ALERT: Driver with clean licence told they have penalty points by insurance company

There is concern among Irish drivers that incorrect penalty point information is or could be applied to their insurance policy and premium after one Irish driver was told incorrectly that they have six penalty points.

From the end of March, it will be an offence for any insurance provider or broker to issue a motor insurance policy to a motorist who has not supplied their driver number from their driver's licence.

This means that those who do not provide the driver numbers for all named drivers on their respective policy will not be legally able to receive motor insurance. The change is aimed at cracking down on uninsured drivers on roads.

However, one driver who was contacting a major Irish car insurer to update their policy was shocked to be told the company's system was "auto-populating" incorrect penalty point information. The driver was told the system said they had six penalty points when in fact they had none.

The driver was told to contact the National Driver Licence Service to confirm their licence details before reverting back to the insurance company. The driver completed a form on the NDLS website and received a statement via email confirming they had no penalty points applied to their licence, and none pending.

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The individual had concerns about the source of the information being used by the insurance company and whether or not it could have been applied to their insurance policy and therefore their premium if they had not made contact over a different change to their policy.

"Was this information already being used to calculate my premium? Details could be wrong for other drivers and they may not even know. Insurance is already expensive enough so we don't need this potentially adding to it."

The insurer states on its website: "Your driving record and whether you have penalty points or not will affect the price of your car insurance premium. Drivers without penalty points will often benefit from a discount from insurers, while those with penalty points may pay a higher insurance premium."

Insurance companies have had access to penalty point information for almost ten years and have access to the National Driver File, operated by the Department of Transport. Drivers are told that they have to disclose penalty points to their insurer or risk being denied a policy in the future. Penalty points are a rating factor for car insurance companies calculating premiums, making the accuracy of such data crucially important.

Drivers can check their own insurance policy documentation for penalty point information used by their insurer when calculating their premium. If it's not listed, they can contact their insurer to ask for confirmation of the same information. In the event of a discrepancy, drivers can get a statement from the NDLS to confirm the correct details and supply it to insurance providers.

The insurance provider in question has been contacted but has so far not responded to requests for comment.