Why FR-44 Quotes Vary 300% for the Same Coverage
You received three FR-44 quotes yesterday: $127/month from one carrier, $215 from another, $398 from a third. All three quoted Florida's mandatory 100/300/50 liability limits. The coverage is identical. The filing fee is identical. The three-year filing period is identical. Yet the premium spread is $271/month — $3,252 over the filing period.
The FR-44 certificate itself costs nothing beyond the carrier's administrative fee, typically $15–$25. What you're paying for is the liability insurance beneath the certificate, and Florida DUI convictions push you into non-standard underwriting where your conviction details — BAC level, whether you refused the test, your insurance history in the 90 days before arrest — determine which tier you land in. Carriers don't all tier the same way, and most drivers quote only two or three before giving up.
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Get Your Free QuoteFlorida FR-44 Liability Minimums
$100,000/$300,000/$50,000
Florida Statutes § 322.28 requires DUI offenders to maintain liability coverage at these limits for three years post-reinstatement. This is double the bodily injury minimum of standard SR-22 states and significantly higher than Florida's own base requirements for non-DUI drivers.
Florida Statutes § 322.28
How Carriers Tier DUI Convictions in Florida
Non-standard carriers segment DUI risk into three to five tiers. Tier placement controls your base rate before any other rating factor applies. The segmentation criteria vary by carrier, but three factors recur across underwriting guidelines: days between conviction and application, BAC level or refusal status, and whether you maintained continuous coverage.
Acceptance Insurance, Bristol West, and Dairyland explicitly publish DUI-specific underwriting tiers. Acceptance separates first-offense DUI with BAC under 0.15 from aggravated cases. Bristol West applies a conviction-age discount once you pass 18 months post-conviction. Dairyland offers a "continuous coverage credit" that reduces your tier assignment if you maintained liability coverage in the 60 days before and after your arrest, even while suspended.
Geico and Progressive write FR-44 policies but tier DUI applicants into their standard non-standard book without published DUI-specific tiers. Your quote depends on how their algorithm weights your conviction against other risk factors — zip code, age, vehicle type, prior claims. This creates wider quote variance than carriers with explicit DUI tiers.
The General and Infinity focus on high-risk drivers and publish fewer exclusions, but their baseline rates are higher. If you have additional violations beyond the DUI — a suspended license from unpaid tickets, a refusal charge, or a second DUI within five years — these carriers may be your only options. Their "cheapest" quote is often $80–$120 more per month than a tiered carrier's best offer, but they'll write policies that tiered carriers decline.
If you maintained liability coverage during your suspension or the 60 days before your DUI arrest, some carriers reduce your tier assignment — a detail most drivers never report when quoting.
What Carriers Actually Check When You Quote
Your Motor Vehicle Report shows the conviction date, BAC level (or refusal notation), and whether the charge was reduced from a higher offense. Carriers distinguish between a first DUI at 0.09 BAC and a first DUI at 0.18 BAC — the latter triggers aggravated-tier pricing at most carriers, adding $40–$90/month to your quote. If your attorney negotiated a wet reckless plea instead of a DUI conviction, some carriers treat it as a DUI for underwriting purposes while others tier it lower. The MVR determines which treatment applies.
Your CLUE report shows prior claims and your insurance activity in the 36 months before application. Carriers specifically check whether you filed a claim in the 12 months before your DUI arrest and whether you let coverage lapse after the arrest. A lapse notation — even a coverage gap of seven days — moves you into a higher tier at Acceptance, Bristol West, and Kemper. Maintaining continuous coverage signals financial stability and drops you one tier at Dairyland and National General.
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How to Compare Carriers Without Guessing
Quote at least four carriers that explicitly write FR-44 policies in Florida: two tiered non-standard specialists (Acceptance, Bristol West, Dairyland, or Kemper) and two high-risk generalists (The General, Infinity, or GAINSCO). If you have a clean record other than the DUI and maintained continuous coverage, add Progressive and Geico to the list — their algorithm occasionally produces the lowest quote for first-offense cases with no aggravating factors.
When you request a quote, provide your exact BAC level from the arrest report, your conviction date, and whether you maintained liability coverage during suspension. Carriers ask for conviction date but rarely ask about BAC unless you volunteer it — yet it controls tier assignment. Omitting your BAC doesn't hide it; the MVR pull surfaces it, and the quote you receive by phone gets revised upward once underwriting reviews the report.
Request the quote in writing with the tier assignment labeled. Most phone quotes don't specify tier; the agent provides a monthly premium without explaining which underwriting tier produced it. If you switch carriers mid-filing period, the new carrier re-tiers you based on current data — if you're now 18 months post-conviction instead of three months, your tier drops and your rate drops with it. Without a written record of your original tier, you can't track whether you've improved position.
Non-owner FR-44 policies cost $30–$60 less per month than standard FR-44 policies because they exclude vehicle collision and comprehensive coverage. If you don't own a vehicle or won't be driving during your three-year filing period, a non-owner policy satisfies Florida's FR-44 requirement at lower cost. Geico, Progressive, Dairyland, and The General all write non-owner FR-44 policies in Florida.
First-Offense FR-44 Range
$85–$215/mo
Florida first-offense DUI drivers with BAC under 0.15, no refusal, and continuous coverage history typically quote between $85 and $215 per month for 100/300/50 liability through tiered non-standard carriers. Aggravated cases, refusals, or second offenses push the range to $180–$400/month.
Carrier rate filings and agent-reported quotes, Florida non-standard market, 2024
When the Lowest Quote Isn't the Cheapest Policy
Some carriers front-load DUI surcharges in year one, then reduce the monthly premium in years two and three as your conviction ages. Others spread the surcharge evenly across the three-year filing period. A $140/month quote that drops to $95/month in year two costs you $4,020 over three years. A flat $125/month quote costs you $4,500. The first quote is cheaper despite the higher year-one rate.
Bristol West and Acceptance both publish conviction-age discounts that apply at the 12-month and 24-month marks. Request a three-year payment projection when you quote, not just the first-year monthly premium. If the agent can't provide it, ask underwriting directly — the tiering schedule is documented in their rate manual, and they'll tell you when the reduction applies.
Compare FR-44 Carriers Built for Florida DUI Cases
The carriers listed in the data layer above write FR-44 policies in Florida and have published underwriting tiers or confirmed non-standard DUI programs. Start with Acceptance Insurance, Bristol West, and Dairyland if you're a first-offense case with no aggravating factors. Move to The General, Infinity, or GAINSCO if you have a second offense, a refusal, or additional violations. Add Progressive and Geico only if you maintained continuous coverage and have no other violations — their algorithm favors clean records outside the DUI.
Request quotes with your conviction date, BAC level, and coverage history disclosed up front. The quote you receive will be the quote underwriting approves, and you'll avoid the revision cycle that adds two weeks to your filing timeline. Florida requires the FR-44 certificate on file with DHSMV before you're eligible for a Business Purpose Only License, and DHSMV won't process your hardship application until the filing appears in their system — typically three to five business days after the carrier submits it.