Frequently Asked Questions

Under insurance law, you must disclose all ‘material facts’. This includes all criminal convictions which are ‘unspent’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (ROA). It includes the convictions of everyone covered by the insurance, such as children or a partner. The type of offence does not matter.

Once a conviction is ‘spent’ under the ROA, it never has to be disclosed to insurers. Unspent convictions, fixed penalty notices, pending prosecutions and any other elements not covered by the ROA always have to be disclosed, even if an insurer does not ask about them. Please follow the link below to see the disclosure periods under the ROA.
What Convictions Should I Disclose

You have to disclose unspent convictions when you take out insurance. You do not have to disclose any convictions you get during a policy until renewal, unless there is an explicit condition in your policy.

The ROA is very complicated, so it is difficult to know what is protected by the Act. However, there are a number of ways you can work out whether a conviction is spent, including obtaining a basic disclosure or subject access request or using the ROA guide on our website at following link
What Convictions Should I Disclose

The vast majority of insurance companies will refuse to offer you insurance. If you already have a policy, your insurer may cancel it and might refuse to pay any new claims and seek to get back the money from any previous claims. Insurable have created solutions with partner insurers to provide insurance cover for people with unspent convictions.

If you are taking out new insurance, or already have a policy, it is quite possible that nothing will happen. However, you may be acting illegally and if your insurer does find out, your insurance could be cancelled and/or claims refused. If you have not disclosed, you are not really protected by your insurance.

If you disclosed all unspent convictions when you took out the policy, there should be no problem. If you did not disclose all unspent convictions, your insurance company may ‘void’ the policy. This means that they will treat it as if it never existed and will not pay out on your claim. This may leave you unable to replace what you have insured, such as your house, car or business. Insurable have created solutions with partner insurers to provide insurance cover for people with unspent convictions.