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Over the years we have noticed a general confusion surrounding motor convictions, in particular how long they last for and when they should be disclosed.

A large part of this is due to the information shown by the DVLA on the online License Summary (or in the old days on the Counterpart License). The conviction information here tends to be removed 3 years after the conviction date, however as a motoring conviction is a criminal offense (albeit a minor one) the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act doesn't consider a motoring conviction "spent" until 5 years after the conviction date. In fact for some offences (Drink Driving for example), the conviction isn't spent until 11 years after the conviction date.

This has led to many people thinking they do not need to disclose a conviction as it has been removed from the DVLA summary, when in actual fact it is still active and should be disclosed. The danger here is that this is considered a "non-disclosure" by insurance companies and could result in an additional charge or in a worst case situation a claim being refused or a policy voided.

The best advice is always to disclose everything to your broker or insurer, they will let you know if a conviction needs to be disclosed or not.

Some convictions are considered more minor (speeding, disobeying traffic signs, driving through red lights) but will still have an impact on your premium. More serious convictions (driving without insurance, drink or drug driving, or driving while banned) will most likely mean that many insurers simply won't quote for you and those that do will be considerably more expensive. The best advice is to obey traffic laws, drive sensibly within the speed limit and certainly never drive if you have been drinking or taking drugs.

For more information regarding UK motoring convictions you can visit https://www.gov.uk/penalty-points-endorsements/endorsement-codes-and-penalty-points, or to check your licence summary visit https://www.gov.uk/view-driving-licence.