Category: Car Insurance

What is Convicted Driver Insurance?

Convicted driver insurance is insurance for a driver who has a criminal conviction. The cost of insurance is usually higher when the driver has a previous criminal conviction.

Does a criminal conviction make it harder to get car insurance?

A criminal conviction makes it harder to get car insurance. Surprisingly to many, this does not only include convictions that relate directly to driving. Any conviction may result in certain problems when seeking car insurance.

How to get car insurance when you have a criminal conviction

The first thing you need to do is disclose your conviction to your insurance broker and insurer. Never hide your conviction because it will lead to problems down the line. It may result in your policy being voided.

It is also important to know that any conviction must be disclosed even if the event or the conviction happened after the policy of insurance was taken out.

This is something that can easily be forgotten but is just as important as disclosing the conviction when the policy is taken out. In this circumstance, it is up to the policy holder to make contact with their insurance provider and notify them about the conviction.

There are insurers who specialise in policies for people with convictions. It is possible for a convicted driver to shop around to find the best quote.

Spent Convictions – Car Insurance

What is a “Spent” Conviction?

Some convictions are regarded as “spent” after 7 years. The 7 years is counted from the date of the sentence (conviction).

These are:

• All convictions in the District Court except for convictions for dangerous driving and a single conviction in either the District our Circuit Court which resulted in a prison term of less than 12 months or a fine
• Convictions for a sexual offence or an offence tried in the Central Criminal Court must always be disclosed and are never “spent.”

Up until 2016, there was no set time in Ireland whereby there was expungement of adult criminal convictions after a set period.

In terms of insurance, it is really a lifelong punishment since all insurance companies ask, at the time of new business quotation and/or renewal, whether there has ever been any criminal convictions.

The 2016 act states “If you have been convicted of fraud, deceit or dishonesty in respect of a claim under a policy of insurance or a policy of assurance, you have to disclose that conviction on any insurance or assurance proposal or form.”

Failure to disclose such convictions could mean that your policy is invalid and cancelled from inception date – effectively meaning that cover never existed. It will also mean that any claim will not be paid.

It is important to note that these rules apply to all insurance policies, not just car insurance.

Questions Insurance Brokers/Companies will ask a Convicted Driver

At quoteme.ie we ask the following question when we receive an application for car insurance:

“Have you or any driver who may drive your car ever had any convictions for any offence of any nature or any pending prosecutions?”

Convicted Drivers Insurance

In the case where the offence resulting in the conviction was related to driving you will have to disclose details. For example, in the case of seeking car insurance for a person convicted of a drink driving related offence a number of additional details are required.

A number of insurance companies provide quotes to convicted drivers. We get quotes on your behalf from these insurers so you can select the best quote.

Convicted drivers insurance can be significantly higher than a driver without a conviction. That’s a key reason to shop around for your quote. We can help you get cheap convicted drivers insurance. Everyone’s circumstances are different. You may be surprised at how much you can save on your policy.

Convicted Driver Insurance and Drink Driving Insurance

We help drivers with a drink driving related conviction get car insurance. During the application process, we require additional details from the applicant that relate to their conviction.

If you have a drink driving conviction, we have a number of insurers willing to quote for your car insurance.

In order to get an insurance quote for a driver who has a drink driving conviction we require the following details:

The date of the offence and the penalty you received.
Since 2011 your penalty will reflect the offence so we no longer need to know the statistics around your blood/alcohol levels at the time of your offence.

A major factor in determining the cost of your car insurance policy will be around the penalty you received. If you were disqualified from driving for more than 2 years, you will have lost your no claims bonus, with the obvious consequence.

Even if you have a drink driving conviction it is worth shopping around for quotes. Many insurers will give you a quote but in our experience, this can vary according to a number of factors.

We can help you find the lowest price quote from insurers who have policies for drivers with a drink driving conviction.

Our insurance professionals can help people with convictions get the best possible quote for their circumstances. We recommend that you give us a call and we will do our utmost to find the best quote for you.

Insurance for a Driver with a Conviction

For a driver with a conviction, it is more difficult to get car insurance. Quotes are higher for individuals with a conviction than for people without a criminal conviction. However, this increase in cost can be reduced.

Over the years we have seen many convicted drivers make substantial savings on their policy. Even though the quote will be higher if they did not have any convictions, shopping around does pay.

Please call us for a quote. We will compare insurance companies that insure convicted drivers and are happy to walk you through the application process. Our friendly insurance professionals will make it easy for you to provide all the required details.

Call us on 0818 224 433.

In this crazy football transfer market, what if a Premier League player was signed by a League of Ireland team? This may not be as far-fetched as it originally seems, considering the possibility of Champions League football for the League of Ireland club.

Since Premier League players are known to drive expensive large engined cars, we have taken a look at what a typical Premier League player would pay for car insurance if they transferred to the League of Ireland.

The Range Rover Evoque is the most popular car driven by Premier League players across the water, so we have used this for our analysis.

We picked four areas – North (Donegal), South (Cork), East (Dublin) and West (Sligo) plus the town of the League Champions Dundalk.

Sligo and Cork had the cheapest quote followed by Donegal and Dublin. Dundalk had the most expensive quote by a clear distance.

Quotes are based on a 25 year old male footballer with a five years no claims bonus.

Dublin:
LOI Teams: Shamrock Rovers, Bohemians, St Patricks Athletic
Car Insurance – Range Rover Evoque Dublin: €2,993

Dundalk:
Team: Dundalk FC
Car Insurance Dundalk – Range Rover Evoque: €4,812

Cork:
LOI Teams: Cork City
Car Insurance – Range Rover Evoque Cork: €2,875

Sligo:
LOI Teams: Sligo Rovers
Car Insurance – Range Rover Evoque Sligo: €2,875

Donegal:
LOI Teams: Finn Harps (Ballybofey)
Car Insurance – Range Rover Evoque Donegal: €2964

Conclusion

Based on car insurance quotes from thirteen different car insurers, Cork and Sligo offer the best value for the player. Donegal comes in second with Dublin not too much more expensive. Dundalk has the most expensive policy quote for the car used in this example.

If you would like a car insurance quote and are not a 25 year old footballer with a Range Rover Evoque then use our comparison engine now.

Car insurance for EU license holders in Ireland is an important issue, since most of the 12% of non-Irish citizens in Ireland are from EU countries. In principle, drivers from EU countries should expect to be treated equally when it comes to car insurance. It is true that one of the obstacles to overcome for EU citizens is the differences between Irish licences and non-Irish licences. A major difference between a non-Irish driver’s licence and a license issued by the Irish State is the amount of information available to car insurance companies in Ireland.

However, in a recent case that came before Ireland’s Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), a Polish man who has been living in Ireland for over a decade lost his claim against an Irish insurance company. The man holds a full Polish driving licence, and has a no-claims discount of four years in Ireland. Yet when he tried to get insurance in June, he was quoted €942. If he had had an Irish license, he would only have paid €768, and if he had held a UK license, he would only have been charged €760.

The Polish driver challenged the decision of the Irish car insurance company at the WRC, the independent, statutory body established in 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. His challenge was based on the provisions of the Equal Status Act, Discrimination and Related Activities, Disposal of Goods and Provision of Services.

For some obscure reason, the Commission found that the insurance company had legitimately discriminated against the Polish driver, who has lived and worked – and paid his insurance – for 11 years in Ireland. According to the WRC, EU citizens with non-Irish driving licences can be charged more for insurance. This does not seem fair.

With a debate in the Dáil yesterday on the rising cost of insurance, it’s interesting that across the pond UK car insurers are punishing customers for their loyalty, rather than rewarding them.

Despite a pledge by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority to stamp out the unfair and underhand practice of increasing costs for loyal car insurance customers, a recent study shows that car insurers are ignoring this.

The Times of London recently highlighted a study that shows that over six million UK car insurance customers fail to look for a cheaper deal when renewing their policy. With insurers imposing a £110 premium on loyal motorists who fail to switch to a cheaper rival, that means that car insurers are overcharging by about £660 million.

The study was conducted by comparethemarket.com, the UK car insurance comparison site made famous by Russian meerkat Aleksandr Orlov and his family. (Aleksandr has been good for advertising. When the campaign was first launched, the number of monthly unique visitors to the site jumped from 218,000 to 1.1 million in one year.)

The study shows that motorists are being overcharged by a record amount, based on the widening of the gulf between average renewal quotes and the cheapest policies on the market. In the first three months of 2016, motorists were forced to pay an average of £682 for fully comprehensive cover, even though premiums of £572 were available for those who shopped around.

The premium on loyal customers in the UK is now at the highest it has been for four years. Motorists under 25 are particularly vulnerable, and are being forced to pay the highest loyalty premiums of almost £245.

Simon McCulloch, who runs the comparethemarket.com website, says that passivity on the part of motorists is pushing up the cost of premiums. “Inertia of some motor insurance customers has been the real driver of the premium increase. By not shopping around, consumers are inadvertently sending a message to insurers that they are happy to pay more for their cover. ”

In Ireland, the quoteme.ie website helps motorists – both existing and new customers – find the most competitive car insurance quotes.

With thoughts of booking summer holidays on the horizon, we’ve put together some useful tips on car hire abroad to make sure it’s a stress-free experience:

• When hiring a car abroad, make sure that the requested insurance cover is documented. Ask specifically if the car provided will be fully equipped to meet all the legal requirements of the country being visited
• Familiarise yourself with the rules of the road of the countries you intend to drive in
• When collecting your car, ask the rental firm about their procedures should it break down and the emergency number to call
• Check that your rented car has emergency equipment. Check all the switches, indicators and other controls – if any are unfamiliar or don’t work, ask the rental firm for guidance
• A good phrasebook will come in handy for communicating with a policeman, breakdown recovery firm or garage
• If you are looking for the best bargain, remember that prices quoted online often only contain the basics. Check what is included in the final quote and what is not. Pay special attention to airport surcharges and insurance cover
• Check the cost of extras that you will need during your rental: child seat, additional driver, extra insurance etc.
• Carry your driving licence, original vehicle registration document and passport; you may be asked to produce any one of these items. A provisional licence is unacceptable and the minimum driving age in most countries is 18
• If you are staying in the EU then you do not need an international driving permit. However it is still worth having one as some hire companies insist on them
• Remember that children under 12 and/or 1.5 metres in height are not permitted to travel as front seat passengers in some countries

There are many implications of driving with an overcrowded car. Firstly, it’s illegal. It’s also very dangerous, and can make it more likely that you will be involved in an accident. The law says that you should only carry the number of people that can each sit in a manufactured seat with a seat belt, so if your car was designed only to carry 3 people, it’s against the law to carry 4.

So even if you can manage to squeeze 7 people into a mini, it’s unsafe and against the law. Cars are manufactured with a certain weight ratio in mind and ignoring this can cause serious mechanical problems with the car. Carrying too many people also has safety implications.

More weight in your car will increase the wear and tear on your vehicle, and also increases your fuel consumption. A heavy weight can cause the underside of the car to drag over speed bumps and when travelling up- or down-hill which can damage exhaust pipes and brackets.

A heavy load can also negatively affect your steering and your braking. If your car is too slow to respond, you could be involved in a serious accident. Excess weight can also mean that your headlights will become misaligned which could result in you dazzling drivers travelling towards you.

A very convincing reason for not carrying more people than you should is the possibility that you will be stopped by the police. If you are involved in an accident while transporting more people than you should, regardless of who is to blame, you could find it difficult to prove that you were not at fault. You could leave yourself open to legal action from those who were travelling in your car or, in the case of children, their parents.

Which brings us to the subject of insurance – carrying too many people in your car could jeopardise your insurance cover. Insurance companies typically allow for only 5 people to travel in a single vehicle (however, if you have a people carrier, you should point this out to your insurer to make sure that you are covered).

If you decide to carry more people than you should, the insurance company could declare your cover null and void. This in turn could lead to a situation where you could face a charge of driving without valid insurance.

With much of the country below sea level, the Netherlands is no stranger to flood risk. In 1953, the country was hit by a devastating flood which claimed almost 2,000 lives. But despite boasting some of the most advanced flood defences in the world, almost two thirds of Dutch homeowners were unable to buy flood insurance for some 60 years after the 1953 floods.

This changed drastically in 2013 when Lloyd’s coverholder Neerlandse started offering flood insurance using an innovative underwriting and risk assessment tool. This insurance product has the backing of the country’s homeowners association, and provides protection for flood damage up to €75,000. Most experts agree that this is more than enough to cover the average damage to a property from a major flood. The policy also covers water damage resulting from a failure of flood defences caused by earthquake or an act of terrorism.

Although the Netherlands is well protected from flood, Dutch underwriters nevertheless had no mechanism that could properly assess and price the risk for individual properties. The Neerlandse online underwriting tool is unique in that homeowners can use the Neerlandse website to find out if their property is at high or low risk of flooding. If the risk is high, homeowners can access information to help them reduce their risk. The underwriting tool combines the flood data from engineers with mapping technology to produce a risk assessment, and to offer homeowners a premium for their property.

There has been considerable debate in the Netherlands, as in Ireland, about flood risk and insurance. The Dutch Association of Insurers proposal that flood insurance be made a compulsory cover has proved unpopular with the public, which views this as an unfair form of taxation.

A spokesperson for Neerlandse claimed that compulsory insurance would have negative implications for risk awareness and mitigation. The Netherlands’ world-beating flood defences could create a misleading sense of security. Neerlandse believes that people need to be made aware of the true levels of risk through transparent information and the cost of their insurance. If insurance were to become compulsory, there would be no incentives for people to understand the risk, nor to take mitigation measures.

Is it fair to compare car insurance costs in other countries? Yes and no.

On the one hand, when you compare car insurance costs across the world, it’s tempting to reach the conclusion that car insurance in Ireland is very expensive. On the other hand, every country has its own set of insurance rules. For example, car insurance rates are low in some European countries because so long as you have the right papers and insurance in place, you only have to insure the car alone.

In Ireland we complain because insurance premium hikes are in double digits. Meanwhile, in Ontario consumers complained bitterly when car insurance rates increased an average of 0.60% in the second quarter of 2015.

The lucky residents of the state of Florida are almost unique in the world – their auto insurance premiums for Personal Injury Protection (PIP) are sliding downward. According to recent data, PIP premiums in Florida fell by over 13% following the implementation of a state law which was designed to lower premiums. Since PIP accounts for about a quarter of auto insurance costs overall, drivers in Florida have seen their premiums drop 3-4% since 2012 – compared to rises of over 30% in Ireland in the same period.

Consulting giant KPMG has some great news for car owners: car insurance premiums will fall drastically – but only once self-driving cars become the norm.

In a recently published white paper, KPMG says that these autonomous cars will not only usher in an era of faster commutes, safer travel and greater independence, but will also dramatically reduce car insurance premiums.

Not everyone in the insurance industry is happy about the prospect of plummeting car insurance premiums. Although 68% of insurance executives polled by KPMG believe the legal system will find a solution for insurance issues, KPMG believes that the transformation will completely revolutionise the insurance industry.

According to KPMG’s predictions, all new cars sold will be autonomous within the next 10 years, and non-self-driving cars will be capable of being retrofitted with autonomous features by 2025. The report claims that accident frequency will drop by 80% over the next 25 years.