What does an Ohio SR22 bond cover? The Ohio state requires you to be in possession of auto insurance coverage while operating your motor vehicle on its roads. If you live in Ohio, one of the most relevant information that you need to know prior to violating any driving law is the SR22 bond- SR stands for Safety Responsibility.
If you have already interacted with the process of filing for an SR22 then it is high time you remind yourself about the ordeal and how you jumped through the available hoops to obtain your standard license after you have met the conditions of your suspension. You should not confuse this document with your insurance policy. It is just proof that you already have one.
The state of Ohio might require you to get an SR22 Bond, a minimum liability insurance policy, when you are pulled over for driving with no insurance, if you are caught driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while impaired (DWI), at fault in an accident or getting too many tickets or repeating an offense. The court will inform you when it wants to make its ruling and if the SR22 bond is required in the process.
It is a reinstatement document that is filed by an insurance company on your behalf to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles to show proof of financial responsibility when you want to get your standard license back and restore your driving rights. The authority will accept the minimum or maximum auto insurance provided that it shows proof of financial responsibility. There are many reasons one may need an SR22 Bond.
The SR22 may be requested by the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) or a court ruling and each will inform you of the course of action to take. It is not an insurance policy, but an attachment to your car insurance policy as evidence that you are abiding by the state liability coverage policy. This is filed from the beginning date of your suspension.
How does the SR22 Bond Insurance work?
The SR22 Bond is required to facilitate in covering bodily injury ($12,500 for any 1 person injured and $25,000 per accident when 2 or more people are injured) and property damage ($7,500). It is liability coverage for you as a driver when you are involved in an accident and you are at fault. What you should know is that your car or the cars that you own are not included in this insurance liability coverage.
The insurance is filled under the driver’s name only as a key requirement. Therefore, an SR22 bond does not provide medical coverage for you and any passengers in your car to the event that an accident occurs. The state minimum liability does not go beyond $32500, it becomes your liability if it exceeds the limit.
If it is a requirement in your Ohio suspension and you live in a different state or you have relocated to another state, the court will still require that you file the SR22 bond and must be written in for the state of Ohio. Insurance companies report to the BMV when they file your SR22 bond from the day of filing. This will act as a pass, that will enabling you to drive legally on the Ohio roads; it is not specific to an automobile- you can drive any car authorized by your standard driver’s license with an SR22 bond.
How soon can I get my SR22 Filed?
In Ohio, we use state of art systems that can process the bond in less than 5 minutes, so apart from cheap and reliable SR 22 insurance, you get your bond with ease. After you have purchased a policy, the details will automatically reflect at the BMV and your certificate will be processed or the insurance company will print for you the paperwork that you will personally take to the BMV for further processing.
The last option depends on the communication channels, at times, the email or fax is used when electronically processing this document. But you are assured that the maximum waiting time is 3 days upon receipt of the request.
Why is this something to take seriously?
This might not be the end of your life but think about the moment you get pulled over without proof of insurance. Ohio has a law that ensures that every driver meets the minimum financial responsibility requirements; the BMV does random checks on 5% of all vehicle owners. If you fail to meet the requirements your driver’s license gets suspended, and your license plates and certificate of registration gets impounded.
Conviction | 1st offender | 2nd offender | 3rd offender |
---|---|---|---|
Suspension duration | 90 days | 1 year | 2 years |
Fine | $150 | $300 | $650 |
Each state has its own policies when it comes to the duration of keeping the SR22 bond. Once the requirement is met, you are required to carry the SR22 bond for not less than 3 years. However, there are cases such as a DUI/DWI which might require you to carry the Bond for about 5 years- the level of your conviction will determine this duration. This insurance will make you a “high risk” driver until your suspension is complete.
What you should do when you get your first SR22 bond with us:
- Ensure that you are in possession or the document for the stated time period of your suspension
- Keep up with the insurance payments
Failure to meet these conditions gives an insurance company the mandate to inform the Ohio BMV when you cancel or lapse your policy. This will eventually get your driver’s license revoked; you will lose your driving rights and current permit.
This is the time when you will have to persevere the costly expenses that you will have to cover during the suspension period, especially when you seek the assistance of a high-risk company. Other drivers who have been charged for DUI or arrested for driving without an insurance can confirm that it is difficult to obtain an SR22 Bond in Ohio.
Not all insurance providers are accredited to provide SR22 filings in Ohio, and if you get one chance are you might be denied SR22 coverage or you will have to pay higher rates for auto insurance. If you fall under the high-risk auto insurance category, then you might find yourself shopping around for competitively priced policies and lower insurance policies to save money. Your level of risk may lead to a non-renewal of the policy. To verify this, most insurance companies look at your driving records, possibly 5 years back. This is a battle of saving money and securing an SR bond.
You are termed as a high-risk driver when:
- Your current credit score is below the best score
- You are involved in any traffic violation, at-fault accident or traffic violation that results in a fatality
- You are a young driver – most of the teen drivers are known to cause accidents and traffic violations.
- You are an old driver aged over 70 years
- You cause major violations like DUI/DWI and Multiple Traffic Violations such as Excessive speeding, reckless driving, and Illegal street racing.
- You drive without proof of at least 6 months of continuous insurance
- You own an expensive car (Exotic cars, Supercars, Sports cars or Collectible cars)
There is room for improvement for high-risk drivers if they reduce negative driving records. To get back to a low-risk status, high-risk drivers should take this as a serious matter and focus on driving safe and avoiding any type of infraction or accident.
Getting an insurance company
Experience is critical in this process since paperwork is involved and they have to be submitted properly. There is no sense in getting additional fees, longer suspension duration and unexpected inconvenience just because the presentation was unkempt. If the agency is familiar with the system, your policy will be properly delivered and accepted by the Ohio BVM. This gives you a chance of obtaining your SR22 bond on time.
The state risk pool is one of the most the reliable programs develop created to ensure that you get help when you are not successful in obtaining an SR22 bond- the insurance companies may reject due to your high-risk status. From the pool, a driver will be assigned to an insurance company for assistance. However, the costs of these alternative insurance companies are very high: half a loaf is better than none.
Your insurance company is not allowed to cancel your coverage without notifying the state. The insurer will have to file an SR-26 with the state indicating that your policy is no longer in effect. To be on the safer side, a driver should consult a trusted company who are capable of meeting the state requirements.
Even if you do not have to own a vehicle, you are not exempted from the SR22 bond. There is a non-owner insurance policy for those people who drive and rent cars frequently- for the high-risk drivers. This policy is much less than the owner’s policy since they do not drive on a daily basis. However, the premium rating depends on some factors such as the driving record or age. The process of obtaining the non-owner policy is similar to the standard policy.
This policy requires that you and no one in your household should own a car and you are in possession of a valid driver’s license. It is used with the collision damage waiver (CDW) if you are renting. Car owners can obtain a separate non-owner policy if the current insurance provider does not provide the SR22 service. The policy covers for property damage liability and bodily injury liability, but it does not cover for physical damage in comprehensives or collisions.
If you are lucky, then medical payments, underinsured motorist bodily injury, and uninsured motorist bodily injury can be covered. However, this policy does not apply to a borrowed car, the owner of the car’s policy should include you in the primary coverage. This insurance policy is required when you are filing for the SR22 bond.
The agency state requires the non-owners to carry an SR22 because they assume that these drivers have the tendency of harming other people and destroying property due to negligence. This is just a secondary coverage. The agency recognizes the auto insurance policy of the actual car owner as the primary coverage. This policy will be denied when you buy a car during the period of servicing the non-owner policy and cause an accident, but fail to inform your auto insurer about the purchase.
Ohio has a very modest fee when filing the SR22 bond which is not required when you are doing a renewal. The fee will only appear when your insurance has lapsed or was canceled. We are here to make sure that you do not pay more than you are supposed when it comes to SR22 Bond- it gets cheaper with your type of conviction.
The costs of the premiums depend on the following factors:
- Driving record- when you are involved in accidents, moving violations and drinking under influence, then expect high premium rates in your policy
- Credit score- this comes due to the violation of traffic laws and being late on your payment.
- Mileage- the more you drive the more you pay
- Level of education- you get better rates if you are an intellect
- Occupation- you get high rates when you operate commercial vehicles
- Age – young and people with ages more than 60 get higher premium rates
- Marriage status- if you are a stable person with a wife and family then you get to pay less because married persons drive much more carefully.
- Gender- women pay less because they do not cause accidents as men do
- Location- if you live and drive in high crime rate neighborhood with high populations then you get high premium rates
- The status or type of car- expensive cars are more costly to repair so you get high premium rates
If you drive safely and legally by following all the requirements in your conviction towards the end of your suspension time, your SR22 Bond status will be removed. Obtaining a cheap insurance is not enough. You need accurate information and guarantee that you will be covered within the period of your suspension. There are approaches best known by your attorney for minimizing the fees and penalties. If you want to get an SR22 bond for your motorcycle, it is advisable to first purchase a motorcycle insurance and you will be able to use your active SR22 filing.
The Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles Website has relevant information to meet your personal needs. You can also take advantage of our insurance expertise and SR22 Bond services by giving us a call. If you are having problems in understanding the BMV website or can’t find the answer for you suspension then you can depend on us for further clarification.
Select Insurance Group does not only deal in SR22 bonds, we also offer FR44, SR50 and SR22A Insurance in the US. We have a quick turnaround policy and we will make sure that the process remains discreet towards the end. Our company is located in the US and we focus on providing liability insurance for high-risk drivers who require being in possession of the SR22 Bond. Our affordable insurance will keep you driving with ease.
We are the right partners who can steer you on the right path to drive in Ohio without committing any avoidable crimes using inexpensive ways that we have developed in our line of work. We do have a quote form from which we use to match your requirements with that of one of our many companies that we shop through. If you just submit your information for a FREE quote we will let you decide on the policy and the price that will work for you.
If you have questions, don’t hesitate to call: (855) 438-7353. One of our licensed agents will help you right away.