Car insurance after IN10 and 6 points

J66998821

Hi I’m hoping you can help me. Unfortunately when my partner bought his car insurance he forgot to add a detail of a claim I had four years earlier. As a result his car insurance was cancelled (he says he had no idea as he didn’t open any of the letters and buried his head in the sand). 

Unfortunately I was unknowingly driving his car without insurance and was stopped by the police. I received an IN10 conviction and 6 points on my license. 

Now I’m only able to get insurance through specialist providers which makes the cost very very expensive. It’s really frustrating because none of this was my fault. 

Going forward I understand that after 5 years the IN10 conviction will drop off my record (still a very costly mistake). However, will I still have to tick the box ‘has your insurance company ever cancelled your policy’? And will this mean I’ll have to use specialist (and more expensive) companies forever? 

I would be putting myself and my partner on the insurance so this box would be relevant. 

So frustrating. 

facade

J66998821 said:

Hi I’m hoping you can help me. Unfortunately when my partner bought his car insurance he forgot to add a detail of a claim I had four years earlier. As a result his car insurance was cancelled (he says he had no idea as he didn’t open any of the letters and buried his head in the sand). 

Unfortunately I was unknowingly driving his car without insurance and was stopped by the police. I received an IN10 conviction and 6 points on my license. 

Now I’m only able to get insurance through specialist providers which makes the cost very very expensive. It’s really frustrating because none of this was my fault. 

Going forward I understand that after 5 years the IN10 conviction will drop off my record (still a very costly mistake). However, will I still have to tick the box ‘has your insurance company ever cancelled your policy’? And will this mean I’ll have to use specialist (and more expensive) companies forever? 

I would be putting myself and my partner on the insurance so this box would be relevant. 

So frustrating. 

Splitting hairs I know, but if it was your partner who had their insurance policy cancelled, not you, then surely the honest answer would be no, as you were not the policy holder. (It might have been because of a claim that you had as a named driver, but it wasn't you who didn't declare it)

Aretnap

Read the question carefully. If you are asked "have you ever had insurance cancelled" then you can truthfully say "no" as it was your partner who had his policy cancelled, not you. The fact that you were a named driver on his policy doesn't change the fact that it was his policy, not yours. 

OTOH if you are asked something like "have you or any other person insured on this policy ever had insurance cancelled" then you'll have to answer yes - or not put your partner on the policy. (Do you have 2 cars? Does he  need to be insured on both?) 

There are also a few insurers who only ask if you have had a policy cancelled in the last 5 years. Direct Line spring to mind, so try them and their sub-brands (Churchill, Privilege) when the time comes. 

TooManyPoints

As an aside, insurers can ask if you have ever had a policy cancelled because such an occurrence is not covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. When they ask about convictions, these become "spent" (most of them after five years) and they cannot ask you about them (or at least if they do, you do not have to disclose them and cannot be penalised for not doing so). Suffering the cancellation of a policy is not protected in the same way.

J66998821

Thanks everyone, yes unfortunately the question seems to be ‘have you or anyone named on the policy ever had insurance cancelled’ which of course I’ve had to answer yes. 

Yes we do have two cars, but for ease eg driving long distances with the kids we would both like to be on the insurance so we can share driving etc. 

just seems so unfair to be penalised forever over something that wasn’t my fault. Are the insurance company seriously saying I should have asked to see proof of insurance documentation and checked 100 percent of the details before I drove his car? Also I did have my own insurance so asssumed id be covered under that policy anyway but apparently not. 

Thanks for your help everyone 

Car_54

J66998821 said:

Thanks everyone, yes unfortunately the question seems to be ‘have you or anyone named on the policy ever had insurance cancelled’ which of course I’ve had to answer yes. 

Yes we do have two cars, but for ease eg driving long distances with the kids we would both like to be on the insurance so we can share driving etc. 

just seems so unfair to be penalised forever over something that wasn’t my fault. Are the insurance company seriously saying I should have asked to see proof of insurance documentation and checked 100 percent of the details before I drove his car? Also I did have my own insurance so asssumed id be covered under that policy anyway but apparently not. 

Thanks for your help everyone 

Well, if you had checked rather than assumed then you wouldn’t be in this mess, so it sounds like good advice!
As above, the best way forward is not to add your partner to the policy, and put up with the inconvenience.

J66998821

Car_54 said:

J66998821 said:

Thanks everyone, yes unfortunately the question seems to be ‘have you or anyone named on the policy ever had insurance cancelled’ which of course I’ve had to answer yes. 

Yes we do have two cars, but for ease eg driving long distances with the kids we would both like to be on the insurance so we can share driving etc. 

just seems so unfair to be penalised forever over something that wasn’t my fault. Are the insurance company seriously saying I should have asked to see proof of insurance documentation and checked 100 percent of the details before I drove his car? Also I did have my own insurance so asssumed id be covered under that policy anyway but apparently not. 

Thanks for your help everyone 

Well, if you had checked rather than assumed then you wouldn’t be in this mess, so it sounds like good advice!
As above, the best way forward is not to add your partner to the policy, and put up with the inconvenience.

That seems a bit harsh. The conversation with my partner of over 20 years went ‘have you renewed your car insurance this year’ …’yes I have’ what else was I REALISTICALLY supposed to do. 

DB1904

J66998821 said:

Car_54 said:

J66998821 said:

Thanks everyone, yes unfortunately the question seems to be ‘have you or anyone named on the policy ever had insurance cancelled’ which of course I’ve had to answer yes. 

Yes we do have two cars, but for ease eg driving long distances with the kids we would both like to be on the insurance so we can share driving etc. 

just seems so unfair to be penalised forever over something that wasn’t my fault. Are the insurance company seriously saying I should have asked to see proof of insurance documentation and checked 100 percent of the details before I drove his car? Also I did have my own insurance so asssumed id be covered under that policy anyway but apparently not. 

Thanks for your help everyone 

Well, if you had checked rather than assumed then you wouldn’t be in this mess, so it sounds like good advice!
As above, the best way forward is not to add your partner to the policy, and put up with the inconvenience.

That seems a bit harsh. The conversation with my partner of over 20 years went ‘have you renewed your car insurance this year’ …’yes I have’ what else was I REALISTICALLY supposed to do. 

You've been with them for over 20 years, unless this is a new characteristic open anything relating to important matters and see what they are avoiding?

Its is tough lessen but you were responsible for making sure there was insurance before you took the car on the road. You may have done this a number of times and only caught once. Had there been an accident your home if owned by you/bought with a mortgage could have been at risk too. 

macman

J66998821 said:

Thanks everyone, yes unfortunately the question seems to be ‘have you or anyone named on the policy ever had insurance cancelled’ which of course I’ve had to answer yes. 

Yes we do have two cars, but for ease eg driving long distances with the kids we would both like to be on the insurance so we can share driving etc. 

just seems so unfair to be penalised forever over something that wasn’t my fault. Are the insurance company seriously saying I should have asked to see proof of insurance documentation and checked 100 percent of the details before I drove his car? Also I did have my own insurance so asssumed id be covered under that policy anyway but apparently not. 

Thanks for your help everyone 

Can he drive your car under his own policy, or amend it so that he can? Then your policy can be policy holder only as driver.
It may not be your 'fault', but it is your responsibility to make sure that you are insured for the vehicle you are driving.