If you’ve had a conviction or two, you may be concerned that insurers will send your premiums through the roof. You may also be wondering if spent or unspent convictions will affect your insurance too.
Having any type of conviction, be that motoring or criminal, can have an impact on multiple parts of your life but, in this blog, we’re helping you navigate getting the right insurance whether you have spent or unspent convictions.
Do you have a spent or unspent conviction?
If you’re unsure of what the difference between certain convictions is, no problem, we’re here to break it down.
Spent
If you have a spent conviction, as per the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, this means it has been removed from your criminal record because the specified period of time has passed since you were given the conviction. They won’t come up in something like a DBS check (unless it’s an advanced one) and it is illegal for an employer to refuse you employment due to a spent conviction.
Unspent
An unspent criminal conviction is one that is still on your record, be that because you are still in the rehabilitation period or because it will remain permanently on your record due to safeguarding issues. These will be flagged on any form of DBS check.
How long does it take for a conviction to become spent?
Your rehabilitation period will depend on a few factors, including whether you went to prison, the age you were when you committed the crime and the specifics of your offence. They can range between six months and seven years depending on the circumstances.
Will a conviction affect your insurance policy?
Convictions can come at a cost when it comes to your insurance, with insurers needing to use that information to consider your risk level, but it is different depending on the type of conviction you have.
Unspent convictions
If it remains unspent, you will need to disclose this to your insurer and this will most likely increase the cost of your premium. If you don’t disclose the conviction, motoring or criminal, or you mislead your insurer accidentally (or deliberately), you may have your insurance cancelled or voided, and you could even face criminal charges for insurance fraud.
For car insurance especially, an unspent driving conviction may heavily impact your insurance because, statistically, motorists with convictions are more likely to be a higher risk to the insurance company, so their premium reflects that. At Adrian Flux, we’ll be able to help with this, taking things on a case-by-case basis instead of judging you straight away on your driving conviction.
Spent convictions
You do not need to declare this to your insurance provider so it is highly unlikely to affect the price of your premium. This is the same for motoring or criminal convictions.
Is there an insurance company that won’t ask about your convictions?
As mentioned above, no matter what, you do need to declare any unspent criminal or motoring convictions you have but, despite this, there are some insurance companies that won’t immediately bump up the price of your insurance.
Here at Adrian Flux, things are different. We know that your past is not necessarily a guide to the future and as experts in finding cover for all types of specialist and unusual situations, our quotes department can search for value for money, high-quality insurance cover whatever your history.
Convicted car insurance
If you have spent convictions or unspent convictions, at Adrian Flux, our experienced team can discuss your car insurance needs and search for a quote for convicted driver cover.
We also offer fairplay insurance when it comes to all of our policies, where we look at you as an individual, not just an ex-offender.
Call us on 0800 369 8590 or book a callback at a time that suits you.
