In Rhode Island, an SR-22, filed by an insurance provider on behalf of clients, is a certificate that is required by the Department of Motor Vehicles as proof that the client carries an auto insurance policy that meets the minimum requirements for driving within the state. These requirements are usually mandated by law and a failure to meet them if they are required of you would mean that a suspended license would not be reinstated.
There are certain situations for which the DMV would require an individual to file an SR-22. Some of these are:
In cases of DUI, the SR-22 insurance is required to come into effect the moment you have your driving privileges restored and the Rhode Island DMV will not reinstate a suspended license without an appropriate auto insurance policy on file.
Insurance providers within the state typically charge a small processing fee of about $20 to $50 for filing an SR-22 on behalf of a client but this fee is not the end of the financial impact of the SR-22.
Being required to file an SR-22 by the Rhode Island DMV is tantamount to being classified by law as a high risk driver. Such a classification subsequently reflects on your insurance policy in the form of higher premiums. These higher premiums would be required by most insurance providers but there are some policy providers that specialize in SR-22 insurance and might be able to offer slightly cheaper policies.
If you have been convicted of an offence that requires the filing of an SR-22 with the state and you wish to keep driving, whether or not you own a car, you must file the SR-22. The SR-22 is a proof of your financial responsibility as a driver and without proving that responsibility to the state, you would not be legally allowed to drive.
In the event that your license has been suspended, the state would require you to file your SR-22 and purchase a valid auto insurance policy before it can be reinstated.
Filing of an SR-22 in Rhode Island must be done through a certified insurance provider. As such, the first step in filing your SR-22 is to find an insurance provider who does so. If you have an insurance provider who doesn’t, you would need to get another. After getting a policy provider, you would be charged a processing fee by them for filing the SR-22 on your behalf.
The SR-22 is however not the only requirement of the certification you require. An insurance policy in line with Rhode Island laws is also necessary. This policy must meet the following minimum liability coverage requirements to be valid:
Upon the purchase of an insurance policy meeting the above requirements and the payment of the filing fee charged by the policy provider, the SR-22 insurance can then be filed with the state. This can be done electronically by the policy provider.
After acceptance of the form, a notice would be sent by the DMV permitting you to drive again.
If you have an SR-22 out of state and recently moved to Rhode Island, the state DMV expects the out-of-state SR-22 to be maintained until completion of the mandate. Similarly, if you are required to maintain an SR-22 in Rhode Island and you move out of state, you are still expected to maintain it until the completion of your mandate. In both cases, a failure to see out the completion of the SR-22 mandate would result in a suspension of your driving privileges.
It would be wise to also contact the local DMV in whatever state you might find yourself in, to compare the requirements and determine if your policy is still appropriate.
Depending on the severity of the charge against you and the number of offences you have on your record, you would be instructed by the state to maintain your SR-22 policy for a period of not less than three years.
What to do if the SR-22 lapses
Ever insurance provider is required by law to report the cancellation or lapse in payment on an SR-22 policy. Thus, any gap in you SR-22 coverage would be reported to the DMV and could result in your license being suspended again. Once this happens, your policy would have to be renewed and your license would have to be reinstated before the SR-22 maintenance period would continue its countdown.
How to go about cancelling my filing when I no longer need SR-22 coverage
At the end of the mandated filing period, you would need to contact the Rhode Island DMV to confirm the completion of your SR-22 requirements. Once this has been confirmed, you can then proceed to contact your insurance provider and have them cancel the SR-22 filing.
Yes, they do. They provide SR-22 insurance to individuals that have policies with the company and are in need of an SR-22 filing.
You can get rid of an SR-22 but only at the end of the mandated filing period. You would need to contact the Rhode Island DMV to confirm the completion of your SR-22 requirements. Once this has been confirmed, you can then proceed to contact your insurance provider and have them cancel the SR-22 filing. After the cancellation, your insurance rates would be returned back to normal. Other than this, the SR-22 must not be cancelled before the mandate is complete otherwise your license would be suspended again.
For specific information pertaining to another state in question, please refer to the respective that are more in-depth.
Depending on the severity of the charge against you and the number of offences you have on your record, you would be instructed by the state to maintain your SR-22 policy for a period of not less than three years.
SR-22 insurance per month can vary from provider from provider but the increase in rate expected on a standard auto insurance policy is between 35% and 400%, depending on the insurance provider and other factors.
Provided you have committed a violation or offence worthy of an SR-22 filing, you need to file the form or your license would never be reinstated and by extension, you would never be permitted to drive in Rhode Island.
In Rhode Island, the cost of filing an SR-22, as set by insurance providers, is a one-time fee that varies from $20 to $50 and rarely exceeds that. The real financial impact of the SR-22 is, however, seen in the higher premiums that are required to be paid as a result of the filing. Thus, the true cost varies from provider to provider and depends on the policy you purchase and the specific provider you purchase it from.
In the event that you need an SR-22 filing in Rhode Island, you would have to also get an insurance policy that meets the minimum liability coverage requirements of the state. This is so because while the SR-22 has to be filed to the state as an endorsement from your insurance provider, the insurance policy that goes with it is the proof that the cost of future damages can be covered.
Depending on the severity of the charge against you and the number of offences you have on your record, you would be instructed by the state to maintain your SR-22 policy for a period of not less than three years.
To get the filing, you would have to purchase an insurance policy, preferably a non-owner policy. Once this is done, the insurance policy provider would file the form on your behalf. If you have been convicted of an offence that requires the filing of an SR-22 with the state and you wish to keep driving, whether or not you own a car, you must file the SR-22. The SR-22 is a proof of your financial responsibility as a driver and without proving that responsibility to the state, you would not be legally allowed to drive.
You can drive another person’s car with an SR-22 in Rhode Island but to do so, you would have to purchase an insurance policy with a licensed provider that meets the state’s minimum requirement.
Provided you have committed a violation or offence worthy of an SR-22 filing, you need to file the form or your license would never be reinstated and by extension, you would never be permitted to drive in Rhode Island.