Do I need to inform my insurance company of a speeding ticket?

You’ve been caught speeding and handed a ticket. In addition to the possible fine and penalty points on your licence, you may worry that the mishap will impact your insurance cover and cost. But do you have to tell your insurer about the ticket?

Unlike with an accident, you don’t have to immediately inform your car insurance provider that you’ve been caught speeding in many cases. Some insurers will want immediate notification of any penalty points on your licence, including for speeding, but others won’t. That’s why it’s important to check the terms and conditions of your insurance policy if you’ve been handed a speeding ticket. 

But when your policy comes up for renewal, you must, in all circumstances, tell your insurer about any fixed penalty notices, penalty points on your licence, or motoring convictions you received during the policy term, including for speeding. These offences will likely increase your premiums as they indicate to your insurer that you’re driving unsafely. Three penalty points on your licence, which you’d earn for exceeding the speed limit by a moderate amount, will typically increase your premiums by 5-10%, while the six penalty points you’d receive for a higher level speeding offence could inflate your premiums by 25%.

You will then typically have to disclose the penalty points or motoring conviction to your insurers for as long as they remain on your driving record - from four to 11 years depending on the severity of the offence.

Additionally, in the extreme circumstances in which a speeding offence leads to your disqualification from driving, you have to inform your insurer immediately. Even if your disqualification is only for a short period of time, you must immediately alert your insurer. They may then decide to cancel your insurance policy.

Speeding may earn you a disqualification from driving if the offence is especially severe. For instance, you can earn a driving ban ranging from one to eight weeks for driving speeding offences in bands B or C - such as when driving more than 90mph on a motorway with a speed limit of 70mph.

Additionally, if the points on your licence you accrue through your speeding offence (which range from 3 to 6, depending on the severity) put you are 12 penalty points within three years, you can be disqualified from driving for six months. You would then need to inform your insurer of the ban after which they’re entitled to cancel your policy.