Driving Convictions Explained
Criminal convictions related to driving offences are more commonplace than you might believe. The law has a wide range of endorsements, all coded and linked to a penalty points system that is graded by severity of possible and actual outcomes. From a CU80 and driving while using a mobile phone to SP30 and exceeding the statutory speed limit. There are very few drivers, a minor percentage, that manage to escape these dreaded endorsements on their driving licence over the entire course of their road journeying life.
For any driver in the United Kingdom, as with most countries, vehicle insurance is mandatory. It is a system which works because you pay a monthly insurance premium into a pooled pot which pays out for damage to your own or other vehicles. In the worst situations it also allocates payments to others harmed by your driving decisions, accidental or otherwise. The law is set up in such a way that even if you pick up an endorsement an insurance company will still try to provide an offer of insurance. The more penalty points you attain, the greater the insurance risk estimate placed upon you. It is the task of the best brokers for online insurance quotes to reduce premiums and that risk calculation wherever possible.
How Criminal Convictions Work In Tandem With Insurance Policies
Any driver can find themselves in court or with a fixed penalty notice demand. Statistics for driving offences in the UK are published annually. Out of approximately 50,000,000 drivers in the UK 20% and 10 million on average carry a penalty point record year on year (rolling) for a minimum of four years. With using a mobile phone to SP30 being a stain on the driving history for up to eleven years. That's 2.4m drivers in the UK, the majority caught out by lower endorsement codes such as CU80, SP30 and DR10.
This ongoing war between good and bad road behaviour is policed twice, the insurance market is the secondary oversight. The better drivers that are considered the least risk are rewarded with no claims bonuses, online discounts and the best brokers will devise a long term offer. Car and truck insurance brokers offer individual comparisons online not just for well behaved drivers. Oddly insurance companies also want to insure the risk category but at a price - so not so odd after all.
Can anyone that picks up endorsements still get insured? As long as they are at the lower end of the spectrum and considered less serious (all driving offences are serious but there's a scale) can be assured insurance cover but it may not be as cheap as a driver with a clean driving history. The higher the code, a DG10 - Driving or attempting to drive with drug level above the specified limit or MS50 - Motor racing on the highway, are both worth up to 11 points and near disqualification, will result in higher premiums or even refused insurance by some vendors entirely.
How Are Driving Conviction Penalty Points / Endorsements Calculated?
Your active driving licence becomes temporarily void after picking up 12 points in any three year period. If you pick up 4 points either by way of a fixed penalty notice or a court conviction in year one, and a further four points in year two amassing a total of 8 penalty points, you would need to avoid any new endorsements for up to three years. At minimum the first endorsement will not expire until four years from the conviction date.
Most drivers are caught speeding or using a mobile on camera, an entirely automated system with minimum human intervention. A fixed penalty notice would be delivered to the vehicle owner's address and can either be accepted with glee or protested in a court of law - for instance if you were not the driver on the date in question or you dispute the speeding limit in that location. The result may see the notice quashed or full endorsement applied and a higher fine.
Some drivers may receive on the spot fines which can lead to a minimum three point penalty. These can often be accepted but with the penalty points nullified if you are willing to take a driver speed awareness course. You will definitely need to compare online quotes for the cheapest vehicle insurance for convicted drivers after a lengthy driving ban. A broker can help reduce these monthly payments by talking to an underwriter on your behalf. This may result in some technical installations in the vehicle to be insured, the use of a mobile application or some rule taking on when you can drive or which vehicles you may be permitted to use.
Do Twelve Penalty Points Always Mean A Driving Ban?
It is worthwhile learning early on that your driving record history will be with you for up to seventeen years and even after an endorsement has been cleared for some time, an insurance broker can look at history going back several years.
Even if an eleven point endorsement for CD40 (Causing death through careless driving when unfit through drink) fell off 48 months earlier it could be taken into account. No claims bonuses and discounts are not a given. If you attain the maximum twelve penalty points on a driving licence it is an immediate six month driving ban.
But how many endorsement points lead to a longer driving ban? Technically twelve points is the maximum you can reach to activate a ban. Incredibly a system needed devising for repeat offenders that went on to receive subsequent bans. If you get a second driving ban within three years of the first, your second ban will be for twelve months.
A third disqualification within three years of the first will evoke a two year driving ban. In each case you will need to reapply for a driving licence and in some cases a Court may order you to retake a driving test. If you return to driving having retaken the test and passed, you will of course acquire insurance cover, just not the cheapest in comparison.
Technical Terms For Endorsements - Not Only Drivers
While only a driver can be banned from driving, technically the passengers in the car and the vehicle owner can also be prosecuted for helping to cause the driver's offence. These types of offences fall into separate categories that are indicated by the changing of the final zero to a 4 for causing or permitting an offence to occur. Such as CU80 to CU84 for giving a driver a mobile phone or IN10 to IN14 if knowingly allowing an uninsured person to drive your vehicle. The 0 changes to 6 for inciting or a 2 for Aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring.
Do Driving Licence Endorsement Points Heighten Vehicle Insurance Quotes?
Absolutely. While some brokers may state "Nah you'll be alright mate" or a comparison website claims to insure anybody and everybody. Greying out such an issue is wrong. Driving offences at the lesser end are common and frequent and any driver can fall foul of the system accidentally, but you can be penalised if this becomes a common occurrence over a few years. No claims bonuses can be sorely missed. While you may benefit from online discounts from a new broker offering a deal from a new insurer, most insurance houses operate the same way. A good driving history is the best way to reduce your monthly premiums over the long term.
Insurance Comparison For Convicted Drivers And Those Refused Insurance
In the world of automation and the internet, online quotes and instant discounts can only go so far before a red flag suggests you pick up a phone to talk to an insurance broker. Behind the best brokers are a team of underwriters for insurance companies who match or create terms and conditions for convicted drivers. With almost ten million drivers in the United Kingdom, one fifth of those with a driving licence, it's too big a slice of the market to not insure.
Seek out deals from the best brokers who detail specific offerings of car insurance for drivers with criminal convictions such as those with DR10, CU80 or SP30. These have specialist underwriters who will look at your driving history and will ensure you are a risk value metric proven by similar drivers in your situation. The objective is for a convicted driver to get back on the road and begin cleaning their history from day one, having bought an insurance policy at the cheapest possible premium. In a year a no claims bonus might kick in and an online discount may apply.
It is important to understand that convicted drivers can still get vehicle insurance even with eleven points on their driving licence. There are a variety of tools that a new insurer may request you use. Telematics is a popular electronic device that monitors your driving habits and can reduce your premiums. Another way to get a cheaper quote is to abide by certain rules, not driving at night or during rush hour may apply. If you are refused insurance at one agent, there will be an insurer who will take you on. Maybe not at the lowest price or average price, it just may not be a cheap online quote at the first time of trying.