When you work in the motor trade, having a driving licence is pretty important. But what happens if you get penalty points? From speeding tickets to jumping a red light to using your phone at the wheel, there’s a host of reasons that you could get points – and if you get more than 12 you get banned from driving. For new drivers, it’s only six. And this could cause serious problems for your motor trade business.
At DNA Insurance, we know that not everybody has a perfectly clean driving licence – but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be allowed to run your motor trade. So how do penalty points affect you and what does it mean for your motor trade insurance? Let’s take a look.
Firstly, what do you actually get points for?
Penalty points are designed to keep you driving safely and so they can be issued for a range of reasons. It’s not just the obvious crimes – like speeding or drink-driving – that can get you points. If you rely on driving for your business, you should be aware that any of the following can land you in hot water:
- Speeding
- Driving with alcohol or drugs in your system
- Defective or damaged tyres, lights or brakes
- Driving through a red light
- Using a mobile phone while driving
- Driving without insurance
- Driving without due care and attention, e.g. if you get distracted
- Dangerous driving, e.g. reckless overtaking or racing other drivers
- Failing to stop after an accident
- Driving without a licence
How many points and how long they take to clear varies too. Generally, the more serious the offence then the more points you get, for longer. Some crimes can result in an instant driving ban, and possibly even a prison sentence, while others can ‘tot up’ over time, such as repeated speeding tickets. Once you’ve got them, penalty points clear automatically after four years for most offences, but up to 11 years for the most serious.
So what does it mean for my motor trade cover?
We won’t sugar coat it – if you have points on your licence, then the price of your insurance will go up. A recent survey by MoneyExpert found that drivers with at least one conviction pay on average 80% more for their car insurance than drivers with a clean licence – and the more points you have, the more your cover will cost. But it won’t stop you from getting insurance in the first place, so you will still be able to run your motor trade business as normal. It’s just you’ll probably be seen as a higher risk to the insurer, so they charge accordingly.
There are several factors that will affect how much you pay, including:
- How bad your conviction is
- The size of your business
- The type of motor trade you work in, e.g. do you sell cars, service them or carry out another trade?
- Whether you operate from a premises or at home
- How old you are – the younger the driver, the riskier they’re considered.
The good news is there are insurers out there who specialise in offering convicted driver insurance and, at DNA, we specialise in trickier cases so we should always be able to help you find the right motor trade insurance even if you’ve got penalty points.
Why should I tell my broker if I’ve got points?
The most important thing is to make sure you tell us that you’ve got penalty points or had a recent driving conviction. If you don’t, it could invalidate your policy – and you could end up with no cover and extra points for driving without insurance! So you should always tell your broker about any penalty points so we can find you the right motor trade insurance.
For some, we know it may seem tempting to ‘forget’ about a conviction if you want to keep your prices down, but the UK has an instantly accessible database for criminal driving history, so if you’re not completely honest, it’s all too easy to get caught out. But when you tell us, we’re on your side – here to help you find no-nonsense motor trade cover at the best price we can get, even if you need convicted driver insurance.
In fact, as a broker with access to a range of specialist convicted driver insurance providers, we can even help you keep costs down as we can negotiate on your behalf.
Is there anything else I can do to keep the cost down?
At the end of the day, penalty points are there to encourage you to drive as safely as you can, both for your own benefit and other road users. If you have a conviction, it’s not the end of the world – and if you show that that you’re driving more carefully, then your premium price should drop back down again in time.
There are some other steps you can take too. For example, taking an advanced driving course or investing in some risk management training for you and any employees can help. You can also agree to use telematic devices to monitor your driving – essentially installing a black box in your vehicle to collect data that shows you drive safely. This can help prove to insurers that you’re a lower risk.
Making sure you keep your premises as secure as possible will help to keep your motor trade insurance as cost-effective as possible too, plus you can opt to pay your insurance as an annual lump sum so you pay less interest. But your best bet is to talk to us and see what we can do for you. We can offer the right help to find you the cover you need at an affordable price, even if you’ve had a serious conviction.
I don’t have points on my licence but I do have a non-driving related conviction – what does that mean?
This can go one of a range of ways – you may find some insurers won’t offer insurance to anyone with any kind of conviction, while others may refuse you car insurance for a driving-related conviction only. So if your conviction is for another reason, they’ll still cover you.
Plus, you could find that your No Claims Bonus still applies on your vehicle insurance, which will help keep your overall premium price down if your conviction is non-driving related. It’s all relative – the more serious a conviction, the more challenging it will be to get cover. So if you need help, just get in touch.
Trust us to find you the right motor trade insurance
At DNA Insurance, we’ll always help a tricky customer. If you’re struggling to find cover as a result of a conviction, or you’ve gone into liquidation, had previous claims or even because of the high risks of your trade, just give us a call and we’ll see what we can do.
Our straight-talking team will get onto our network of specialist insurers to source you the most effective motor trade cover at the best price we can find. So if you’ve got a few points on your licence, don’t sweat – we’ll get you covered. Just call 01708 988952 for a quote.
