Points on Licence

[Carlos]

Insurance renewal asks do I have any points in the last 5 years.

I was awarded 3 around 5 years ago but have no record of it. Online licence checker is clean, showing nil poi!

Is there a way of finding out the exact date or am I over thinking it and just say no?

[Simon]

Ask the DVLA?

[Carlos]

I will tomorrow but a bit of searching through .gov suggests low grade offences like a sp30 are expunged after 4 years and no need to declare them even to insurer!

[Carlos]

From the Government website:

Other people, like insurers and employers, may be able to find out that you have the endorsement:

any time during a 4-year endorsement,
during the first 5 years of an 11-year endorsement, or the first 30 months if you’re under 18

[Simon]

It's a good point. If it only counts for topping up purposes for 36 moths, is discharged after 48 months, and you yourself can't find out after 48 months then how is the insurer supposed to know after that time too?

[Sundayjumper]

Insurance renewal asks do I have any points in the last 5 years.

I was awarded 3 around 5 years ago but have no record of it. Online licence checker is clean, showing nil poi!

Is there a way of finding out the exact date or am I over thinking it and just say no?

Did you happen to post on here, or elsewhere, about it at the time ? That would pin it down.

[Rich B]

It's like when some of them ask for details of any speed awareness courses. When I first did one back in the dark ages, I was told I wouldn't need to tell insurers, so I instantly forgot when I did it. A few (maybe anywhere between 4 and 8??) years later an insurer asked for details, and I didn't have a clue.

Why isn't stuff like this just automatic?

[mik]

Why isn't stuff like this just automatic?

A more cynical person might suggest it’s an opportunity to check the validity of your policy if you have to claim?

I get confused that insurers ask how much the repair was for your own car, and any 3rd party vehicles in relation to historical claims. You are never informed of either of those values…..

[Rich B]

Why isn't stuff like this just automatic?

A more cynical person might suggest it’s an opportunity to check the validity of your policy if you have to claim?

I get confused that insurers ask how much the repair was for your own car, and any 3rd party vehicles in relation to historical claims. You are never informed of either of those values…..

yep, that's the other one. I've no clue how much.

Then there's the other cheeky one where they automatically populate the value of your car. They valued my mrs car at £7k or something, when the ones on AT were all £11-13k. I can't help but feel that's a trap.

[Carlos]

From the insurers themselves who are asking if i have any convictions in the last 5 years!

"You do not have to declare points once they are spent, even if asked."

[duncs500]

Can they ask about speed awareness courses? I guess they can ask whatever they like, but isn't the whole point of doing them that you don't have to declare them?

[MikeHunt]

Interesting question, presumably you have declared the 3 year old points for at least 2 renewals and those insurers may still have a record of this?

[Carlos]

Interesting question, presumably you have declared the 3 year old points for at least 2 renewals and those insurers may still have a record of this?

I've checked my own insurance and it has zero reference to it and says "As per your DVLA records – you can check these details at gov.uk".

I'll be answering that as none from now on then as without writing to the Police and asking for a copy of my spent convictions its not recorded anywhere after 4 years!

[MikeHunt]

Id probably do the same Carlos, just the slight worry that the claims team might dig deeper if they ever needed to avoid paying out for any reason.

[mikeyb]

Have you not declared the points in previous years? If you did, can you access your old insurance documents? They would show a breakdown of offences and dates.

[Carlos]

As above my own insurer has a nothing showing and refers to the .gov checker as I have given them my licence number.

It appears insurers have no right or means to check for convictions that are spent after 4 years.

ETA that the caveat is some offences aren't spent until 5 years so would have to be declared!

[Nefarious]

Why isn't stuff like this just automatic?

A more cynical person might suggest it’s an opportunity to check the validity of your policy if you have to claim?

Years ago, when my VX220 was broken into/vandelised, the insurance company not only refused the claim, but launched a fraud investigation on me, alledging that I had failed to declare an SP50.

What they had done is accidentally enter the date of my one SP50 wrong by one year, so the computer said I had 2.

I quite reasonably asked the question "How likely do you think it is that I had 2 identical offenses exactly one year apart, versus how likely it was just a typo?". Stonewall.

I also asked the question - "the typo clearly happened at the time of renewal, surely the all-knowing computer identified it at the time you took my money, but yet kept quiet about it until there was a claim?"

[duncs500]

@Nefarious did you win the argument in the end and get paid out?

[Nefarious]

Yeah, it got sorted in the end, but it took 4 weeks odd, and I had to pay myself for recovery and storage of the car while we had the argument.

And in the end, it was a very grudging acceptance on their part, no apology or anything.