Getting motorbike insurance when you have a criminal conviction definitely isn’t the easiest. Some insurance companies will either reject an application completely, others will significantly ramp up the cost of a premium. Leaving riders to pay through their nose to get themselves insured. Here, we’ve taken a look into getting motorbike insurance with a criminal conviction and what exactly you need to disclose.
What’s considered a criminal conviction?
Only unspent convictions are taken into consideration. A conviction that’s classed as spent only become spent after a period of time after the offence. Following this period, you don’t need to declare the conviction – which is great news for bikers that have served one.
Additionally, cautions and reprimands are categorised as spent convictions instantly so do not need to be disclosed.
How to find out if a conviction is spent
As we’ve discussed, if your conviction is spent, you do not need to declare it when applying for motorbike insurance. You can check whether a conviction is spent by visiting Unlock’s online calculator.
What do you need to disclose?
It does ultimately depend on the insurer, but all motorbike insurance companies will usually ask you to disclose as much information as possible, including if you have any convictions.
If you’re convicted of a crime during the course of your insurance, let your insurer know when it comes to renewing your policy.
If you’re worried about whether you need to let your provider know about a conviction we’d recommend telling them. After all, anything that isn’t relevant to your insurance quote won’t be taken into account.
What happens if you don’t declare a conviction?
When asked, if you consciously choose not to disclose an unspent conviction on your application your insurance could be invalid. And if you’ve made a claim, your insurance provider may ask for their money back.
It’s important to be honest when applying for a new motorbike insurance policy. If you have a criminal conviction, always make sure the information you’re submitting is completely accurate, or you could be bitten in the future.
