Saturday, October 30, 2010

How Points On Your Licence Can Increase Your Insurance Premiums

Car Insurance

Car Insurance


Car Insurance

Car Insurance

Car Insurance

Car Insurance

Car Insurance
Motor offence convictions in the UK are usually punished by the penalty points system. These points are added to a motorist's driving licence as a way of preventing and penalising bad driving, with the aim of reducing accidents and making our roads safer. The number of points usually increases according to the seriousness of the driving offence, on a scale of one to 11. Having points on a driving licence can often lead to higher car insurance premiums, as insurers will usually consider those with driving endorsements as being a higher risk and more likely to be involved in an accident or make a claim on their policy.
After a period of time, penalty points will be removed from the licence, depending on the type of offence. For most convictions penalty points must stay on a driving licence for four years, and for more serious offences a driving licence can be endorsed with penalty points for up to 11 years. Points are added for each offence and a total of 12 or more could mean a ban from driving for a period of time.
Insurance companies will usually charge higher premiums for drivers with endorsements, while others can even refuse to cover some drivers. Drivers convicted of motoring offences often find that their premiums can increase by hundreds of pounds over the period of the endorsement. If you are a new driver and receive six or more points within the first two years after passing your driving test, or after two years if out of six points or more some of those points were added within the first two years of being issued with a full driving licence, you could have your licence revoked. This would mean having to apply for your licence all over again.
Drivers who had been convicted for speeding offences were at least 10% more likely to make a claim on their next year's policy, according to a UK insurance report. Once a driver has been penalised for an offence such as using a mobile telephone whilst driving or driving at over the legal speed limit, insurance companies may take a very tough stand by increasing their premiums significantly - often by hundreds of pounds. Other insurance companies though may well not view certain offences as meriting a significant rise in car insurance price, or may not increase the cost of your insurance premium at all.
Insurers can disregard penalty points, for example if it is a minor first offence, when pricing your insurance premium. This is because insurance companies use a range of factors to consider when determining how much you pay for your car insurance. Your age, driving experience, and type of car you use can all have an effect on the price of your car cover.
There is little doubt that is more likely that safer drivers without penalty points will pay less for cover than those with penalty points on their licence. Different companies take their own approach to penalty points. Even if you do have penalty points, there is always the possibility that another company may give you a lower quote, so it is worth looking around and getting several quotes before making a final decision on which insurance provider to select.