Jasmine Birtles
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Convicted? How to get car insurance after a driving ban
Reading Time: 5 minutesIt’s not easy to get car insurance after a driving ban, but it is certainly possible.
Have you been convicted of a motoring offence? Car insurance after a driving ban can be an ordeal to find, and it might feel like you’re being punished twice. When the ban is up you’ll probably feel like you’ve paid your dues and be keen to get back on the road as soon as possible.
But getting car insurance after a driving ban is not so straightforward: insurance companies see you as a high risk and are reluctant to take your custom. If they do, they’ll often expect much higher premiums for the pleasure.
Make sure you’re not paying over the odds by reading our guide to best value insurance after a driving ban.
- How easy is it to get insurance after a ban?
- What’s the legal position? (and what do you have to tell the insurance company?)
- How to get car insurance after a driving ban
- Useful sources of information
- Fixed Penalty Notices and points on your licence
How easy is it to get insurance after a driving ban?
The good news is that although it’s not easy, it’s far from impossible.
You’re not alone either. one in three men and 9% of women have some kind of criminal conviction by the age of 53.
There are plenty of specialist insurers out there who will want your business, however serious the driving offence.
Your previous insurer may be prepared to offer you an insurance renewal (probably at an increased premium) but this is more likely if the offence is at the less serious end of the spectrum.
Conviction severity is certainly a factor – you are likely to find it easier to get insurance if you were banned for speeding than for drink driving.
What’s the legal position? (and what do you have to tell the insurance company?)
According to the Consumer Insurance (Representation and Disclosure) Act 2012, the onus is no longer on you to disclose all “material facts” about your conviction, as long as you take reasonable care not to misrepresent the situation.
Whether the questions asked of you are “clear and specific” can be a determining factor in whether you’re representing the situation as you should.
The 2012 Act says that you are not under “the obligation to disclose all material facts” and that “The consumer would no longer be required to volunteer information but only to respond honestly and with reasonable care to questions asked.”
This means that if you’re asked a direct question you should answer it, but if you refuse to and the insurer goes ahead without receiving an answer and you end up taking out the policy, the responsibility lies with them. If you’re not asked about your spent convictions, you don’t need to offer up this information.
how to get car insurance after a driving ban
1. Prepare yourself
Ensure you have the correct conviction code (for example, SP50 for motorway speeding) to hand and full details of the dates and circumstances of the offence(s), as well as when you were convicted. If it was a ‘totting up’ ban (i.e. you received 12 points but over a period of time) then you’ll need to provide details of the individual offences. Accept that the process may take some time. Many of the online comparison sites (like our own car insurance comparison tool) will not offer online quotations if you have any motoring convictions, especially a ban. You’ll probably need to talk to someone and offer a full explanation of your circumstances.
2. Speak to your previous insurer
A mainstream insurer is more likely to cover a convicted driver if there’s a previous relationship with that individual. So, the first sensible move is to try your former insurer, particularly if you had a good record with them before or were with them for some time. These are all factors insurers are likely to take into consideration when deciding whether to insure you and for how much. Many of the large insurers prefer not to cover drivers with a ban on their record.
3. Use the specialist resources available
- The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) offer a helpline to help you find a suitable broker. The number is 0870 950 1790.
- UNLOCK (The National Association of Reformed Offenders) has a large amount of information that can help those that have previously been convicted.
4.Do a search online
Try a Google search for ‘convicted car insurance’ or ‘driving ban insurance’. You could come up with a few gems.
1. Don’t accept the first quote you receive
2. Consider non-mainstream insurers (specialists)
3. Invest the time and it should pay off – like with many money-saving activities.
Useful sources of information
UNLOCK have lots of information on their website.
If you feel that you are being treated unfairly because of your record then the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has issued guidelines to insurers about how to deal with people with convictions. These can be downloaded via their website.
Fixed Penalty Notices and points on your licence
points
Even if you haven’t been banned, you have a responsibility to tell your insurer if you have any points on your licence.
penalty notices
Penalty notices (when you accept a fine and points without going to court) are unlikely to make finding insurance difficult, but they may increase your premium slightly.
Even if you are mid-term with an insurer you should tell them about a penalty notice, otherwise you might invalidate your policy.
In conclusion
It can be a frustrating process but, with patience and depending on how serious the offence, you should find a reasonable deal.
On a positive note, once you have your new insurance in place you will be on your way to creating a fresh history.
If you’re careful to keep a clean record, after three years the ban will be considered a lot less significant and your premiums should come down. After five years it’s spent and, therefore, effectively irrelevant.
Getting post-convicted car insurance is less painful than it can initially seem.
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