police insurance checks.

Convicted Driver Insurance

europhil

Well Known Member
I've not had insurance in my own name for over 10 years. I've driven company vehicles and just been on my wifes policy as insured and spouse.
There was no need to let the insurance company know i was banned, But we have left the insurance as it is.
When i get my licence back, I could just jump in my wifes car as i'm on the policy.
If the police pulled me (which is quite likely), Do you suppose they would check with the insurance company to see if i'd disclosed my convictions?
I wouldn't have lied to them in any way. I've just not told them anything.
 
Since you're on your wifes policy it probably wont make much of a difference to the cost, if you were the main policy holder it would be expensive. If you had an accident and tried to claim they would probably invalidate the insurance and you'd get done for no insurance too. I'd ring and check. Until I can afford my own insurance I have my mum as the named driver with me on it, and it costs £21 a month. She has a SP30 and I have DR10.
 
I've not had insurance in my own name for over 10 years. I've driven company vehicles and just been on my wifes policy as insured and spouse.
There was no need to let the insurance company know i was banned, But we have left the insurance as it is.
When i get my licence back, I could just jump in my wifes car as i'm on the policy.
If the police pulled me (which is quite likely), Do you suppose they would check with the insurance company to see if i'd disclosed my convictions?
I wouldn't have lied to them in any way. I've just not told them anything.

As to whether the Police will check this specifically, they are unlikely to find out about your deception with initial checks. However.....

There is/was a need to let your insurance company know you were banned. Do not even think about driving until you have disclosed your convictions to them.

If you dont declare any convictions its a fraudulent declaration and will invalidate your insurance immediately should you try to make a claim or a claim be made against you. This information will be passed onto the Police who will prosecute you and see you back in Court. You could also be liable to pay for any and all damage or injuries caused, which could be very costly. It is also likely to affect your wife too as she is the policy holder.

Just because you are on the policy it doesnt mean you can drive when you get your licence back because as you havent disclosed any convictions you are effectively driving without valid insurance.

You have a duty to tell them of any convictions (read the policy small print) so to say you havent lied is not a get out clause.

Insurance should never be messed around with, it needs to be spot on correct. You are either insured or you are not, no ifs no buts.

The penalties for driving without valid insurance are the same as the penalties for uninsured drivers which could get you a fixed penalty fine of £300 plus 6 points on your licence.

Absolutely no offence europhil but you have recently got out of prison for driving whilst disqualified! Have you not learned to abide by the rules of the road after all that?? Is it really worth risking more trouble? I think not.

May sound harsh but the insurance companies will look for any excuse to invalidate any claim or policy so dont give them an easy reason..... fess up and get legal!!
 
I've not had insurance in my own name for over 10 years. I've driven company vehicles and just been on my wifes policy as insured and spouse.
There was no need to let the insurance company know i was banned, But we have left the insurance as it is.
When i get my licence back, I could just jump in my wifes car as i'm on the policy.
If the police pulled me (which is quite likely), Do you suppose they would check with the insurance company to see if i'd disclosed my convictions?
I wouldn't have lied to them in any way. I've just not told them anything.

I think you have answered your own question, you say that you think it is quite likely that you will be pulled by the police. If you are targeted in this way, it makes it more likely that they will check with your insurance company about what has been disclose, rather than a routine check where they simply look to see if there is insurance cover.
As to the last bit, with insurance, it is not just about lies, but the 'sin of omission.'. The policy holder has a duty to disclose all material facts that might affect their cover, and a DR10 conviction certainly comes under this heading.
Also you say "there is no need to let the insurance company know I was banned.' Again, there is a need. They provided cover at a cost which reflected use by husband and wife, so the ability to share the driving. As soon as you were convicted you cannot share journeys, so your wife should have let the insurance company know that you had a conviction for them to reassess the risk. If you check the wording of the policy, there is doubtless a clause requiring all convictions by drivers to be notified to the insurance company promptly.
presumably you have also told them about your driving whilst disqualified (and no insurance?) X 2 that you have discussed before as well?

sorry Ukboxer, you got yours in just as I was doing mine, but the same sentiment in both.....
 
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I hear what you're both saying about lessons learned.
As for my wifes insurance when i was disqualified. I didn't see any point in informing them as i wasn't driving the car anyway.
She's been pulled on quite a few occasions to make sure i wasn't driving and there were no issues.

It's hard to ask insurance companies questions without it costing a fortune.
I'll give you an example:
About 10 years ago my wife had a minor bump, I phoned the insurance company to ask a hyperthetical question. "if my wife had a minor bump costing around £500, What sort of premium would she be looking at on her renewal date?"
I ended up coming to a deal for cash with the other driver, So no claim was made.
On her renewal date her premium doubled. I questioned it and they said it was because of the accident she had some months earlier. We ended up going with another company.
So you can see why i'd be reluctant to inform them. If they said it would increase the premium by a huge amount and i said "in that case take me off it". You can bet they'd ramp her premium up anyway.

I havn't got my licence back yet, I'm just weighing up the odds for future reference.
 
I hear what you're both saying about lessons learned.
As for my wifes insurance when i was disqualified. I didn't see any point in informing them as i wasn't driving the car anyway.
She's been pulled on quite a few occasions to make sure i wasn't driving and there were no issues.

It's hard to ask insurance companies questions without it costing a fortune.
I'll give you an example:
About 10 years ago my wife had a minor bump, I phoned the insurance company to ask a hyperthetical question. "if my wife had a minor bump costing around £500, What sort of premium would she be looking at on her renewal date?"
I ended up coming to a deal for cash with the other driver, So no claim was made.
On her renewal date her premium doubled. I questioned it and they said it was because of the accident she had some months earlier. We ended up going with another company.
So you can see why i'd be reluctant to inform them. If they said it would increase the premium by a huge amount and i said "in that case take me off it". You can bet they'd ramp her premium up anyway.

I havn't got my licence back yet, I'm just weighing up the odds for future reference.

I think everyone understands why you are reluctant to tell them including myself.

Perhaps look at it similar to drink driving. You may get away with it for years, even pulled over and allowed to continue but it just takes that one time to be caught. Trouble is, with insurance even if you are driving safely someone else may crash into you and your screwed.

I certainly didnt mean any offence by what I said, just genuinely wouldnt want to see you get into trouble.
 
You might be reluctant to inform them, what about your wife, as the policy holder, she could also be liable if you are driving and she has not disclosed a material fact that would void the insurance from failing to disclose the conviction.
you can always lie to the insurance company (until the DVLA database is linked in the near future to the MIB database and they will be able to see points and disqualifications, - and I bet they will look at the past 5 years worth, not just from when it is implemented)
and unless checks are made they take your declarations at face value. But when it goes wrong, the lies come back to haunt you, and loved ones if they have been sucked into the scam.
What do you think the insurance premiums will be in 2 years when the auto checking between insurance companies and DVLA comes in and they find the people who have been lying in the past 5 years?
Re the reporting of accidents not claimed for, this article appeared on the BBC website last year:

Interpreting the word "incident" can be a problem for customers at renewal.


We would expect the insurer to make it clear the impact that could have”

Malcolm Tarling
Association of British Insurers
Insurers have traditionally asked customers to state whether they have had any recent accidents, losses or claims, and say not disclosing them could invalidate a policy.

Money Box asked six major car insurers whether they would put up a premium as a result of being told of an incident, even if a claim was not proceeded with and they did not pay out any money.

Both esure and Admiral said it was likely to affect the driver's next insurance quote.

LV -Kevin's insurer - admits it used to use incidents as a rating factor, and so it says Kevin's renewal premium may have gone up as a result.

But the company says it has recently changed its system so this would not happen when premiums are now calculated.

Aviva said it would not, whilst AXA and Direct Line said it would depend on the circumstances.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23903966


So insurance companies manage the risk different ways. At the end of the day, honesty leads to the comfort of knowing that your insurance is valid. Lies can save you money, but maybe only in the short term, with a big sting to follow.......
 
I think everyone understands why you are reluctant to tell them including myself.

Perhaps look at it similar to drink driving. You may get away with it for years, even pulled over and allowed to continue but it just takes that one time to be caught. Trouble is, with insurance even if you are driving safely someone else may crash into you and your screwed.

I certainly didnt mean any offence by what I said, just genuinely wouldnt want to see you get into trouble.

No offence taken whatsoever.
Whatever made you think that?:)
 
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