Life insurance can be hard to get after just one DUI, and in some cases it cannot be purchased at all. It only makes sense, after all, because drunk driving is a serious and risky behavior which can lead to an untimely death.

According to NerdWallet, life insurance companies will likely charge more for coverage if a person has had a DUI or DWI (driving while intoxicated) charge in the past five to ten years. However, if a person has had more than one DUI in recent years, it is very likely that the person will not be insured at all.

So how long would it take before a person who has had a DUI conviction have to wait before they will be able to be insured? Most life insurance companies will not give life insurance coverage to people who have had convictions within a year of application, but it will take two years for some major life insurance companies to provide coverage to offenders.

When life insurance is obtained, a person should expect their rates to be higher than others who have not had a DUI for at least five years after a conviction. Minnesota Life and Symetra make people wait 10 years for their best rates. Nationwide suggests requesting a reduction in rates after a few years when no additional convictions have occurred.

Life insurance may be hard to get after a DUI, but it is even harder to get after multiple DUIs.

“Multiple offenses are evaluated on a case-by-case basis,” says Tom Farrell, vice president of underwriting for Prudential Individual Life Insurance. “An underwriter must use judgment when dealing with these situations and take into account the whole picture.”

According to NerdWallet, Accordia, Genworth and Nationwide won’t consider selling a life insurance policy to anyone who has had multiple drunk driving offenses within the past five years, but others might consider it.

The best thing to do when shopping around for life insurance is to talk openly and honestly about your own personal situation. If a lie would be uncovered, which is likely, fraud will have been committed and the life insurance policy would no longer be valid.

Life insurance companies are very thorough when investigating the health and risk of their applicants, so it’s not a good idea to think you can fool pros in the business.

Ask each life insurance company how long you must wait before you can ask for a reduction in rates, and you may want to consider waiting for a year or two before you purchase life insurance at all.

[Photo by Joe Raedle / Getty Images News]