Car Insurance for Drivers With Convictions

Car insurance for drivers with convictions is available in the UK, but it usually costs more and often means going to a specialist insurer or broker rather than a mainstream one. A conviction tells insurers you are statistically more likely to claim, so they load the price to reflect that risk. The size of the increase depends heavily on the offence code, how recent it is, and how many points you carry.

The gap can be steep. Independent guidance suggests a driver with a drink-driving (DR10) conviction can pay much more for comprehensive cover than a driver with a clean record. A single speeding endorsement (SP30) with three points typically adds far less and usually has a modest impact on price. The right approach depends on which conviction you hold.

Free Price Compare works with a panel of 130+ insurers, including specialists who actively quote for convicted drivers, so you can see where you stand rather than assume you will be refused.

Last updated: September 2026

Written by the Free Price Compare editorial team | Reviewed September 2026

Can you get car insurance with a conviction?

Yes, drivers with a conviction can get car insurance in the UK, though acceptance and price depend on the offence, how recent it is and your wider record. Motoring is compulsorily insured under the Road Traffic Act 1988, so it is legal to drive with a conviction as long as you hold valid cover. What changes is who will quote and at what price. Some mainstream insurers decline serious codes such as DR10 (drink driving) or IN10 (using a vehicle uninsured), which is where specialist convicted driver insurance brokers step in.

The type of conviction matters more than the fact you have one. A single speeding endorsement is priced very differently from a disqualification or multiple offences. Non-motoring criminal convictions can also affect a quote if they are unspent, and drug or acquisitive-crime convictions tend to attract the steepest loadings.

Free Price Compare compares cover across a panel of 130+ insurers and 60+ insurance products, which matters more than usual for convicted drivers because acceptance varies so widely between insurers. One insurer refusing you does not mean the next will.

Compare convicted driver quotes

Do I have to declare my conviction, and which ones?

You must declare all unspent motoring convictions to your insurer when asked, and non-motoring criminal convictions if they are unspent and the question is put to you. Under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, a conviction that has become spent does not have to be disclosed for insurance, and an insurer cannot refuse a claim or void a policy over an undisclosed spent conviction. The insurer decides which time window it asks about, and answering that question truthfully is your legal duty.

Most insurers ask about convictions in the last five years. A motoring fine typically becomes spent 12 months after the conviction date, but a driving disqualification is treated differently and can stay declarable for longer. The safe rule is straightforward: answer exactly what is asked, disclose everything within the stated period, and do not volunteer information the insurer has not requested. There is no requirement to overstate your record.

Non-disclosure is the main reason convicted drivers get caught out. If you fail to declare a conviction the insurer asked about, they can void the policy from the start, refuse a claim and record the non-disclosure, which makes future cover harder to buy. Getting this right is more important than shaving a few pounds off the price. If you are unsure whether a conviction is spent, the free guidance at gov.uk and Citizens Advice can help you check.

Do I need to declare a speed awareness course?

A speed awareness course does not usually need to be declared because it is not a conviction and carries no penalty points. You are offered a course as an alternative to a fixed penalty, so there is nothing to record on your licence. The exception is where an insurer specifically asks whether you have attended a course in a set period, which a small number do. Answer that question honestly if it is asked, but do not add a course to a general convictions question, as it is not a conviction.

How much does a conviction increase car insurance?

A conviction can increase your car insurance premium significantly, with the size of the increase depending on the offence code. The average paid motor premium sat at around £566 in Q2 2026, according to the ABI Motor Insurance Premium Tracker, which measures prices customers actually pay across more than 28 million policies a year. A conviction loading is applied on top of a baseline like that.

The table below shows indicative conviction-related loadings by code. Treat these as indicative only, because your exact quote depends on your age, vehicle, address, mileage and how recently the offence occurred.

Figures are indicative and may change. A driver with a DR10 can pay substantially more for comprehensive cover than a driver without a conviction. Our own guide to different driver profiles shows how these risk factors stack together.

How much do 3 points increase car insurance?

Three penalty points from a single speeding offence typically increase car insurance by around 10% to 25% in the first year. On the ABI’s Q2 2026 average of around £566, a 10% loading is roughly £57 extra. The loading is usually heaviest soon after the conviction and tends to ease over time if you keep a clean record. Multiple sets of points, or points combined with a claim, push the increase higher because insurers read the pattern as a stronger predictor of future claims.

Penalty points gone after 4 years, but insurers ask for 5. Is that legal?

Yes, it is legal for an insurer to ask about convictions from the last five years even though DVLA removes most penalty points from your licence after four. The DVLA record and the insurance disclosure question are two separate things. DVLA endorsement rules govern your driving record; the insurer sets its own underwriting question, and a conviction is not legally spent for insurance purposes until the period set out in the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 has passed, which can be longer than four years.

If an insurer asks about the last five years, you must answer for the full five years, even where the points no longer appear on your licence. Understating your record to match the DVLA position risks the policy being voided. If the conviction has become spent, you do not have to declare it, and the insurer cannot penalise you for a spent conviction it did not need to know about.

Not sure where you stand?

Compare specialist and mainstream quotes side by side to see who will insure you.

Compare car insurance

How to find cheap car insurance for drivers with convictions

Cheap car insurance for drivers with convictions comes from comparing widely, choosing the vehicle carefully and reducing the other risk factors you can control. You cannot remove a conviction from a quote, but you can influence everything around it. Because acceptance and pricing vary so much between insurers for convicted drivers, comparing across a broad panel does more work here than for a clean driver.

• Compare specialist and mainstream insurers together. Some mainstream names quote for minor endorsements, while specialists handle serious codes, so casting a wide net matters.
• Drive a lower-group car. A modest, low-value vehicle in a low insurance group is cheaper to insure with a conviction than a powerful one.
• Increase your voluntary excess if you can afford the extra amount towards a claim, which lowers the premium.
• Reduce your mileage estimate to reflect real usage, and add a low-risk named driver where appropriate.
• Consider a telematics or black box policy, which lets safer driving be rewarded and can help rebuild a lower price over time.

Comprehensive cover is not automatically more expensive than third party only for convicted drivers, so do not assume dropping cover level saves money. Comprehensive cover is common and can often price better than third party options. If you hold a speeding endorsement, our SP30 insurance comparison is a useful starting point, while drink-driving convictions are covered by our DR10 drink driver cover page.

See prices for your conviction code

Which car insurance companies do not ask about criminal convictions?

All UK car insurers ask about unspent convictions in some form, so there is no legitimate insurer that ignores your record entirely. Any provider claiming otherwise should be treated with caution, and buying cover you know does not reflect your record is not a safe route. What differs is the time window each insurer asks about and how they price particular codes, which is why comparing several insurers matters. A conviction that is loaded heavily by one insurer may be treated more leniently by a specialist that understands that offence type.

Since the FCA banned the insurance loyalty penalty on 1 January 2022, renewal quotes cannot be more expensive than the equivalent new-customer price, so shopping around each year is worthwhile rather than auto-renewing.

Convictions, bans and paying monthly

Convicted drivers are more likely to pay for cover monthly, and the cost of that credit has fallen. The FCA’s Premium Finance Market Study found the average cost of premium finance for motor insurance fell between 2022 and 2026, and the regulator decided against introducing a price cap. Paying monthly is a credit agreement, so it adds interest, but the extra cost is now smaller than it once was.

A disqualification carries one of the largest loadings and stays relevant to most insurers for around five years back on the road, after which prices move towards mainstream rates if your record stays clean. Loadings often fade over time: a drink-driving conviction may have a much smaller impact several years after the offence if your record stays clean. Rebuilding no-claims years and driving without further incident is the most reliable route back to a normal price.

Drug driving is now a growing category. Analysis by UKROEd of DVLA figures found drug driving endorsements (DG10) rose to 30,707 in 2025, overtaking drink driving convictions for the first time, with drivers aged 17 to 24 heavily over-represented. Younger convicted drivers face the most competitive quotes because age and conviction loadings compound, so if you are a young driver with points it is worth reading our young driver insurance guide alongside the conviction-specific pages.

Compare young and convicted driver cover

• Find the Best Car Insurance for Different Driver Profiles
• Find the Best Deal on Nissan Qashqai Car Insurance
• Cheap Young Driver Insurance Comparison – Free Price Compare
• Brightside Car Insurance: Get Competitive Quotes & Cover
• Compare SP30 Insurance for Convicted Drivers

Information correct as of 7 September 2026. Prices, tariffs, policy details and providers change frequently, so please check the latest details before making a decision. This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial advice. Free Price Compare is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).