Can you offer convicted driver insurance? Ask that question of many an insurer and you may get one of two answers:

• if your motoring convictions are of the more serious nature – such as drink driving – the answer you get might be a flat no; or

• the somewhat grudging response may be, possibly – but only if you are prepared to pay well over the odds for that cover

Ask us the same question here at GSI Insurance, however, and the answer is almost certainly going to be an enthusiastic, yes we do offer convicted driver insurance – and at a price you may still consider to be entirely affordable.

Assessing risk

The reason why many insurers are reluctant to offer cover for convicted drivers lies in the way in which they assess the risk of having to pay out in the settlement of a claim – the fundamental principle on which all insurance is calculated.

When calculating those risks, many motor insurers take the view that past convictions are an indication of a higher risk and potential for insurance claims – from third parties or from the insured – in the future. The response, therefore, is either to deny cover or to significantly increase the cost of premiums.

Although quoting research that was carried out more than a year ago, the Daily Mail, for instance, has reported that the average costs of convicted driver insurance premiums may rise by:

• 115% for those convicted of drink driving;

• 69% if you have paid the penalty for driving on defective tyres; and

• more than 33% if you have been convicted of the most common of speeding offences.

Our view

At GSI Insurance, we believe that while a previous driving conviction may be a signal for a further conviction in the future, it might be as easily argued that the penalty serves as a lesson in itself, actually reducing the risk of a further transgression in the future.

The upshot, therefore, is that we go out of our way to welcome applications for motor insurance from convicted motorists and pride ourselves in arranging cover that remains as competitively priced as possible.

Honesty really is the best policy

In the knowledge that you are probably going to have to pay more for your motor insurance if you have any kind of record of convictions, you might be tempted just not to declare it – after all, you might still receive that piece of paper that calls itself a certificate of insurance.

That piece of paper may prove quite worthless, however, if you subsequently have an accident, submit a claim and the insurer discovers your record of convictions. In that event, you may find that the policy is declared null and void – because of your failure to disclose the “material facts” of previous convictions – and you are left to make good any loss or damage entirely from your own pocket.

Convicted driver insurance doesn’t have to cost the Earth. Give us a call and see how much you can save.