Never Been Insured, and Now You Need a Filing: Where to Start

Plenty of people meet car insurance and the SR-22 on the same day: a first car after years without one, a young driver suspended before ever buying a policy, someone who always rode or borrowed. The filing feels like a second hurdle on top of the first. In practice it is one purchase, and the checklist below covers both.

What the law says about having no history

Insurance Code 1861.02(c) is direct: the absence of prior automobile insurance coverage, in and of itself, shall not be a criterion for determining eligibility for a Good Driver Discount policy, or generally for automobile rates, premiums, or insurability.

The related rule on loyalty credits points the same way. Under the Insurance Commissioner's rating regulation, a company may give a persistency credit to its own renewing customers, but no insurer may apply persistency based on coverage provided by a non-affiliated insurer, and that applies expressly to proof of prior insurance.

What does weigh heavily is the record that produced the SR-22. Insurance Code 1861.02(a) puts driving safety record first among the three mandatory rating factors, ahead of annual miles and years of driving experience.

What to have in hand before you ask for a quote

1. Your license number, even if the license is currently suspended.
2. The DMV notice that requires the filing, so the right certificate is filed for the right action.
3. The vehicle's VIN and where it is garaged, or a clear statement that you have no car (a non-owner policy).
4. Everyone licensed at your address, and who drives what.
5. An honest annual mileage estimate. The regulation makes it your estimate for the next 12 months; the insurer may ask for information that supports it.
6. A payment method and a backup, for autopay from day one.

Four decisions on a first policy

The mistake that undoes a first policy

Answer every question on the application accurately. Insurance Code 661 lets an insurer cancel mid-term for material misrepresentation of your safety record, annual miles, years of driving experience, or prior claims. A negligent mistake can be cured by giving corrected information within 20 days of the cancellation notice and paying any premium difference, but a cancelled first policy also means a cancelled filing.

After you buy

• Confirm the SR-22 was transmitted, then check your DMV record.
• Work through the first-30-days checklist.
• Calendar each renewal. Your first renewal is also the first moment you have an insurance history of your own, and a fair time to compare.
• Keep every declarations page. A first policy is also the first proof of continuous coverage you will ever be asked for, and a clean run of them is worth having when the filing ends and you shop again.

If this is your first time buying insurance at all, start the quote here; we will ask the questions in the order the application does.