Insurance advice for people with a criminal record

Please see our pages on general information on what is on your criminal record and what would be classed as spent.

If your convictions are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act, you will not need to declare them to insurance providers regardless of the questions you may be asked. If you are not sure whether your convictions are spent, please see here for further advice or contact us on 0300 123 1999 or helpline@nacro.org.uk.

If your convictions are unspent, you will need to declare them to the insurance provider if they ask you to. You do not need to disclose them if you are not asked.

For certain types of insurance, such as home insurance, you may be asked to declare unspent convictions of everybody living within the household.

Failure to declare unspent convictions when asked to do so can invalidate your insurance policy. For this reason, it is a good idea to ask your insurance provider for a written confirmation of any criminal conviction declarations that you make to them. Keep this as evidence of disclosure in case you need to make a claim.

You do not need to declare cautions or youth cautions when applying for insurance as they are spent immediately under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. Diversionary cautions, conditional cautions and youth conditional cautions are spent after three months from the date of issue, or once the conditions cease to have effect.

If you have received a diversionary/conditional/youth conditional caution within the last three months, you will need to declare this to an insurance provider if you are asked to. Once it is spent, you will not need to declare it when applying for insurance.

If you received a fixed penalty notice for a road traffic offence, you will need to disclose this to motor insurance providers for five years if you were 18 or over at the time, or two-and-a-half years if you were under 18 at the time.

If you declare a fixed penalty notice to an insurance provider, it is a good idea to ask them for written confirmation of your declaration in case you need to make a claim.

You do not need to declare fixed penalty notices or penalty notices for disorder that you have received for other offences which are not road traffic offences.

If you fail to declare an unspent caution, conviction, or fixed penalty notice when asked by an insurance provider, you could find that your policy is invalid. This will cause problems should you need to make a claim, or if you have already made a claim, the insurance company may ask for the money back.

It is best to check the terms and conditions of your policy, but if there is nothing specific to say that you must declare convictions and/or fixed penalty notices received during the course of your policy, you will not need to do so until you apply to renew your policy.

If you need to declare unspent convictions or fixed penalty notices when applying for insurance, you may find that insurance providers are not prepared to offer you cover, or will offer you cover at a much more expensive rate than usual.

Insurance brokers are a good place to start if you are finding it difficult to get insurance. They offer quotes free of charge and will find the best deal for your circumstances.