Insurance before and after a ban

[lucozade]

Guys/Girls,
The way things are going with my case I'm looking at a short driving ban .
Does anyone have first hand knowledge of what to do with your current insurance before, during and after the ban?, i.e.
1. should I cancel the insurance?
2. I expect I need to call them and let them know?
3. During the ban what do I do about insuring the car cause knowing my luck it will get nicked in this period?
4. What can I expect in terms of insurance after the ban considering a clean license?
5. I'm an Advanced Driver and passed the test after being pulled by plod - can I expect that I will lose this to?

Cheers.

[hertsbiker]

IAM - you will lose the entitlement. But so what?

Don't cancel the insurance, tell them after the ban has elapsed, pay whatever the increase is. Don't panic. Park the car up nice & safe, take the battery off, and go & get pissed every night.

If it is a horrendously long ban, very sorry to hear it, but it will come to an end.

Next up, PLEASE purchase all the hardware neccessary to prevent this happening again.

All the best.

Carl

[cazzo]

I also have an interest in this as I'm up in court in a couple of weeks myself and face a probable ban for that most heinous of crimes of exceeding the speed limit (just got the summons after 3 months - Bugger!).

Whatever the outcome I've got 3 vehicle insurance policies to be hit with, 2 of which are up for renewal soon - I'll keep you posted (assuming I'm not doing time!)

[lucozade]

hertsbiker said: IAM - you will lose the entitlement. But so what?

Don't cancel the insurance, tell them after the ban has elapsed, pay whatever the increase is. Don't panic. Park the car up nice & safe, take the battery off, and go & get pissed every night.

If it is a horrendously long ban, very sorry to hear it, but it will come to an end.

Next up, PLEASE purchase all the hardware neccessary to prevent this happening again.

All the best.

Carl

So the IAM entitlement is lost does that mean I can't tell insurance companies that I past the advanced driving test then?

Don't tell the insurance company? mmmm..... what if the car gets stolen won't it be the first thing they check if I try to make a claim? Telling them afterwards, ok, sounds reasonable but will I not be liable to some sort of public flogging

I'm not expecting a long ban, got a clean license and I'm been done for 60 in a 30. Even though copper said I was doing 67 they have agreed to reduce it to 60.... Explanations on a post card please?

I laughed so hard when reading "purchase all necessary hardware to prevent this happening again" - cruise missiles came to mind! Any good websites?

[loaf]

Lucozade,

I've checked with our technical people on this one.

1. Your insurance will NOT be invalid while you are banned in respect of fire, theft, someone else driving into it etc. The only thing you MUST NOT do is drive it - or any other vehicle - all the fury of hell will descend upon you and ruin your day if you get caught.

2. Tell your insurance co now - to most of us the ban itself is immaterial, all that will be recorded is the fact you've had an SP30/50. This is usually treated as a 'minor' conviction and most insurers will not increase your premium - unless you have other unspent convictions.

3. As you will lose your IAM entitlement it's probably not worth telling the insurance co. Some don't even give a discount for IAM as it's a one-off exam; most DO give discounts for RoSPA as that's an on-going assessment program.

4. If you can leave it parked off the road, that'd be best. Take the battery off and go and get p!ssed !

[Lucozade]

Thanks loaf sounds like I'm going to get some alcohol poisoning!

[toyracer]

i was banned for 14 days (sp30) - told my insurance after sentence was passed and enjoyed 2 weeks staying at a friends house round the corner from work, drinking every night and getting chaufeurred everywhere. my car was still insured for theft, as i was merely not allowed to drive it.

insurance was up 20-30% i would say when renewal came round, and even though it was in '99 i still get pasted for it (renewal last week.. grrr!).

[charltm]

A few data points for you...
My insurance last year (despite 15 years of accident-free, claim-free driving ever since getting my licence): £1700 (I had 3 points at that time)
Policy with same insurer on renewal today, after two week ban for SP50 (106mph recorded): £3100
Policy with same broker afterwards, different insurer: £2100
Policy with entirely different insurer (who had quoted me £2200 last year): £1490! Still a lot of money (it's on the street in London) but better.

So, depending on how you look at it, the ban made the insurance either:
- rise by 82%
- rise by 24%
- fall by 12%; or, best of all...
- fall by 32%... cool!