
The cost of car insurance has become an increasing concern for motorists in the past 12 months, with the AA reporting that the average driver paid 40% more for the same level of cover in 2010 compared with how much they paid just 12 months before.
This is impacting on motoring habits, with 65% of the drivers who took part in a moneysupermarket.com car insurance survey admitting that they had been forced to alter their driving habits as a result of this. More worryingly, 5% of these respondents had been forced to give up driving all together.
Drivers with convictions have been more badly impacted by these price rises than most with insurers, who are not keen to take on the risk associated with them. Insurers are therefore attempting to dissuade them from buying insurance by offering car insurance quotes which are massively out of proportion.
There are different levels of financial penalties applied to motorists by insurers depending on the offence. The following looks at the penalties that would be applied to an average 30 year old male driver with a Ford Mondeo, who is both employed and married:
| Conviction | Car insurance premium offered | Total percentage increase |
| None | £335 | Base premium rate |
| Minor conviction- i.e. failing to wear a seat belt | £365 | 9% |
| Two minor convictions- i.e. failing to wear a seat belt and following another vehicle too closely | £417 | 25% |
| One major conviction- i.e. failing to stop after an accident | £550 | 64% |
As you can see minor convictions only add a marginal increase, in this case 9%. However a 64% increase, as what occurs with a major conviction, could be the difference between being able to afford to run your car and being forced off the road.
However there are a number of things that you can do to lower car insurance premiums, hopefully ensuring that you are not forced off the road and in the case of minor convictions, possibly ensuring that your premiums do not rise at all:
Taking note of all these tips when you fill in the online car insurance forms can be quite time consuming if you complete forms for each insurance company individually. You could save yourself a significant amount of time by utilising price comparison websites. These will compare deals available through hundreds of different insurers in a matter of minutes and only require you to fill in one online form.
The final point to remember is that convictions are not the end of the road, but try to avoid adding any more to your collection in the future.