National General Non-Renewal After DUI
You received a DUI conviction in Louisiana. National General sent a non-renewal notice 30 days before your policy expires. You need SR-22 filing for three years starting now, and you're trying to figure out whether National General will file it or if the non-renewal means you're locked out entirely. The confusion is structural: National General writes SR-22 policies in Louisiana — they're listed as an active SR-22 filer by the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles — but they rarely retain standard-tier policyholders after a DUI conviction.
The non-renewal is not a refusal to insure you. It's a tier exit. National General operates multiple underwriting tiers: a standard tier for clean-record drivers and a non-standard tier for high-risk drivers including post-DUI filers. Your DUI conviction triggered an automatic tier-exit from the standard book. The non-renewal notice tells you that your current policy will not renew at the standard rate, but it does not tell you whether National General will offer you a non-standard policy with SR-22 filing. That decision happens separately, and most Louisiana DUI drivers never receive the offer because they assume the non-renewal is final and switch carriers before National General's non-standard underwriting team evaluates them.
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Get Your Free QuoteLouisiana SR-22 Filing Period
3 years
Louisiana requires SR-22 filing for three years after a DWI conviction, measured from the conviction date. The filing must remain active and uninterrupted for the full period or the clock resets.
Louisiana Revised Statutes 32:415
How National General Handles Post-DUI SR-22
National General files SR-22 certificates in Louisiana through their non-standard underwriting division. If you receive a non-standard policy offer from National General after your DUI, they will file the SR-22 electronically with the Louisiana OMV and maintain it for the required three-year period. The carrier charges a one-time filing fee set by National General, not the state. Louisiana does not impose a separate state SR-22 filing fee.
The structural problem is timing. Your standard policy expires on the date shown in the non-renewal notice. National General's non-standard underwriting team evaluates your eligibility for a non-standard policy separately, and that evaluation can take 7 to 14 business days. If your standard policy expires before the non-standard offer arrives, you face a coverage gap. A coverage gap during the SR-22 filing period triggers an automatic suspension extension in Louisiana — the OMV treats any lapse as a failure to maintain required financial responsibility, and your three-year SR-22 clock resets from the date you restore continuous coverage.
Most Louisiana DUI drivers do not wait for the non-standard offer. They receive the non-renewal notice, assume National General will not insure them, and start shopping for a new carrier immediately. That approach works if you secure a new SR-22 policy before your current policy expires. It fails if you wait until the expiration date and then discover that non-standard carriers require 3 to 5 business days to bind coverage and file SR-22 electronically. The gap between your National General expiration and your new carrier's SR-22 filing date creates the lapse that resets your clock.
If your National General policy expires in fewer than 10 business days and you have not received a non-standard offer, start shopping now — waiting for the offer risks a filing gap.
Comparing National General to Other SR-22 Carriers
National General's non-standard tier typically prices post-DUI policies at $260 to $508 per month for Louisiana drivers, depending on age, parish, and whether you need non-owner coverage. That range reflects the statewide post-DUI market: Louisiana DUI drivers pay 24% to 55% more than clean-record drivers for the same liability limits. National General's pricing sits in the middle of the non-standard market — not the cheapest option, but not the most expensive. The carrier's retention behavior matters more than the initial quote. National General engineered their non-standard book to retain DUI drivers through the full three-year SR-22 period. Competing carriers like The General and Direct Auto write the initial policy but non-renew at year two, forcing you to re-shop mid-filing.
If you do not receive a non-standard offer from National General within 10 business days of your standard policy expiration, you need a backup carrier. Progressive, Geico, and Bristol West all write post-DUI SR-22 policies in Louisiana and file electronically with the OMV. Progressive and Geico operate standard and non-standard tiers similar to National General. Bristol West writes non-standard policies exclusively and accepts most post-DUI applicants without a multi-day underwriting review.
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What Happens If You Switch Carriers
Switching carriers mid-SR-22 filing is procedurally straightforward but timing-sensitive. Your new carrier files a new SR-22 certificate with the Louisiana OMV electronically. The OMV replaces your existing SR-22 record with the new carrier's filing. Your three-year clock does not reset as long as the new SR-22 filing date occurs before your old policy's cancellation date. The gap is the only thing that resets the clock.
The structural risk is the bind-to-file window. Most carriers require 1 to 3 business days between the date you bind coverage and the date they file SR-22 electronically with the OMV. If your National General policy expires on a Friday and you bind a new policy the same day, the new carrier may not file SR-22 until the following Monday or Tuesday. That creates a weekend gap. Louisiana's OMV system flags any gap longer than 24 hours as a lapse, and the three-year filing period resets from the date continuous coverage resumes.
To avoid the gap, bind your new policy at least 5 business days before your National General expiration date. The new carrier files SR-22 before your old policy cancels, and the OMV transitions the filing without a lapse. If you're already within 5 business days of expiration and have not started shopping, prioritize carriers that offer same-day binding and next-business-day SR-22 filing. Progressive and Bristol West both support accelerated filing timelines for Louisiana DUI drivers facing imminent expiration.
Louisiana Reinstatement Fee After Lapse
$100
If your SR-22 filing lapses for any reason during the three-year period, Louisiana charges a $100 reinstatement fee on top of the cost of restoring continuous coverage. The three-year clock resets from the date you file a new SR-22 certificate.
Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles fee schedule
Non-Owner SR-22 Policies and National General
If you do not own a vehicle, you need a non-owner SR-22 policy to satisfy Louisiana's financial responsibility requirement. National General writes non-owner policies in their non-standard tier, but availability varies by underwriting review. Not all post-DUI applicants receive non-owner offers even when they qualify for standard owner policies. The reason is structural: non-owner policies carry higher loss ratios for carriers because the driver's vehicle access is unpredictable, and National General's underwriting algorithm flags certain DUI profiles as too risky for non-owner coverage.
If National General declines to offer you a non-owner policy, Progressive and USAA both write non-owner SR-22 policies for Louisiana DUI drivers without the same underwriting restrictions. Progressive's non-owner rates for post-DUI drivers typically run $140 to $220 per month depending on age and parish. USAA restricts eligibility to military members and their families but offers the lowest non-owner rates in the Louisiana post-DUI market when you qualify. Bristol West and The General also write non-owner SR-22 policies but require broker placement — you cannot bind coverage online, and the broker review adds 2 to 4 business days to the filing timeline.
Next Steps for Louisiana DUI Drivers
If you received a non-renewal notice from National General and your policy expires in more than 10 business days, contact National General's non-standard underwriting team directly and ask whether you will receive a non-standard policy offer with SR-22 filing. The phone number appears on your non-renewal notice. If the underwriting team confirms you will not receive an offer, or if they cannot confirm within 3 business days, start shopping for a new carrier immediately. Request quotes from Progressive, Geico, and Bristol West. All three file SR-22 electronically in Louisiana and bind coverage online.
If your policy expires in fewer than 10 business days and you have not received a non-standard offer, assume you will not receive one in time. Bind a new policy with a carrier that supports same-day or next-business-day SR-22 filing. Prioritize avoiding the gap over finding the lowest rate. A filing lapse resets your three-year clock and adds a $100 reinstatement fee. Once you have continuous SR-22 coverage in place, you can re-shop for better rates at your first renewal without risking a lapse. Compare carriers writing post-DUI SR-22 policies in Louisiana and verify each carrier's electronic filing timeline before you bind.