Convicted drivers advised to get savvy with motor insurers

Drivers with speeding convictions are losing out by sticking to larger mainstream insurers because they don’t trust other brands or don’t know how to search the market, according to Insurancewide.com, the online insurance comparison website.

James Harrison, chief executive of Insurancewide.com, said: “We know that speed cameras are contributing to a new unfortunate breed of drivers with a sudden mass of points on their licence. These drivers will find it harder to get affordable insurance if they don’t shop around. Premiums will increase the more mainstream you go. Drivers with unusual circumstances should always scour the market for insurers who are looking for a specific customer type with a specific risk profile. Contrary to popular belief, there are several reasonably priced insurers out there who want to insure drivers with points from speed cameras and whose policies are designed especially to cater for this sort of driving history. These insurers realise that they are not necessarily a better or worse risk just that it is easier to amass points today than it was in the pre-speed camera days.

“You just have to know where to look and this is getting easier as comparison websites become more accessible and popular. For example, the leading insurers for drivers with six to nine points include Budget, Direct Choice, Bell Direct, Endsleigh and Its4me. But equally, it’s important to realise that premiums are also affected by other variables such as age, occupation, postcode and gender.

“In the same way, though more understandably, premiums are higher for those with drink drive convictions dating back less than 11 years. Even so, there are insurers such as Quotelinedirect that have special schemes to help this group of stigmatised drivers.

“It goes without saying that you must be completely honest about your driving history so that you don’t risk being refused a claim later on.”