Insurance with convictions
Having a previous criminal conviction could have serious consequences for your insurance - and in the case of home insurance, anyone who lives with you.
With an estimated eight million people living in the UK with convictions, many are being denied access to crucial insurance, while some have unwittingly paid for insurance that is invalid.
Sarah Routledge finds out where people with convictions stand in the eyes of insurers.
Chris Bath, director of projects at Unlock, a charity for reformed offenders, says the situation as it stands is confusing.
"When you get a criminal conviction, you get a certain type of sentence, and depending on what you get there is a period of time afterwards where the conviction is considered unspent," he explains.
This can last from around six months to the rest of your life and means you have to mention it to potential employers - and insurers.
"The mainstream insurers consider unspent convictions a material fact, whether it is the individual or someone living with you," he says.
This includes all kinds of insurance, from covering your pet to your home.
In the case of home insurance, insurers often have a policy of not insuring people with unspent convictions, regardless of whether they seem relevant - and that includes anyone who lives in the house.
The criminal in your home
This means a lodger with unspent convictions could invalidate home insurance without the homeowner realising.
Steven Hilton, spokesperson for the National Association of Landlords, says this could be a worry for residential landlords.
"If a landlord did know their lodger had an unspent conviction it would be safer to disclose. But if the landlord didn't know, then it would be odd if the insurer didn't pay out in the event of a claim," he says.
Landlords certainly cannot ask about this and if they genuinely did not know when they took out the policy, an insurer should still pay out.
However, "it's one of those grey areas," he admitted.
If you do take a lodger, you should always inform your insurer that your circumstances have changed, Mr Hilton adds.
Malcolm Tarling, spokesperson for the Association of British Insurers (ABI), says in a claim where it turns out a member of the household had an unspent criminal conviction, this would be dealt with on a "case by case basis".
"If it went to the Financial Ombudsman, they would have to decide if the policyholder could have reasonably known about the unspent conviction," he says.
Mr Tarling added he could not say there would never be a problem in these circumstances, but insurers are unlikely to refuse a claim if the policyholder could not reasonably be expected to know about a conviction.
Customers with convictions
However, in the case where the policyholder has the conviction, it is best to be upfront with your insurer, Mr Tarling warns.
An insurer has to assess all risks when writing a policy and some convictions are very relevant - any arson or fraud convictions, for example, will be considered a high risk.
"I think the golden rule here, is to be open and honest," Mr Tarling says.
If a policyholder does not disclose a material fact, the insurer can invalidate the policy and refuse to pay out, Mr Bath warns, even if the customer has never been directly asked if they have any convictions.
Unlock has had a case where an insurance company demanded repayment for thousands of pounds after a customer claimed on her policy when her house burned down - but had failed to tell the firm she had a conviction for overpayment of benefits.
With many unaware that a conviction - even for something relatively minor - could lead to their insurance being cancelled, thousands could be leaving themselves vulnerable and paying for an entirely useless product.
Declare
Another 'grey area' is the way that insurers frame their questions in relation to convictions.
"A lot of insurers ignore the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act," warns Terry Browning, who runs insurance broker Bureau's Fairplay scheme, finding insurance for ex-offenders.
"The question on the proposal is often 'Have you ever had a conviction?' for certain crimes - not do you have an unspent conviction."
Although in law, ex-offenders only have to declare unspent convictions, insurers are still asking this question.
And if you choose not to declare a spent conviction when asked?
"My understanding is, they could still void the insurance," Mr Browning says.
Mr Browning recommends customers declare any convictions the insurer asks for if they are in doubt, and if they are refused insurance, try a specialist broker like Bureau, which takes each individual on a case-by-case basis.
No-one should think they are uninsurable, Mr Browning adds.
"From our experience, people who are coming to us are not habitual criminals because those people aren't interested in insurance anyway. Generally, they are people who have had a conviction but have now settled down and have a normal life."
There are plenty of mainstream insurers who have no problem insuring a person who declares a conviction, as many will take into account the circumstances of the offence and its relevance to the policy, and decide they are happy to insure.
But if you are unsure, it is better to pick up the phone and give the company a call - and get it in writing that they are aware of the conviction.
Motor insurance
Motor insurers are slightly less concerned about underwriting people with convictions, although they are understandably interested in motoring offences.
Convictions for dangerous driving will almost certainly affect your premium, but it should still be possible to get cover.
AA insurance only asks for details of motoring convictions going back five years, according to Ian Crowder, spokesperson for the insurer.
"It is very important you tell your insurer this as insurers are getting much tougher," he says.
"So if you have an accident, and speeding is involved, and it comes to light that you have speeding convictions, then your insurer will probably cancel your policy and will very likely try to recover their costs from you."
A single speeding offence may not affect the premium on your policy at all, as insurers could consider it a one off, rather than a pattern of risky behaviour - but they will want to know.
This also applies to any named drivers on the policy, Mr Crowder adds.
Don't give up
"Insurers are not in the business of discriminating against customers," says Mr Tarling.
"The job of the insurer is to insure where they can based on the facts."
Although some insurers may refuse cover to customers with convictions, most will consider whether they are relevant to the type of insurance and base their decision on that.
But they do want to make that decision themselves, so require the customer to make a declaration.
If you have convictions and are unsure where to look for insurance, Unlock has a list of brokers who specialise in finding insurance for people who might otherwise be turned away.
The charity will also give advice and help to anyone who is struggling to find cover.
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