Speeding fines and insurance

foreright · 3 Dec 2006 at 09:54

Put me wise guys am i a p**t.
Six months ago I got a speeding fine (camera) and the statutory 3 points and £60 fine. Because I had the misfortune to have a couple of accidents in the last 2 years - one a right off - I informed my insurance company. I increase on my premium at renewal was £40, not too bad you say. The thing is I am informed that I will pay that for 5 years which makes it £200.
When I asked my some friends if they has similar convictions and what hike in premium they had incurred. Two said they had but not informed their insurance companies.
Now that got me thinking. I -as I already mentioned - had 2 accidents recently, but on neither occasion did the ins. co. ask to see my licence.
My question is, under what circumstances would they have found out about my conviction if at all. I spoke to them off the record to ask these questions and got the impression that they would never ask for my licence but thanks for being honest.
I don't like being honest if it costs me loads of dosh. What do you guys feel have you had any experiences with fines and insurance.

dirtydog · 3 Dec 2006 at 09:57

This would be better in the Motors forum.

Personally I think people should tell their insurance company the truth. People who don't are the reason the rest of us pay higher premiums than we need to.

SB118 · 3 Dec 2006 at 09:59

If you have points on your licence which you didn't tell your insurance company about, you pretty much don't have insurance.

That's why they ask about motoring convictions when you apply for a policy.

So when you slap your car into something solid .... yup, you're an uninsured driver and will get the book thrown at you.

[TW]Fox · 3 Dec 2006 at 10:06

SB118 said:
If you have points on your licence which you didn't tell your insurance company about, you pretty much don't have insurance.

That's why they ask about motoring convictions when you apply for a policy.

So when you slap your car into something solid .... yup, you're an uninsured driver and will get the book thrown at you.

This is untrue. Your insurer reserves the right to restrict liability to that required by the Road Traffic Act - that is, third party risks only - in the event of such material non-disclosure. But they cannot revoke the entire policy in the event of a claim. They can, if they wish, later recover the cost from you via court, but you wouldn't be uninsured. This is my understanding of the situation and carries no warranty implied or otherwise, I am not a lawyer

foreright · 3 Dec 2006 at 10:08

But that is my point, although I have the accidents 6 - 18 months ago. On neither occasion did the insurance company ask for my licence. I could have had 9 points and they would not have been aware of them and still paid out for my repairs. They must be doing that all the time and it must mean that soppy gits like me are too frightened to not tell them could get away with it.

dirtydog · 3 Dec 2006 at 10:12

Do you want us to tell you what's right, or what you can 'get away with'?

rabanthor · 3 Dec 2006 at 10:18

A few years ago at renewal time I told my insurance co. about points. They back dated the premiums,sent me a bill, and told me they could prosecute for fraud in such events. Although I may have been slightly naughty as the points were two years old and my first renewal I just let run on, second I was shopping around.

foreright · 3 Dec 2006 at 10:23

Code:

Do you want us to tell you what's right, or what you can 'get away with'?

No I suppose I would just like to know how your insurance company would find out about the points, unless that is you change companies.

n3vrmind · 3 Dec 2006 at 10:41

Maybe with your insurance co. they dont check because the great majority of people dont lie about points for fear they wont be insured

i wouldnt think that they would actually ask for your paper license if they did need to check, wouldnt they just check with the DVLA. that check would most likely cost them money so checking for every claim would make it more expensive. you also have to remember that they might not check your license but that sort of info might come up on the police report

al123 · 5 Dec 2006 at 19:10

Depends how old you are. If you are young they will hammer you

al123 · 5 Dec 2006 at 19:10

Depends how old you are. If you are young they will hammer you..

poosemon · 5 Dec 2006 at 21:43

i added an sp30 to my insurance policy on the rover coupe vvc and it didn't make any difference to my premium.

i am 20 btw

Mr Jack · 5 Dec 2006 at 22:40

It all depends on the company, for example, Quinn guarantee not to raise your premiums unless you acquire more than six points.

al123 · 6 Dec 2006 at 01:42

Mr Jack said:
It all depends on the company, for example, Quinn guarantee not to raise your premiums unless you acquire more than six points.

I think Direct Line are the same, but i'm not 100% sure on that..

Pajeh · 6 Dec 2006 at 09:34

Mine went up £150 with 3 points, with elephant. Was still the cheapest by miles though

blade007 · 6 Dec 2006 at 11:53

I think that if an insurance company finds a way to wiggle it's way out of paying up money - it will. One reason is that you have not declared things that they ask.

jumpy · 6 Dec 2006 at 12:38

I never told my insurance company about my 4 points and £90.00 fine for an SP30 about 6 years ago... I just never got around to it :rolleyes:

Not had any violations on my license since.

But then again past experience with various insurance vendors has convinced me that they're all a bunch of thieving gits who wouldn't give a helping hand to a blind man if it meant loosing some money. (Read the blind man as me and the helping hand as a payout for a car that was written off due to someone else's carelessness- having demanded a premium for a specified amount they then decided it was only worth 700 quid and not 3000 as they initially required when setting up the premium = me muchos miffed at paying a premium way over the odds for what they were prepared to dish out in the event of a cat B write off)

An evil, but a necessary one according to those who make the law. :mad:

Realistically it's the luck of the draw, tell them, or not; you take a risk. Either way you loose out financially one way or another, how else do insurance companies make so much money, hmm?

laissez-faire · 6 Dec 2006 at 12:48

As I just started in another thread - I have significant legal backing that a fixed penalty is NOT A CONVICTION (certainly in Scotland, not sure about the rest of UK but would assume it is the same) and thus you do not not need to declare it.

If you are convicted by a magistrates court or a sheriff's court that is totally different and the insurance company does indeed have the ability to check these convictions so you must declare them.

I do no believe the insurance company has the power to view your driving licence and a fixed penalty is clearly defined as an 'alternative to prosecution'. If you pay a fixed penalty you CANNOT be convicted hence whenever the insurance company asks for 'motoring convictions' you can ignore that providing you haven't got any court cases.

kefkef · 6 Dec 2006 at 17:01

I added an SP30 and SP50 to mine and didn't cost any extra, was with Citroen Insurance though.