Getting a criminal conviction is easy
to do in the UK. Finishing up with motoring convictions
or merely totting up points on your driving licence is
also easy to do. However, finding reasonably priced car
insurance after you have obtained a conviction, numerous
points on your licence or a disqualification is not so
easy!
To get a criminal conviction, the only thing required is
getting caught while committing one of thousands of
actions that successive governments, whether sensibly or
not, have decided were illegal. The only thing required
to obtain a motoring conviction or to tot up sufficient
points for a driving ban is to break one of the
innumerable rules whilst driving on a couple of
occasions. This is simple to do, since there are over 80
different driving conviction codes in the UK that you
may accidentally violate. These driving codes cover
offences that range from driving a vehicle with a
cracked mirror to driving dangerously, or without a
licence.
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Quotezone have a
comparison site dedicated to
people with convictions or
driving bans who are looking for
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from them but you can also
compare the different policy
features too so you can see how
much you can save by accepting a
higher excess, lower mileage,
etc. Sometimes these can make a
considerable difference to
premiums. OK,
it takes ten minutes or
so to fill the form in but it
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Click here for a
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After conviction
No matter why you received a
conviction, returning to driving after the ban is lifted
is very difficult. One factor that makes the return
difficult is that you could have to retake your driving
test, unless it was just a short-term ban. However, what
makes it the most difficult is obtaining adequate
insurance cover at an affordable price. The fact remains
that having convictions or a high number of points on
your driving record makes it more difficult to obtain
car insurance at any price.
Numerous insurers will deny you altogether. Other
insurers will sell you cover, but only at a much higher
cost. Some will even insist on increasing the amounts of
excess payable if you were involved in an accident.
There are reasonable prices out there, however, if you
know where to look.
One UK legal information web site conducted surveys of
various insurers in 2004, 2007, and 2009 to find out
just how much a conviction or high points affected the
cost of insurance. The sample quote obtained for the
2009 survey was for a 34 year old male driving a Ford C
Max worth £10,000 with a voluntary £150 excess. The
overall survey results for 2009 were:
• With no points: average premium out of the 66
companies quoted was £382.74
• With 6 points, all over 4 years old: average premium
out of 61 companies was increased by 7.91% to £406.23
• With 6 points, all over 3 years old: average premium
out of 63 companies was increased by 8.82% to £412.88
• With 6 points, with half being older than 4 years old
and half less than 2 years old: average premium out of
62 companies was increased by 14.31% to £433.48
• With 6 points, entirely within the past 2 years:
average premium of 61 companies increased by 24.35% to
£472.79. However, some companies had increases of over
85 per cent.
• With 9 points entirely within the past 2 years:
average premium of 49 companies increased by 46.94% to
£542.33
• With a 28 day disqualification for speeding: average
premium of 51 companies increased by 23.35% to £468.54
• With a drink drive disqualification: average premium
of 38 companies increased by 53.37% to £580.38
Lowering the cost
It’s obvious that the premiums will
be much more costly for those with convictions and high
points on their records. However, there are a few things
you can do to lower the cost. The first way is to shop
around for the right insurer. You can save some time and
leg work by getting insurance quotes online, and some
companies offer discounts for online purchasing.
Secondly, find the right insurance policy. Many
insurance companies offer special cover for specific
types of convictions and high points. Often, a smaller
company will not charge you as much as a bigger one
will.
After you’ve found the right company and cover to fit
your situation, research all your options. Check to see
if the insurer will lower the premium if you take
driving courses, can prove a change of lifestyles, or
seek rehabilitation treatments. Find out if reducing the
amount of driving you do will help to lower the premium.
Sometimes, it can help to add someone else with a clean
driving record and no prior insurance claims as a
secondary driver but conversely, in other cases, it may
help if there are no other drivers besides the car’s
owner listed on the policy cover. Sometimes, an insurer
may be willing to lower the premiums if you increase the
vehicle’s security and safety features.
You should also take the time to educate yourself
regarding the types of legal recourse you may have. In
some cases, it’s possible to reduce the amount of time
that a conviction or endorsement stays on your driving
record. Since some can stay on your license for up to
eleven years, it’s important to appeal any convictions
or traffic citations that are not warranted. However, be
sure to retain the services of a professional motoring
law expert.
Obtaining affordable car insurance after a conviction is
not easy to do. However, it’s not completely impossible.
The best way to find a good deal is to go through an
insurance broker or an insurance specialist who is
familiar with your specific type of conviction or
motoring offences.
