Andyaustralian
Member
I read a thread about insurance premiums a few minutes ago and found it rather interesting. I thought another aspect was worth starting new thread on.
My ban ends in three weeks and I too have been looking at insurance quotes. I, like many others, have had an impeccable driving record for all my sixteen years of driving and it is frustrating being treated as a high risk by insurance companies. I tried out the comparison sites for a 1997 Peugeot 1.5 diesel and the results returned £230 third party fire and theft. With the drink driving conviction this was increased to in excess of £500 in most cases. When ticking the box that asks if you have a driving conviction, a separate section pops up asking five main questions: conviction code (DR10, etc.), fine, points, blood alcohol content (BAC) and ban duration. I fiddled with the information altering various vaues to see how they judged the offence. The fine amount and BAC were of no consequence but the ban time did have a striking effect on the insurance premiums. For example, my ban was for 14 months (reduced from 19 with the drink driving course) but if I dropped the '1' and made it 4 months, the premium dropped to £370.
I don't know how the system works and how much of this information is communicated between the courts, police and the insurance companies, but it did make a difference. For some people, it could be a difference of several hundred pounds and the difference between being able to afford to drive or not. I am not suggesting lying on the insurance forms but if an error did occur and I was pulled over at random by the police, would they put two and two together and say there was something wrong with my insurance?
Once again, I am not condoning dishonesty and I do not own the Peugeot I mentioned above. I only selected that as an example to use on the comparison sites as they need a real car to base their prices on. I also want to do my homework and not throw good money away unnecessarily.
Some people suggested applying to individual insurers that specialise in convictions and the like. I found their prices to be way over the top and considering it takes a good five minutes or more to fill out all the details, a complete waste of time. Some then waste your time online then right at the end, ask you to call them. Alternatively, the comparison sites gave several 'cheap' quotes with minimal fuss and I think I will utilise their services when I return to the road.
Any thoughts?
My ban ends in three weeks and I too have been looking at insurance quotes. I, like many others, have had an impeccable driving record for all my sixteen years of driving and it is frustrating being treated as a high risk by insurance companies. I tried out the comparison sites for a 1997 Peugeot 1.5 diesel and the results returned £230 third party fire and theft. With the drink driving conviction this was increased to in excess of £500 in most cases. When ticking the box that asks if you have a driving conviction, a separate section pops up asking five main questions: conviction code (DR10, etc.), fine, points, blood alcohol content (BAC) and ban duration. I fiddled with the information altering various vaues to see how they judged the offence. The fine amount and BAC were of no consequence but the ban time did have a striking effect on the insurance premiums. For example, my ban was for 14 months (reduced from 19 with the drink driving course) but if I dropped the '1' and made it 4 months, the premium dropped to £370.
I don't know how the system works and how much of this information is communicated between the courts, police and the insurance companies, but it did make a difference. For some people, it could be a difference of several hundred pounds and the difference between being able to afford to drive or not. I am not suggesting lying on the insurance forms but if an error did occur and I was pulled over at random by the police, would they put two and two together and say there was something wrong with my insurance?
Once again, I am not condoning dishonesty and I do not own the Peugeot I mentioned above. I only selected that as an example to use on the comparison sites as they need a real car to base their prices on. I also want to do my homework and not throw good money away unnecessarily.
Some people suggested applying to individual insurers that specialise in convictions and the like. I found their prices to be way over the top and considering it takes a good five minutes or more to fill out all the details, a complete waste of time. Some then waste your time online then right at the end, ask you to call them. Alternatively, the comparison sites gave several 'cheap' quotes with minimal fuss and I think I will utilise their services when I return to the road.
Any thoughts?
