Rehabilitations Act 1974 Insurance companies

[cancookwill]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am not sure if this topic has been covered yet so apologies if I have not seen the post.

 

I have recently phoned my insurance company for a quote I had 3 points on my licence for going 5 MPH over the limit in a 30 how frustrating was that after 30 odd years with no problems points or bans etc completely clean licence

any how I have kept a clean sheet for the past three years and they will be off my license unfortunately the insurance companies are quoting the Rehabilitations Act 1974 and will be on my file for 5 years is this at all fair for such a minor incident my premiums are still affected and I thought by keeping a clean sheet for 3 years etc and waiting for the day for them to be removed only to be categorised as a criminal for another two years

 

It just does not feel fair for such a minor offence

 

is there any thing that can be done to change the law or Im I alone in thinking that it is terrible

[alienskumm]

In my experience on line quotes using comparison sites ask for 5 years of history. Although more expensive, the online insurance companies that don't use comparison search engines only ask for 3 years.

[Raykay]

It depends on your insurance company. The points are current for three years, they stay on your licence for four years. The conviction is current for five years - the Rehabilitations Act 1974.

[Aretnap]

The insurers are correct - the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act specifies a five year rehabilitation period for an offence which gets ou a fine, which is 99% of motoring offences. The points are seperate matter and don't affect the rehabilitation period. But for the ROA there would be no limit to how far back insurers could go when asking about convictions... though probably they would not go back 30 years as there is presumably little correlation between being caught speeding as a teenager and your likelihood of having an accident in middle age.

 

There isn't even that strong a relationship between fairly recent minor convictions and risk, and as an experienced driver you won't usually see that big an increase in your premium for a single speeding conviction. If your insurer wants more than a few percent extra, it's time to look for another insurance company.

 

There are some changes to the ROA in the pipeline which will reduce rehabilitation periods considerably - http://www.nacro.org.uk/what-we-do/resettlement-advice-service/reforms-to-the-rehabilitation-of-offenders-act/ - but it's not 100% clear how they'll affect insurers, who may lobby for an exception. What can be done to change the law? Erm, write to your MP? Vote for a party which doesn't mind looking soft on crime - the Lib Dems perhaps.