Car insuranc form query

Matty246

I'm a bit dense today. On the form it asks if you've had an incident or accident in the last 5 years. Does this mean 60 months? Thanks in advance. 

la531983

Well there are 12 months in a year....

CliveOfIndia

Yes.  I've always taken it to mean 5 calendar years.  So if you had an accident on 20th May 2019 you wouldn't need to declare it.

Car_54

What else could it possibly mean?

Brunokid

I think that your accident/ claim/ conviction,  falls off the register after 5 years

lisyloo

Car_54 said:

What else could it possibly mean?

5 policy years? which could be different from 5 calendar years.

Seasalt3

Its five complete policy years depending on when your policy renews.  So if you had an accident/claim in November 2019 and your policy renews today you have 4 years without a claim

DullGreyGuy

lisyloo said:

Car_54 said:

What else could it possibly mean?

5 policy years? which could be different from 5 calendar years.

Or 5 calendar years, ie anything in 2019 or more recent rather than a 5 year rolling period of 21 May 2019 or more recent. 

Brunokid said:

I think that your accident/ claim/ conviction,  falls off the register after 5 years

There is on global/national "register", the nearest thing is CUE which holds data for 6 years not 5. 

Ultimately it's up to an insurer what period they are interested in but most ask for 3-5 years. Convictions are different due to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act which states the length of time for which a criminal record can be asked about. 

Car_54

In common parlance "the last five years" means exactly that, i.e. from 21st May 2019 to today. Anything else would need to be explained, or it would be very difficult to defend in court.

Matty246

Thanks all. Now all I need is a car!