Motor Insurance quote following drink driving conviction

T

tenchi-fan

Guest
Right, my "friend" (who from hereon I will refer to as "I") got his licence back after 2.5 years into a 3 year ban. Quite bizarrely the licence is stamped "first endorsed 19.6.08" which is a date plucked out of the air.

I'm 28, male. I bought a year 2000, 1.3l lanos for €470 just to get back on the road.

Quinn Direct are charging €1094 for insurance on a clean licence without a no claims bonus, incl 10% discount for having another quinn policy.

It would be €100 cheaper if the value of the car was over €2100 or so, but I'm reluctant to lie about what the car is worth.

However, given my conviction there is a 100% loading, i.e. my insurance will be €2200.

It's a lot of money but at least I can get insurance!!

Are quinn direct my best option, or would anyone advise me of another insurer who would provide me with a competitive quote. I heard things about "St Pauls Travelers" but I don't know whether I should bother going through a broker and the extra delays unless I can get a better quote than €2200.

Can anyone give me some advice?
 
You could try a broker, they'd do the legwork and are used to finding quotes for drivers with endorsements/other loadings.
Try [broken link removed], they also get quotes from UK underwriters operating in the Irish market.
 
Thanks
Britton are €2,537.85 so probably better off with Quinn €2,200.
I will probably try a broker or just go with quinn, their quote seems reasonable considering.
 
on a side note know i know a guy who had equally long drink driving ban and he paid his insurance as normal never alerting the insurance company at all. driving around today on premium cheaper than my husband.......
 
Sandals, that guy is an idiot. If he was in an accident that left someone paralysed and suing him for millions, the insurance company might be kind enough to refund his yearly premium leaving him with a huge bill and probably a jail term.

I know from one of the UK police programmes that the police don't simply check the presence of an insurance disc, they also check that the insurance is valid given penalty points and convictions.
 
Talk about pedantic ;) but good to know.

correction:
I know from one of the UK police programmes that the police don't simply check the presence of insurance, they also check that the insurance is valid given penalty points and convictions.
 
on a side note know i know a guy who had equally long drink driving ban and he paid his insurance as normal never alerting the insurance company at all. driving around today on premium cheaper than my husband.......

This guy is wasting his money that he is paying for his insurance because due to the the fact that he has not disclosed all the facts to the insurance company his policy is void,so he might as well be driving around without insurance
 
Just a bit of an update..
Quinn Direct ended up charging me €1884 for third party fire and theft.. that includes 10% discount for having quinn healthcare and another 5% for paying the yearly premium upfront. So I was happy enough with that quote to get on the road straight away.
 
Not Sure You're Right!

When renewing your insurance it does not ask that you divulge any convictions since the last renewal, or accidents for that matter, it automatically renews without contact.

For example, if you had a minor accident and did not wish to make a claim as it was cheaper to pay the other party cash, then you don't have to report it to your insurance company yet your policy is still valid.

Therefore if you have a drink driving conviction and you are not asked to advise this at remewal, then your policy remains similarly valid.

On the other hand, if you where changing insurance comapny the question would be asked and non disclosure would render your policy valid.

I am not a motor insurance expert, but I would think I may be right?
 
You're right - you're not an insurance expert ;) An insurance policy is based on a principal of uptmost good faith. Which basically means that it is up to you to disclose all details to the company that could possibly effect your policy. Just because you are not completing a new proposal form at renewal doesn't mean there isn't an onus on you to disclose all material facts. If you have a claim the company can & will investigate and could cancel the policy from inception.


www.powerinsurances.ie
 
... I am not a motor insurance expert, but I would think I may be right?
No you are wrong.

Dig out your policy document / handbook and under the heading "General Conditions - Applicable to All Sections" (or something similar) you will read "Keeping to policy terms and conditions - The insurance described in this policy document will apply only if any facts known to you and any changes effecting the risk since inception or since the last renewal date of the policy must be disclosed to us. Failure to disclose such facts or changes may mean the policy will not provide the cover you require or may invalidate the policy altogether" (precise wording may vary depending on the insurer / underwriter).

The burden of disclosure rests with the insured; decisions regarding relevance or effects on policy or premium rest solely with the insurer / underwriter. All accidents must be disclosed, it's written in your policy document; take the time to read it.
 
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Why would anyone tell them about that minor tip in a carpark where you paid for the other guys mirror yourself? They are never going to know about it and you would be mad to be volunteering such information.
 
As I suggested above, read your policy where the T&Cs you agreed to be bound by are listed. If you choose to ignore them, that's up to you, but your action (or inaction) won't change the T&Cs.
 
Well Thanks for the info!

I would have to agreed based on the info above, that reporting a major incident of endorsement is esential!

I would also make the point however that lots of people have had a minor tip and not reported it...

I can't believe an Insurance company would have an issue if you did not report a minor incident like a scatched bumper where both parties agreed to settle between them.... they are never going to know anyway and if you did disclosure a minor incident like this would it effect your premium or policy even though the respective insurance companies did not have to get involved?

If so, we should all be more careful out there, car parks can be hazardous :)
 
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