National General After Idaho DUI Conviction
You received a DUI conviction in Idaho and need SR-22 insurance to reinstate your license after the mandatory 90-day suspension. National General is licensed statewide and writes SR-22 policies for DUI drivers, but the quote you receive will bundle base premium, SR-22 filing fee, and installment charges into a single monthly figure without breaking out what each component costs. Most drivers accept the first quote without realizing the installment fee alone can add $180 to $540 over the three-year SR-22 period Idaho requires.
National General operates in Idaho's standard tier and accepts DUI drivers, but tier placement after conviction matters more than carrier name. Standard-tier carriers like National General, Progressive, and Geico typically retain existing customers through the SR-22 period if no prior claims exist. If you were not already insured with National General before the DUI, you enter as a new high-risk customer and face higher base rates plus the SR-22 filing requirement. The structural question is not whether National General will write you — it is whether their installment structure and post-DUI tier pricing make them the lowest-cost option for your three-year filing window.
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Get Your Free QuoteIdaho High-Risk Monthly Premium
$142–$287/mo
After a DUI conviction, Idaho drivers pay 30–94% more than clean-record rates. National General's quoted monthly rate sits within this range but does not separate base premium from SR-22 filing fee or installment charges.
ValuePenguin + Insurify after-DUI by-state analysis, 2026
SR-22 Filing Requirement and Duration
Idaho requires SR-22 filing for three years after a DUI conviction, measured from the date you file the SR-22 certificate with the Idaho Transportation Department, not from the conviction date or the end of your 90-day suspension. The SR-22 is a certificate your insurer files electronically with ITD confirming you carry at least Idaho's minimum liability limits: $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, and $15,000 property damage. National General files SR-22 certificates electronically in Idaho and charges a one-time filing fee set by the carrier — the state does not charge a separate SR-22 fee.
The three-year clock starts when the SR-22 is filed, which means you must maintain continuous coverage with an SR-22-filing carrier for the entire period. If your policy lapses or cancels for any reason, National General notifies ITD within 15 days and your license is suspended again immediately. Reinstatement after a lapse requires filing a new SR-22, paying Idaho's $285 reinstatement fee again, and restarting the three-year period from zero. Most DUI drivers do not realize the filing period resets with every lapse — one missed payment in year two sends you back to day one of a new three-year requirement.
National General's quoted monthly rate bundles base premium, SR-22 filing fee, and installment charges without separating them — you cannot tell what the SR-22 itself costs versus what you pay for monthly billing.
Installment Fee Structure and Three-Year Cost
A $15 monthly installment fee totals $540. Zero-fee monthly billing carriers like Progressive and Geico eliminate this cost entirely, but National General does not publicly confirm whether their Idaho SR-22 policies include installment fees or waive them. The only way to know is to request a full quote breakdown showing base premium, SR-22 filing fee, and monthly installment charges as separate line items.
Compare this against carriers that offer semi-annual or annual terms with no installment fees. If you can pay six months upfront, you avoid installment charges but face a larger lump sum at policy inception. Most DUI drivers cannot afford the upfront cost, which is why installment fees become the default hidden tax.
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Comparing National General to Idaho SR-22 Alternatives
National General competes in Idaho's standard tier alongside Progressive, Geico, Farmers, and State Farm. Progressive and Geico both write SR-22 policies for DUI drivers, file electronically with ITD, and offer true monthly billing with zero installment fees. State Farm writes SR-22 but does not publicly confirm post-DUI acceptance — most agents decline new DUI customers. Farmers writes SR-22 and accepts DUI drivers but operates through independent agents, which adds friction to the comparison process.
Non-standard carriers like Bristol West, Dairyland, The General, and GAINSCO also write SR-22 in Idaho and specialize in high-risk drivers. Their base rates are often higher than National General's standard-tier pricing, but they accept drivers with multiple violations or lapses that standard carriers reject outright. Both file SR-22 electronically and offer monthly billing, but installment fees vary by carrier and are rarely disclosed upfront.
The structural comparison is not National General versus one competitor — it is National General's bundled quote versus the sum of base premium plus SR-22 filing fee plus installment charges from every carrier writing your risk profile. Request quotes from at least three carriers and demand a line-item breakdown showing each cost component separately. If a carrier refuses to break out the SR-22 filing fee or installment charges, assume they are bundling hidden costs and move to the next option.
Idaho DUI Reinstatement Fee
$285
After completing your 90-day suspension, you pay $285 to ITD to reinstate your license. This fee is separate from SR-22 filing costs and must be paid before ITD processes your reinstatement application.
Idaho Transportation Department reinstatement fee schedule
Non-Owner SR-22 for Suspended Drivers
If you do not own a vehicle but need SR-22 filing to reinstate your Idaho license, National General writes non-owner SR-22 policies. A non-owner policy provides liability coverage when you drive a vehicle you do not own — a rental, a borrowed car, or a company vehicle. It does not cover a vehicle you own or regularly use, and it does not include collision or comprehensive coverage because there is no insured vehicle.
National General's non-owner SR-22 policies meet Idaho's minimum liability requirements and file the SR-22 certificate electronically with ITD. The three-year filing period applies identically to non-owner policies — if your non-owner policy lapses, ITD suspends your license again and you restart the three-year clock. Most DUI drivers who lose their vehicle to repossession or cannot afford a car during suspension need non-owner SR-22 to satisfy reinstatement requirements. Progressive, Geico, Dairyland, and The General also write non-owner SR-22 in Idaho, and all four file electronically.
What Happens If National General Declines Your Application
National General operates in Idaho's standard tier and accepts most DUI drivers, but they decline applications from drivers with multiple DUI convictions within five years, drivers with recent at-fault accidents plus a DUI, or drivers with suspended licenses in multiple states. If National General declines your application, you move to non-standard carriers that specialize in high-risk profiles: Bristol West, Dairyland, The General, and GAINSCO all write SR-22 in Idaho and accept drivers standard carriers reject.
The tradeoff is guaranteed acceptance: non-standard carriers exist to write drivers no one else will touch. If you have been declined by two or more standard carriers, skip the application process with additional standard carriers and go directly to Bristol West or Dairyland. Both file SR-22 electronically with ITD, offer monthly billing, and specialize in DUI drivers. Compare their quotes against National General's if you received one — non-standard rates are higher, but they are the only option when standard carriers exit.