More than 1.5 million drivers are likely to receive penalty points over the next 12 months. Get caught speeding this year and you will face a fixed fine, penalty points and ultimately an increase in your car insurance premium.
Minor offences
Yet the increase in the number of speed cameras on British roads is forcing
insurers to rethink their perception of a ‘typical driver’. So many
motorists are picking up penalty points that underwriters can no longer afford
to band all speeders as ‘high risk’. Research shows that around
14% of drivers looking for a car insurance quote carry at least one conviction.
A single fine may increase the premium by up to five per cent for younger drivers.
For older, more experienced drivers, the rates will remain relatively unaffected.
Most insurers are likely to overlook one minor speeding offence.
The heavy stuff
Insurers will become less forgiving when you are caught for a second time –
taking the line that second-time offenders clearly haven’t ‘learned’
from the first speeding mistake. However, car insurance premiums only start
to rise significantly when you get six penalty points on your licence –
this equates to two minor speeding offences. A second speeding fine will increase
your premium by approximately 30%.
After the third speeding fine, premiums will rise by a further 60%. Motorists who are penalised for serious offences such as driving at extremely high speeds will be punished by even higher premiums.
If you have been disqualified from driving, insurers will generally load your premium in the first year you return to driving following disqualification. If you don’t re-offend within that year, your premiums will start to drop. And when returning to the road after disqualification, the make and age of the car really matters. If you choose to drive an older, cheaper model your premium will be less ‘loaded’. If you are disqualified from driving, you can keep your No Claims Bonus for two years.
Speeding convictions remain on your licence for four years from the date the offence occurred. By law, drivers are required to disclose their offences. Insurers will continue to take into account your convictions for at least five years after the endorsement. However tempting it may seem to forget to mention these offences to insurers, motorists who are flashed by cameras or stopped by the police risk invalidating their insurance cover completely if they have not come clean when buying a policy or if they are caught while the policy is in force.
Although you are required to disclose offences that have resulted in penalty points being added to your licence or which have contravened DVLA codes, you do not have to disclose non-endorsable offences such as parking fines.
Finally, if you have points on your licence from speeding fines and you can prove that you were travelling at 32 mph in a 30 mph area as opposed to 80mph, it is worth calling your insurer to explain the circumstances - they may reduce or remove the loading for these more minor breaches.
Finding cover
Insurers penalise drivers with convictions in different ways so if do have points
on your licence, taking the time to shop around for an amenable insurer can
result in major cost savings. If you use the Tiscali Insurancewide Motor Wizard
you will be directed to one of the lesser-known insurers who specialise in providing
affordable cover for drivers with histories of speeding and other more serious
offences. Better still, don’t speed.
Get a free, no obligation quote or buy car insurance online now here
