Finding home insurance with a criminal conviction

If you have an unspent criminal conviction, it is often difficult to find home insurance in Northern Ireland, with many insurers simply refusing to provide home insurance for people with convictions. This also applies if you are after self build insurance, a form of houses insurance to cover new builds in NI. We have partnered with QuoteZone who provide a simple form which once completed is submitted to a specialist panel of taxi insurance brokers. These brokers will be in contact via the telephone to provide you with quotes on your home insurance

If the form or the application process asks for details of previous or existing convictions, you must answer honestly, failure to do so will invalidate your house insurance policy.

If you have spent convictions, you do not need to declare this when applying for home insurance, unless you are explicitly asked the question.

Cautions, reprimands, and final warnings do not need to be disclosed either. Conditional cautions become spent after three months. 

You also only need to disclose convictions in the last five years, if your unspent convictions are more than five years ago you do not have to disclose it. 

Under insurance disclosure law, the ownership of declaration is on you as the individual to answer all questions put to you by an insurer fully and accurately. This applies to all consumer insurance, this can be home insurance, buildings and contents insurance, car insurance, travel insurance and life insurance. 

You need to provide the insurer with enough information to enable them to quote, this information will normally include the offence you were convicted of the date of the sentence and the sentence you received. 

Should I disclose a new conviction to my policy provider

If you are convicted during a policy, you should not need to declare it until you renew. Some policies may had attached conditions that any convictions must be declared, so please check the terms and conditions of your actual policy.

Is a CCJ a criminal conviction?

A CCJ is not a criminal conviction. These are used for consumer debts, credit cards, loans, overdrafts, but you do still have to declare them as part of the application process for home insurance. Again, some insurers will charge you a higher premium because they see you as a risk. If, however, it has gone past 6 years since your CCJ it will have been removed from your credit report, and you do not have to declare it. 

Can I get home insurance if I was declared bankrupt?

Yes, you can, however, again some insurers will charge you a higher premium because they see you as a risk. You may not be able to go with the usual insurance company you see highly advertised either and must go with a more specialist company. To not tell your insurers is a criminal offence, so you must declare it. It’s not just home insurance that will be affected if you go bankrupt, but your buildings and contents insurance too. If you are self-employed then any insurance, you hold for that too like public liability for example. 

As you can see there are still ways to get insurance regardless of your previous history or circumstances, it just that you may have to do a bit of searching and comparison sites to find the right policy for you.

Does home insurance cost more with a criminal conviction?

For most, the answer will be yes, because you are perceived as being more likely to making an insurance claim. However, if you compare home insurance prices from multiple providers, you should be able to find an affordable policy that suits you.  Unlock also provide a list that specialises in home insurance with convictions.