Home Insurance: Criminal Convictions And You

In the UK, there are more than 11 million people with a criminal record, and most of them need home insurance. Generally, insurance companies do not provide cover to applicants with an unspent conviction, leaving many people uninsured and at risk. However, it is important to note that you do not have to declare spent criminal convictions when applying for insurance. Only unspent convictions need to be disclosed, and these will impact the cost of your insurance. If you are unsure whether your conviction is spent or unspent, you can use an online calculator provided by the charity Unlock.

What counts as a criminal conviction?

A criminal conviction can be any type of court-issued penalty, from a fine to a prison sentence. If you've been found guilty of a crime in a crown or magistrate's court, then you have a conviction. This includes minor misdemeanours, such as road traffic offences (excluding fixed penalty notices), parking fines, and speeding tickets.

Cautions, reprimands, and final warnings are not criminal convictions, and these are immediately considered spent. A conviction only counts as unspent if it is still active, and this is what you must declare to your insurance provider. The length of time it takes for a conviction to become spent depends on the crime and the length of the sentence. For example, a prison sentence of over four years will never become spent. Less serious offences may be spent between one and seven years after the full length of the sentence, depending on the severity of the crime.

If you are still in your rehabilitation period following a criminal conviction, your conviction is unspent. Any custodial sentence over two and a half years stays unspent. Once your criminal record becomes spent, you no longer need to disclose it to your home insurance provider.

When to declare unspent convictions

Unspent criminal convictions must be disclosed when applying for insurance. An unspent conviction is one that's still active, and insurance providers will consider you a greater risk if you have one. This means that you'll likely have fewer options to choose from, as many mainstream insurance providers won't insure you. You may need to look to specialist insurance providers.

The length of time that you need to disclose an unspent conviction depends on the sentence. Generally, the more serious the crime, the longer the sentence, and the longer it will take for the conviction to be considered spent. If your sentence was more than four years, a life sentence, or a public protection sentence, the conviction will never be considered spent. Other lesser offences should be spent between one and seven years after the full length of the sentence, depending on how serious the crime was.

If you don't declare an unspent conviction and then need to make a claim, your insurance policy could be voided if your insurer discovers your conviction. This is because you are in breach of your contract, and your insurance provider is unlikely to pay out. It is worth remembering that you are not obliged to disclose your conviction to insurance providers unless they ask. However, they are likely to check if you make a claim, and if you haven't been honest, your entire policy could be invalidated, making it harder to get insurance in the future.

If you are convicted midway through an insurance policy, you don't need to declare it until you renew or switch providers at the end of the cover. However, if your policy asks you to declare convictions during the policy, you should disclose it.

How convictions affect insurance premiums

In the context of insurance, a conviction refers to a driving conviction or a criminal conviction.

Driving Convictions

Driving convictions are issued when you get a pullover ticket for breaking driving laws. These can include speeding, distracted driving, tailgating, and stunting. Driving convictions will impact your insurance premiums for three years from the date of conviction. The extent of the impact depends on the conviction. For example, a conviction for distracted driving is often seen as a major offence and will significantly increase your premiums. On the other hand, a speeding infraction of less than 19km/h will typically increase your premiums by around 15%.

Criminal Convictions

Criminal convictions can range from a fine to a prison sentence. Unspent criminal convictions must be disclosed when applying for insurance. Failure to do so may result in your insurance being cancelled or your claim being rejected.

Insurance providers calculate premiums based on risk, and people with criminal records are considered riskier. As a result, home insurance for people with convictions can be more expensive and may require a specialist or non-standard policy. The presence of a conviction on a policy should have no bearing on whether a claim is paid out, as long as it was properly and fully disclosed when the policy was taken out.

Getting insurance with a conviction

If you have a criminal conviction, it can be challenging to find home insurance, but it is not impossible. The process will be smoother if your conviction is spent. If it is unspent, you may need to go through a specialist insurance provider, and your insurance premiums are likely to be higher.

A criminal conviction can be anything from a prison sentence to a fine for littering or a speeding ticket. All types of offences count, however minor.

Once a conviction is spent, it no longer needs to be disclosed to insurers, even if you are asked. A conviction becomes spent a certain amount of time after the date of conviction, and it is removed from your criminal record. The time it takes for a conviction to become spent depends on the seriousness of the crime and the length of the sentence. If your sentence was more than four years, a life sentence, or a public protection sentence, it will never be considered spent.

An unspent conviction is one that hasn't reached its defined time limit and will still show up on a basic criminal record check. You must declare an unspent conviction when taking out an insurance policy, and insurers will see you as a greater risk, which will be reflected in your premiums.

The best way to find insurance with a conviction is to use an insurance broker. They can find the right insurance for your circumstances and know which providers are most likely to offer cover. You can also use comparison websites to shop around for insurance, but unspent convictions will require a specialist or non-standard policy, which won't be available from mainstream insurers.

If you don't declare an unspent conviction and then need to make a claim, your insurance policy could be voided if your insurer discovers your conviction. Your insurance could be invalidated, and you will be uninsured. If you have already made a claim, the insurance company can ask for the money back.

What happens if you don't declare a conviction

When it comes to home insurance, the biggest factor in whether or not you need to declare a criminal conviction is whether your conviction is spent or unspent. A spent conviction is one that has been removed from your criminal record, and you are not obliged to disclose it to your insurance provider. However, if you have an unspent conviction, you must declare it if asked.

If you don't declare an unspent conviction, your insurance provider could cancel your cover or refuse to renew your policy. If you then need to make a claim, your policy could be invalid, and you may not receive any support or payout from your insurer. This is because insurers see people with criminal records as a higher risk, and they calculate premiums accordingly.

If you are unsure whether your conviction is spent or unspent, you can check using an online calculator on the Unlock website or by checking through the list of conviction types on the Unlock website. It's important to be honest with your insurer about all elements of your personal history, even if it makes your insurance more expensive.

Frequently asked questions