There are many reasons why you might have a CCJ (County Court Judgment) issued against you, but in our experience, a high proportion are related to parking tickets. You can read more on parking ticket horror stories [Link].
Consumers usually feel the impact of a CCJ when they apply for a mortgage, credit card or loan, but they can also impact your ability to get car insurance.
This is especially frustrating as the cost of insurance has gone up significantly over the last few years. The reason why a CCJ can impact your car insurance is that insurance companies will usually carry out a credit check on you when you apply, and a CCJ will be visible in your credit report. In fact it will stay there for six years unless remediation action is taken.
How car insurance companies view CCJs
When insurers are considering how much your insurance will cost they take into account many factors. Some of these are obvious, and known to you, such as your age, where your car is parked in the evening and if you have any penalty points on your license.
I say these are obvious because we’re usually aware of them: when we get a speeding ticket and penalty points we’ll be acutely aware of how that can impact our insurance, but having a CCJ isn’t as obvious and is often a surprise when it comes to renewing your insurance.
Car insurance costs have increased, putting pressure on households that are having to deal with increased costs across the board. I’ve helped thousands of people remove CCJs from their credit files. Give myself and my team a call and we’ll be able to advise you.
Luke Memory F.Inst.Pa, Director of External Affairs at CCJ Removal Services CIC
The reason why CCJs impact your car insurance is that insurers consider multiple factors when issuing a quote. This can impact the price, but also whether they want to insure you at all.
Having a CCJ on your credit file could be a flag to insurers that you are more likely to be a risky driver and, therefore that they have to charge you more to cover that risk.
If you are already in a higher-risk insurance category (such as being a young driver, or having penalty points on your license) then having a CCJ can be just one more factor that increases the price of your car insurance.
There are insurers who offer specialist products for people with CCJs, although the providers tend to be smaller and whenever you consider a financial product specifically aimed at a section of the market who have poor credit then you would usually expect to pay a premium for this.
What to do if you have a CCJ related to a parking fine:
- Assess the CCJ: Get professional advice on the CCJ on your credit report. Find out from a professional if the CCJ can be removed from your file.
- Appoint a CCJ Removal expert: It’s possible to remove a CCJ yourself, however it is not an easy process. In our opinion, it’s better to appoint an expert who has been through the process many times. It not only reduces the likelihood of mistakes being made, but it’s also faster.
- Plan for your upcoming renewal, and your next one: It can take time to remove a CCJ, so that means that unless your renewal date is many months in the future you will need to get your car insured to keep on using it, unless you can temporarily mark it as off-road using a SORN. However, it is always best to tackle a CCJ as soon as possible, even if the impact won’t be felt until the renewal point after your next one.