Dependant on what a driver has been convicted of will depend on how long it stays on their licence and for how long they will have to declare it to certain authorities when asked. While drink driving offences and some more serious convictions remain on your licence for 11 years. Those included would be drink and drug offences shown on the driving record as DR10, DR20, DR30, DR31, DR61 and DR80.
However, when it comes to insurance companies looking to insure you after you have been convicted of a drink driving offence, the conviction is considered “spent” after 5 years under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Some firms may often ask if you have any “endorsements” on your licence in the previous 11 years, but this was deemed unlawful by a High Court ruling in 2002, considering it a breach of duty to disadvantage a driver for a conviction considered “spent”.
In short, an insurance provider is not allowed to make policy decisions on convictions considered spent, and if decisions, including higher policy charges, are implemented on the basis of spent convictions, then a complaint can be made against the company.
Insurers are generally asking these questions with regard to previous drink driving convictions as an insight into a driver’s past behaviour. The industry uses statistical modelling to determine the likelihood of a driver making a claim in the future, taking numerous factors into consideration. The result of this is generally the position that a driver with a previous DR10, or related conviction, is more likely to make a claim in the future, which can unfortunately result in higher premiums for those drivers – but not once 5 years has passed. Some insurers would even refuse to insure drivers with previous drink driving convictions as they are seen as too high risk.
Even with that being the case, it’s of paramount importance that someone seeking drink driver insurance always declares a drink driving conviction when attempting to take out a policy, as the nondisclosure of information could result in a policy being invalidated if one was to attempt to make a claim against the policy at a later date, resulting in non-payment of a claim.
With all this being said, Insurance Revolution specialise in providing drink driver insurance for vehicles and drivers, and we have extensive experience in providing policies for drivers with a drink driving convictions. While providers may consider a driver with a drink driving conviction high risk, we believe it should not cost you the earth to get a drink driver insurance policy. We can help you find a competitive policy fast. If you’re unsure of how to proceed with regard to acquiring insurance post-conviction, get in touch with one of our advisors who will be able to talk you through the process and offer you a competitive quote to help you get back on the road.
Click here to read about our drink driver insurance policies.
