How driving convictions impact car insurance
We’re here to help you understand how motoring convictions can affect the cost of your car insurance premium and what to do if you receive penalty points on your licence.
How a driving conviction will impact your quote
Insurance companies price their car insurance products based on a series of risk calculations, predicting how likely a driver is to make a claim.
If you have a motoring conviction, insurers will see you as a greater risk and your insurance premiums will increase.
Here are a few ways that your car insurance could be affected by a driving conviction:
- Risk calculations: Each insurer will have its own risk assessment criteria, but the more severe driving convictions will see your premiums rise sharply and, in some cases, providers will refuse to insure you
- Disclosing convictions: You legally have to tell your insurer if you receive points on your licence - it’s an offence under the Road Traffic Act 1998 if you don’t
- Immediately or at renewal: Most insurers only ask you to declare any points received while you’ve been covered by them at renewal time, but some state in their terms that you must tell them as soon as you receive the conviction, so do check
- Undisclosed convictions: If you don’t declare your conviction and then you make a claim, your insurer could refuse to pay your claim
Key points
- You must tell your insurer about any unspent motoring convictions when asked
- How long points remain on your licence depends upon the driving conviction you’ve got
- If you’ve got points on your licence there may be fewer insurers willing to cover you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a good deal
How much will convictions cost you?
How much your premiums actually increase depends on the insurer’s conviction policies, as well as the type of conviction.
On average though, the cost of a fully comp policy for someone with one or more convictions is £583.[1]
How long will they last?
Penalty points don’t stay on your licence indefinitely. They’re usually removed after four years but can stay on your record for up to 11 years for more serious offences.
This means drivers get a chance to revert to a clean licence after a few years, and hopefully see a reduction in their insurance costs as a result.
How much will a previous driving ban affect my car insurance costs?
A driving ban can make a huge dent in the number of insurers that are willing to cover you, and it’ll increase the cost of your car insurance.
What counts as a driving conviction?
Being caught breaking a motoring law leads to a driving conviction.
Offences such as breaking the speed limit, reckless driving, and driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs are classed as driving convictions and lead to fines and penalty points on your licence.
But it’s not just the standard of your driving that can lead to convictions.
For example, if the police find that your vehicle has defective parts, such as worn brakes, or that you have no insurance or valid driving licence, then you’ll be given a driving conviction and potentially receive points on your licence and a fine.
Final warnings, cautions and reprimands aren’t convictions, so they don’t need to be disclosed.
Declaring unspent and spent convictions
You must declare unspent convictions if you’re asked, but if you get a conviction during a policy, you don’t have to tell your insurer until you renew, unless your policy wording says otherwise.
If you don’t disclose your unspent convictions at renewal, or when buying a new policy, then your insurance is invalid. Your insurer can even ask for its money back if you’ve made a claim.
After a certain amount of time, your conviction will become ‘spent’ and isn’t allowed to count against you anymore, because of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
You don’t have to declare spent convictions, even if you’re asked.
Driving convictions and named drivers
You might be asked about the convictions of everyone included on the policy. So if you have friends or family as additional drivers on your policy, you’d have to declare their convictions too.
Conviction codes
There are many different types of driving convictions.
You can check your licence to see if you have any convictions, and how many penalty points you’ve accumulated, on Gov.uk.
-
Our table of conviction codes and penalty points below shows the most common offences:
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence SP10 Exceeding goods vehicle speed limits 3-6 4 years SP30 Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road 3-6 4 years SP50 Exceeding speed limit on a motorway 3-6 4 years TS10 Failing to comply with traffic light signals 3 4 years IN10 Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks 6-8 4 years CU80 Using a mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle 6 4 years DR10 Driving or attempting to drive with alcohol level above limit 3-11 11 years LC20 Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence 3-6 4 years CD10 Driving without due care or attention 3-9 4 years -
Offence codes AC10 to AC30 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence AC10 Failing to stop after an accident 5-10 4 years AC20 Failing to give particulars or to report an accident within 24 hours 5-10 4 years AC30 Undefined accident offences 4-9 4 years -
Offence codes CD10 to CD30 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence CD10 Driving without due care and attention 3-9 4 years CD20 Driving without reasonable consideration for other road users 3-9 4 years CD30 Driving without due care and attention or without reasonable consideration for other road users 3-9 4 years CD40 Causing death through careless driving when unfit through drink 3-11 11 years CD50 Causing death by careless driving when unfit through drugs 3-11 11 years CD60 Causing death by careless driving with alcohol level above the limit 3-11 11 years CD70 Causing death by careless driving then failing to supply a specimen for analysis 3-11 11 years CD80 Causing death by careless, or inconsiderate, driving 3-11 4 years CD90 Causing death by driving: Unlicensed, disqualified or uninsured drivers 3-11 4 years -
Offence codes CU10 to CU80 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence CU10 Using a vehicle with defective brakes 3 4 years CU20 Causing or likely to cause danger by reason of use of unsuitable vehicle or using a vehicle with parts or accessories (excluding brakes, steering or tyres) in a dangerous condition 3 4 years CU30 Using a vehicle with defective tyre(s) 3 4 years CU40 Using a vehicle with defective steering 3 4 years CU50 Causing or likely to cause a danger by reason of load or passengers 3 4 years CU80 Using a mobile phone while driving a motor vehicle 3 4 years -
Offence codes BA10 and BA30 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence BA10 Driving while disqualified by order of court 6 4 years BA30 Attempting to drive while disqualified by order of court 6 4 years -
Offence codes DR10 to DR30 must stay on a driving licence for 11 years from the date of conviction.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence DR10 Driving or attempting to drive with alcohol level above limit 3-11 11 years DR20 Driving or attempting to drive while unfit through drink 3-11 11 years DR30 Driving or attempting to drive then failing to supply a specimen for analysis 3-11 11 years DR40 In charge of a vehicle while alcohol level above the limit 10 4 years DR50 In charge of a vehicle while unfit through drink 10 4 years DR60 Failure to provide a specimen for analysis in circumstances other than driving or attempting to drive 10 4 years DR70 Failing to provide specimen for breath test 4 4 years DR80 Driving or attempting to drive when unfit through drugs 3-11 11 years DR90 In charge of a vehicle when unfit through drugs 10 4 years -
Offence code IN10 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence IN10 Using a vehicle uninsured against third party risks (driving without insurance) 6-8 4 years -
Offence codes LC20 to LC50 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence LC20 Driving otherwise than in accordance with a licence 3-6 4 years LC30 Driving after making a false declaration about fitness when applying for a licence 3-6 4 years LC40 Driving a vehicle having failed to notify a disability 3-6 4 years LC50 Driving after a licence has been revoked or refused on medical grounds 3-6 4 years -
Offence codes MS10 to MS90 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence MS10 Leaving a vehicle in a dangerous position 3-6 4 years MS20 Unlawful pillion riding 3 4 years MS30 Play street offences 2 4 years MS50 Motor racing on the highway 3-11 4 years MS60 Offences not covered by other codes As appropriate 4 years MS70 Driving with uncorrected defective eyesight 3 4 years MS80 Refusing to submit to an eyesight test 3 4 years MS90 Failure to give information as to identity of driver etc 6 4 years -
Offence code MW10 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence MW10 Contravention of special roads regulations (excluding speed limits) 3 4 years -
Offence codes PC10 to PC30 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence PC10 Undefined contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations 3 4 years PC20 Contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations with moving vehicle 3 4 years PC30 Contravention of pedestrian crossing regulations with stationary vehicle 3 4 years -
Offence codes DD40 to DD80 must stay on a driving licence for four years from date of conviction.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence DD40 Dangerous driving 3-11 4 years DD60 Manslaughter or culpable homicide while driving a vehicle 3-11 4 years DD80 Causing death by dangerous driving 3-11 4 years DD90 Furious driving 3-9 4 years -
Offence code TT99 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of conviction.
Code Offence Time on licence TT99 To signify a disqualification under 'totting-up' procedure. If the total of penalty points reaches 12 or more within three years the driver is liable to be disqualified 4 years -
Speeding offence codes SP10 to SP50 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence SP10 Exceeding goods vehicle speed limits 3-6 4 years SP20 Exceeding speed limit for type of vehicle (excluding goods or passenger vehicles) 3-6 4 years SP30 Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road 3-6 4 years SP30 Exceeding statutory speed limit on a public road 3-6 4 years SP40 Exceeding passenger vehicle speed limit 3-6 4 years SP50 Exceeding speed limit on a motorway 3-6 4 years -
Offence codes TS10 to TS70 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence TS10 Failing to comply with traffic light signals 3 4 years TS20 Failing to comply with double white lines 3 4 years TS30 Failing to comply with 'Stop' sign 3 4 years TS40 Failing to comply with direction of a constable/warden 3 4 years TS50 Failing to comply with traffic sign (excluding 'Stop' signs, traffic lights or double white lines) 3 4 years TS60 Failing to comply with a school crossing patrol sign 3 4 years TS70 Undefined failure to comply with a traffic direction sign 3 4 years -
Offence code UT50 must stay on a driving licence for four years from the date of offence.
Code Offence Penalty points Time on licence UT50 Aggravated taking of a vehicle 3-11 4 years
How to avoid getting points on your licence
It's pretty simple really - just obey the law. It’s there to keep you and other motorists safe, after all.
If you commit a minor speeding offence, instead of paying your fine and accepting points on your licence, you might be given an alternative option of attending a speed awareness course.
These courses are run by private companies throughout the country and are administered by the National Driver Offender Retraining Scheme (NDORS).
The cost of the course varies by location but it’s in the region of £100.
The course lasts for four hours and is a popular choice for motorists committing minor traffic offences, with 1.19 million drivers attending in 2018 alone according to the RAC Foundation.
If you commit a non-endorsable offence (one where you get a fine but no points) you’ll receive a fixed penalty notice instead. It’s usually a £50 fine, although can be higher.
Car insurance companies that don’t ask about criminal convictions
We don't compare policies from any companies that don't ask drivers to declare their criminal convictions. But that doesn't mean that if you have some, you’re out of options.
Depending on what kind you have, you're not barred from having insurance just because you have a driving conviction.
If you compare policies through us, it’s easy to declare any convictions you have and see your options.
According to the DVLA, in October 2022 there were over 2.6 million full driving licence holders with penalty points in the UK – and lots of them can still get a good deal on their car insurance[2]
Compare quotesFinding car insurance when you have points on your licence
If you receive a motoring conviction and points on your licence then the cost of your cover will increase, but you can still shop around to get a good deal.
There are a few things you can do to make yourself less of a risk to insurers, such as taking out a telematics policy, which will base your premiums on how well you drive.
Or, you could opt for a higher voluntary excess - but make sure you can still afford to pay it. Adding an additional older driver, preferably with no driving convictions, could reduce your premiums too.
Another possible solution is to reduce your annual mileage as many people tend to overestimate the distance they drive in a year. Check your MOT certificates to see your annual mileage for the last few years and find out if it makes sense to adjust this figure on your insurance.
Just because you’ve suddenly got points on your licence it doesn’t mean you have to stay with your current insurer. In fact it’s a good time to compare costs to try and keep your premium increase to a minimum.
How many points can you have before being disqualified?
If you’re handed 12 or more points within a three-year period, you’ll be disqualified from driving. If you’re banned from driving for more than 56 days, you’ll need to reapply for a new licence after your ban ends.
If you’re a new driver, you can be disqualified from driving if you get six or more penalty points within two years of passing your driving test.
Can you insure your car if you've been disqualified?
No, as you’d be breaching the terms of your car insurance because you no longer hold a valid licence.
But you legally have to keep your car insured for at least third party damage to be able to keep it.
If you’re temporarily banned, you can apply for a SORN (Statutory Off-Road Notice) to keep your car insured while you can’t drive it.
After your ban is over, you can apply for car insurance just like anyone else, but you need to tell your insurer about any driving convictions and points on your licence, which could raise the cost.
[1]The average price paid for fully comprehensive car insurance in November 2022 for customers with one or more driving convictions is £583.
[2]2,668,865 drivers had penalty points on their licence. DVLA October 2022 GB Driving Licence Data.