Convicted & Disqualified Driver Insurance

Convicted & Disqualified Driver Insurance

Getting car insurance with driving convictions can be frustrating and challenging. But it’s still possible to find a policy that suits your needs. So find out how points, drink driving and disqualifications affect your car insurance, and learn how to find the cover you need.

How Penalty Points and Convictions Affect Insurance

If you break any of the rules of the road, you might get points on your licence. And if you get points on your licence, you must tell your insurers as soon as possible.

Penalty points will always make the price of your insurance go up because insurers calculate the price of their premiums based on risk. And if you get any points on your licence, as far as your insurers are concerned, you’ll have proven yourself to be a higher-risk driver. To cover this increased risk, they’ll charge you a higher premium.

You’ll get a different number of points on your licence depending on the severity of your offence. The severity of your offence will also determine how long these points stay on your licence. Speeding points, for example, can stay on your licence between 4 and 11 years. And the more points you have on your licence, the more you must expect to pay for car insurance. 

What Convictions Can Insurance Cover?

You must also tell your insurer about any convictions you have. Most insurers differentiate between motor convictions and criminal convictions. Most of the time, only motor convictions will affect the price of your car insurance.

Also, you usually only have to tell your insurers about unspent convictions. Depending on your offence, convictions are spent after a set period of time. This will be outlined in the terms of your sentence. Once your conviction’s spent, you no longer have to inform your insurer, so it should have no impact on the price of your policy.

Some convictions are never considered spent, though, so you’ll have to tell your insurer no matter how much time has passed. Also, different insurers will have different rules. Some might require you to declare all convictions upfront, whether they’re spent or unspent. For more information, always check your policy wording.

It is important that you always read and answer questions accurately and honestly when you are  getting your car insurance quotes.

Car Insurance for Drink Drivers

Drink driving is one conviction that insurers take very seriously indeed. Drinking impairs your judgement and your reaction speeds, making it more likely you’ll be involved in an accident. And if you are involved in an accident, the damage to people and property is usually high.

As car insurance is all about risk, a drink driving conviction is going to significantly raise the price of your policy. Your premium will go up, and you might also have to pay a higher voluntary excess if you make a claim.

Like speeding convictions, the length of time drink driving convictions stay on your licence varies depending on the severity of your offence. Particularly serious offences can stay with you for up to 11 years. So no matter how careful a driver you are in general, you might end up paying for a single conviction for years down the line.

Some insurers might outright refuse to insure you if you have a drink driving conviction, as they consider the risks to be too high. For more information on how drink driving might affect your insurance, check your policy wording.

Most policies treat drink and drug offences in the same way.

Car Insurance for Disqualified Drivers

If you build up too many points on your licence, you could be disqualified from driving. For most drivers, this happens if you build up 12 or more penalty points within three years. But new drivers can be disqualified if they build up more than six penalty points within two years of passing their test. You can also be disqualified outright from driving as a penalty for certain serious driving offences.

If you’re disqualified from driving, your sentence will outline just how long you’ll be disqualified for. After this set period, you’ll usually have to take your driving test again. And once you pass your test, you might have to sort out a new car insurance policy once more.

Of course, you’ll have to tell insurers about any convictions, including those that resulted in you getting disqualified from driving. And again, the more severe the offence, the more it will affect the price of your policy. Some insurers simply refuse to insure disqualified drivers. Others will charge higher premiums with greater voluntary excesses in the event of a claim.

What’s Covered?

A convicted driver car insurance policy, or a policy for drink drivers or disqualified drivers, should still offer the same level of cover as a standard car insurance policy. The only difference is that the policy may cost more to account for the increased risk. Head here for a full guide to what a comprehensive policy might cover.

When it comes to drink and drugs, insurers might not cover certain claims if the driver’s found to be under the influence at the time of the accident. For more information, please check the policy wording.