A campaigner is calling for improved access to the insurance market for ex-offenders.
People with criminal records are coming up against barriers when trying to purchase insurance products, it has been claimed. According to Chris Bath of the offender charity UNLOCK, they are being failed by the insurance industry.
In a thinkpiece written for the Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), Mr Bath calls on insurance providers to improve access to protection policies for reformed offenders by developing new pricing models that are based not on the presumption that such consumers represent a higher risk, but on factual data.
As well as allowing them to take advantage of a commercial opportunity in a largely untapped market, this would also help insurance firms make a valuable contribution to reducing crime by assisting former offenders as they attempt to reintegrate into society, he claims.
Commenting, David Thomson, director of policy and public affairs at the CII, said: "Chris's paper highlights one of the major issues faced by reformed offenders and throws down a challenge to both the government and the industry."
UNLOCK joined forces with the British Insurance Brokers Association last year to campaign for fairer treatment of ex-offenders by insurance providers. They insisted insurers must take into account an individual's current lifestyle as well as their past actions when issuing quotes.
