Car insurance for people with criminal convictions

Car insurance for people with criminal convictions

People with criminal convictions tend to face higher car insurance costs than drivers with a clean record, and some may even struggle to get covered. Read on and find out how to cut the costs of driving if you have a previous criminal conviction.

What is a criminal conviction?

A criminal conviction can be any type of conviction, warning, caution or investigation relating to a criminal offence. This could be for a relatively minor offence, or something serious and it can have an impact on your car insurance costs.

Can I get car insurance with a criminal conviction?

You can get car insurance with a criminal conviction, but the price you pay may be higher than for someone without one. If you're rejected by an insurer, you can also buy insurance from an insurer who specialises in car insurance for convictions.

How does a criminal conviction affect car insurance?

Having a criminal conviction will often push up the price of your car insurance premiums, even if your offence has nothing to do with driving.

Drivers with all types of criminal convictions are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident, so insurers adjust premiums to reflect this high risk.

Most insurers will ask about any "unspent” criminal convictions you’ve had in the last five years, so any convictions are likely to have an impact on your car insurance costs for this period.

What criminal convictions do I need to declare when getting car insurance?

Most types of conviction will be considered "spent” after some time has passed.

For example if you were sentenced with a community order your conviction will be spent one year after the end of the order. If you were sentenced to less than six months in prison your conviction will become spent two years after the end of the sentence. If you’ve been sentenced to more than two and a half years, your conviction will always remain unspent. If you have a conviction, you can find out when it will become spent here.

You will usually be asked to declare any unspent convictions on your car insurance applications for five years. After this time, or if your convictions are already spent, you will not have to tell your insurer.

Don’t be tempted to withhold any convictions if you are asked — in the event of a claim your insurance could be deemed invalid and you could face a big repair bill. This will also make it even harder to get insurance cover in the future.

If you were convicted recently, you do not have to contact your insurer to let them know (unless this is specifically stated in the terms and conditions of your policy). It’s highly likely you will be asked to declare any new convictions at renewal time, so be prepared for a price rise.

Which car insurance companies don’t ask about criminal convictions?

All car insurers will ask about "unspent" criminal convictions. If it's a specialist insurer, you may get a more affordable price when compared to a mainstream insurer.

How can I get cheaper car insurance if I have a conviction?

You may find that insurers will hike your insurance premium in light of your conviction, or even refuse to insure you altogether.

However, there are some specialist providers that keep insurance more affordable for drivers with convictions. The best way to get an affordable quote if you have convictions is to compare quotes from a number of providers — get started with the quick tool below.

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