Insurance news from DR10 Insurance UK.
A “get out” clause negotiated by the insurance industry on new rules means that serious criminals could find themselves with a clean slate in a matter of months while current drivers can’t. The 25 million motorists in Britain will be furious to learn that the new legislation will keep minor motoring offences, such as speeding, on your record for five years whilst criminal convictions can be forgotten much sooner.
It can often seem fairly easy to innocently fall on the wrong side of the law in this world of constant rules and regulations, with the subsequent financial consequences arguably dire. For example, court summonses can make it impossible to find insurance, get a mortgage, apply for a credit card or qualify for a huge range of possible financial services. However, this week it became a lot easier and cheaper after a recent change in the law, allowing a clean slate in record time for many different offences, means many criminal records will no longer need to be disclosed due to amendments made to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Nick Clegg has argued that the changes have been made in the hope of allowing offenders the chance to leave the past behind; mistakes shouldn’t ruin someone’s entire life. Motorists will be angry to learn that this courtesy doesn’t extend to them, the “get out” clause extending to penalty points and endorsements so that the insurers can supposedly judge who is likely or not to re-offend.
If you have any form of conviction, you’re forced to disclose it when applying for a job, renting or buying a home, applying for insurance and applying for a credit card or bank account. These convictions are deemed spent after a certain amount of time and you no longer need to confess your offences; the length of time it takes for these convictions to be spent was slashed this week. These reductions will ensure that offenders aren’t discriminated against regarding most financial services bar motor insurance. Penalty points and endorsements have been excluded from the newer, more lenient regime though. They will remain on your licence for three years and you can apply to have them removed after four years while still having to declare them when applying for motor cover for five years, which can have a huge impact on a consumer’s premiums. For example if you are looking for DR10 insurance you will still struggle to find a cheap premium due to your drink driving convictions.
With a careless driving conviction, along with six points on your licence, half of the AA’s panel refused to quote at all, while those that did saw premiums leap by a third. The driver must declare this conviction for five years. Insurance for convicted drink drivers can be among the most expensive categories, which is why DR10 Insurance UK work closely with specialist insurers to find the cheapest deal available.
Many argue that this new system is actually rife with inconsistencies. As an example, if someone were jailed for up to six months due to careless driving after a serious incident, yet did not have his or her licence endorsed, their conviction would be spent after two years which means it would not have to be disclosed for two years after release.