We’re featured in an article in the Mail on Sunday, which covers some recent work we’ve done with Halifax bank to extend the number of prisons that they open basic bank accounts for. The article is available to read here.
Category: Financial services
Sins of Omission – Ex-offenders get help on knowing when to own up to insurers
The Observer picked up on our launch of the Disclosure Calculator and featured this as an article, looking at how it will help people when applying for insurance. You can read the article below.
The Invisible Cell – How access to basic financial products can help overcome financial exclusion
We’ve written an article for the Co-op’s members magazine, Re:Act. It’s only sent out in hard copy, but we’ve taken some copies of the article and these are available below as images.
The role of the financial services industry in reducing re-offending
Linked to the launch of Time is Money, we’ve written a Think Piece for the Chartered Insurance Institute. You can read the article here.
Caught fare dodging? How even a minor conviction could have a huge impact on your insurance
Today we were featured in a Daily Mail article which looked at how minor convictions can have a huge impact on your insurance. You can read the article here.
The article was also featured on the thisismoney.co.uk website.
Insurance industry and Unlock publish guidance to help people with past convictions to buy insurance
Today we’ve launched guidance with the ABI (Association of British Insurers), to both insurers and individuals, to try to help people to understand what they do and don’t have to disclose, and what insurers should and shouldn’t ask for.
The guidance is available to download here.
This news was released via the Mail on Sunday (see below) and has been picked up in a number of press outlets, including:
- thisismoney.co.uk – ‘Insurers tell offenders to play it straight
- FinancialPlanner – ABI guide aims to help people with past criminal convictions
- Politics Home – ABI publishes guidance to help people with past criminal convictions buy insurance
- Insurance Daily – ABI: new guidance for customers with criminal convictions
New insurance guidance to help 8 million consumers with past criminal convictions
Unlock has joined up with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) to produce guidance for consumers and insurers on the complex issue of criminal convictions and insurance.
According to government figures, more than 8 million people in England and Wales have a criminal conviction and one in three men are convicted by the age of fifty-three.
Consumers are legally required to declare convictions even if insurers do not ask about them, unless they are considered ‘spent’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. A fine or community order must be declared for five years, while short custodial sentences must be declared for between seven and ten years. People sentenced to more than thirty months must disclose their convictions for the rest of their life.
The laws apply to anyone covered by a policy, including partners and children on home policies and named drivers on motor policies. If a child receives a fine then their parents must disclose the conviction for 30 months as disclosure periods are shorter for people convicted when under the age of eighteen.
Many insurers take unspent convictions into account when assessing risk. If ‘unspent’ convictions are not disclosed insurers are able to avoid any claims made on the policy.
Unlock’s guidance, which has been sponsored by online insurers homeprotect, highlights consumers’ legal obligations and provides advice on how to buy insurance. The ABI’s guidance covers insurers’ legal obligations and industry best practice, such as including clear questions about convictions to make sure consumers get appropriate cover.
Chris Bath, Director of Projects at Unlock said: “Financial services are a crucial foundation for engagement in modern society. If we want people to lead productive lives; working, paying taxes and providing their family with a home, we cannot allow the justice system to sever people from their finances, even less to create lifelong financial exclusion.”
Nick Starling, the ABI’s Director of General Insurance and Health, said: “Access to, and fair treatment by, financial services providers is a key part of financial inclusion. We recognise that some people with criminal convictions and related offences may encounter difficulties when looking for insurance. We have produced guidance for our members to ensure that people with criminal convictions get a fair deal from insurers. Customers can expect insurers following the guidance to provide clear information about how they use criminal convictions, ask clear and concise questions, and help those to whom they may be unable to insure.”
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Time is Money launch: Giving ex-offenders bank accounts will help them – and us
As part of the launch of Time is Money, we worked with the Independent to publish a detailed piece yesterday. This is available here.
Following the launch today, we were also featured in:
- BBC News – Ex-prisoners ‘need access to financial services’
- thisismoney – ‘Give prisoners bank accounts’
- MSN – Ex-prisoners ‘need help from banks’
- Banking Times – ‘Call for action on financial exclusion and prison’
On the morning of the launch, we also took part in a Radio 5 Live discussion (which you can listen to below)
Why prisoners are being called to account
We’ve worked with the Independent to develop a detailed article on the issues around access to banking for people in prison.
Barclays opens up to prisoners reaching the end of their sentence
We’ve contributed to a really positive article which featured in todays Mail on Sunday, looking at the work that Barclays are doing, with our support, in opening bank accounts for people in prison before they are released.
Update – 28th September
This has been followed by an article in the Guardian today, and we also took part in a BBC Manchester radio discussion yesterday (which you can listen to below)
