate any similar state or federal laws while driving
Injure someone while driving intoxicated
While some drivers in Florida and Virginia may have to get FR-44 insurance, the states still require some to file an SR-22 instead of an FR-44. For example, you may have to get an SR-22 in Virginia after driving without insurance, committing a hit-and-run, or having your license suspended, among others.
Non-owner FR-44 insurance
You may be required to get FR-44 insurance even if you don't own a car. In this situation, you could get non-owner auto insurance and avoid the higher costs of paying for a regular insurance policy.
Unlike standard car insurance, a non-owner policy only includes the most basic liability coverage. It can also include personal injury protection (PIP) or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage, but it does not include comprehensive and collision coverage (since it’s for people without cars, there’s no need for coverage that protects your own car).
Most well-known car insurance companies offer non-owner insurance, including GEICO, State Farm, and Nationwide, along with the high-risk insurance companies like Dairyland, National General, and Direct Auto. But it can be difficult to get non-standard coverage without speaking to an agent or broker directly.
On average, the cheapest insurance for drivers with a DUI on their records in Florida and Virginia is State Farm. In Florida, car insurance from State Farm costs 58% less than average for drivers with a DUI. In Virginia, coverage from State Farm is 65% more affordable after a DUI compared to its competitors.
Annual cost of full-coverage car insurance for drivers with one DUI.
Because State Farm is the best low-cost car insurance company for drivers with a past DUI, people who need FR-44 insurance should consider it. In both Florida and Virginia, a few other companies specialize in providing affordable coverage to high-risk drivers who might need to get FR-44 insurance.
If you need an FR-44, consider comparing the cost of car insurance from State Farm, along with these companies:
National General
Direct Auto
The General
Bristol West
Dairyland
How much is FR-44 insurance?
The cost of FR-44 insurance depends on two factors: your filing fee and your insurance premium. In Florida and Virginia, your insurance company files an FR-44 for you, and then includes the cost of the fee in your insurance premium. The cost of filing an FR-44 form is less than $50, but the exact cost depends on where you live.
The increased cost of your insurance when you have an FR-44 on your record will be much more expensive than the filing fee.
On average, drivers who have one DUI on their records pay 42% more than the state average in Florida for auto insurance, while drivers pay double the average in Virginia for the same offense. The cost of FR-44 insurance will be even more expensive since drivers have to purchase more liability coverage.
State
Cost with DUI
Cost without DUI
Florida
$4,203
$2,961
Virginia
$2,825
$1,410
Annual cost of full-coverage car insurance for drivers with one DUI.
How to get affordable FR-44 insurance
While it's tough to find cheap auto FR-44 insurance, it's not impossible.
Shopping around for coverage is the best way to find the most affordable coverage near you if you need to file an FR-44, but there's more you can do to get cheap car insurance, including:
Raising your deductible: You can lower what you pay for car insurance by increasing your deductible. A lower insurance deductible — the amount that's subtracted from a comprehensive or collision claim — can help you offset the higher amounts of liability coverage you have to buy with an FR-44.
Searching for discounts: Nearly every insurer offers cost-saving opportunities to drivers. Common ways that you could lower the cost of your FR-44 insurance include signing up for defensive driving classes, bundling your home and auto policies, switching to electronic billing, and paying your entire premium all at once instead of in monthly installments.
Remaining accident-free: While insurers charge significantly higher premiums to drivers with an FR-44 on their records, they can at-least avoid further price hikes as long as they drive safely going forward
Considering pay-as-you-go insurance: If you're having trouble finding conventional insurance at an affordable price, consider pay-as-you-go or usage-based insurance. When drivers sign up for pay-as-you-go car insurance, they are charged based on how much and how well they drive. If you don't drive often, you could get pay much less than you would under a typical plan.
Compare rates and shop affordable car insurance today
While State Farm typically has the cheapest car insurance to drivers with a DUI on their records, drivers who need FR-44 insurance may also find affordable coverage from Dairyland, National General, Direct Auto, and other companies that specialize in offering policies to high-risk drivers.
How long are you required to get FR-44 insurance?
It depends on where you live. Florida law requires drivers to have FR-44 insurance for at least three years. In Virginia, the amount of time you have to have FR-44 insurance depends on your violation.
How do you add an FR-44 to your insurance?
If you have to get an FR-44, you just need to let your insurance company know you need one. They will file the form on your behalf, adjust your policy's coverage limits to align with your state's requirements, and pass the filing fee and the cost of adding more coverage onto you.
Anna Swartz is a senior managing editor and auto insurance expert at Policygenius, where she oversees our car insurance coverage. Previously, she was a senior staff writer at Mic.com, as well as an associate writer at The Dodo.
Andrew Hurst is a senior editor and a licensed auto insurance expert at Policygenius. His work has also been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, USA Today, NPR, Mic, Insurance Business Magazine, ValuePenguin, and Property Casualty 360.
