Hi, i recently got my licence back after a ban for drink driving when i was 17. Im paying 1800 for a 1.2 2002 Punto active sport in my own name now which tbh is a lot less than i expected, anyway just got a question. When i was at the rehab course i was told by the lecturer that because i was 17 at the time of my my conviction i would only need to declare it for 2.5 years instead of the 5 years which your insurance asks for. I asked him again to make sure what he was saying was true, and he guaranteed he was correct and said it was just something to help young drivers get back on their feet. So does anyone know anything about this or heard of it Thanks John

It will stay on your driving licence for 11 years from conviction, insurance company's normally ask for the "convictions in the last 5 years" but if you do not declare your D10 etc being on your licence, it may invalidate your insurance.
not sure about the age thing, i'd be ringing the DVLA and getting it in writing.

Your very very lucky they didn't make you take your test again under the new drivers act!

For car insurance it will be the full 5 years.

For home insurance when your under a certain age, it is half the time (i.e. 2.5 years) rather than the full 5 years.

LeighJet150 said:

For car insurance it will be the full 5 years.

For home insurance when your under a certain age, it is half the time (i.e. 2.5 years) rather than the full 5 years.

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You have to declare a drink drive charge for getting home insurance? Or have I read that wrong?

you don't have to give driving convictions, I just used it as an example for any sort of conviction when it comes to Home insurance!

Drink driving stays CURRENT on your licence for 10 years. If you have another conviction for the same thing within those 10 years (timed from the date of the first offence to the date of the second offence, NOT the date they were dealt with in court) the minimum ban goes up from 1 year to 3 years.

The conviction will stay on your licence for an extra year (making 11 in total) although it is no longer active. This is because it can take months for a trial to be arranged and you could commit a second offence within the 10 years but not go to court until the 10 years have elapsed, which would give you the chance to show a clean licence.


In order to get motor insurance you must answer the questions truthfully with no exceptions. The instructor was confusing insurance law with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act which does allow you to keep some things from a prospective employer. When I renewed my insurance recently one of the questions was whether there were any current endorsements on my licence. In my case there were none. For a drink driver there will be an endorsement for 11 years.

The New Drivers Act doesn't apply in drink drive cases. For drink drive you get a ban and no points. The act only triggers if you get 6 points in the first 2 years.

johnw said:

Drink driving stays CURRENT on your licence for 10 years. If you have another conviction for the same thing within those 10 years (timed from the date of the first offence to the date of the second offence, NOT the date they were dealt with in court) the minimum ban goes up from 1 year to 3 years.

The conviction will stay on your licence for an extra year (making 11 in total) although it is no longer active. This is because it can take months for a trial to be arranged and you could commit a second offence within the 10 years but not go to court until the 10 years have elapsed, which would give you the chance to show a clean licence.


In order to get motor insurance you must answer the questions truthfully with no exceptions. The instructor was confusing insurance law with the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act which does allow you to keep some things from a prospective employer. When I renewed my insurance recently one of the questions was whether there were any current endorsements on my licence. In my case there were none. For a drink driver there will be an endorsement for 11 years.

The New Drivers Act doesn't apply in drink drive cases. For drink drive you get a ban and no points. The act only triggers if you get 6 points in the first 2 years.

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Thanks but i know about the conviction on licence thing, but thats not what i meant

The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act means that a conviction punished by a fine is considered spent after 5 years. In other words you do not have to declare the conviction to a prospective employer, although exceptions apply for some jobs where a conviction is never spent. The 5 year period is reduced to 2 years 6 months if under 18 at time of conviction.

BUT


Insurance contracts are under what is known as "utmost good faith" and, in order for the insurer to be able to properly determine the risk, you must disclose any convictions within the last 5 years and any endorsements currently on your licence.

edited to add this
I asked a friend of mine who understands insurance law better then I do about this. He agrees with me that even spent convictions need to be declared but ONLY IF THEY SPECIFICALLY ASK about current endorsements or if anybody who will drive has had an endorsement within the last 5 (or some other number) of years. He quotes a precedent case from the High Court which says that an insurer may not rely on previous endorsements to disadvantage a driver. the case is R v DVLA & Another, ex parte Pearson [2002] if anybody wants to look it up.

Also the Financial Ombudsman has said that he will uphold a complaint against an insurer who voids a motor policy where the driver has failed to notify a spent conviction but still has a valid endorsement for the same offence. This could be (say) 7 years after a drink drive ban when the conviction will be spent but the licence will have a valid endorsement.


It seems we all need to read the insurance proposal questions carefully, answer truthfully and complain if we think we have been unfairly treated.