Returning to Ireland. penalty points from Oz on irish licence?

TMOrules

I am returning to Ireland after 3.5 years in OZ where i picked up 3 no speeding fines in NSW. I have enquired about getting insurance in Ireland and have been asked to provide details of these infringements.Does anyone know
1. Where to get information on these as i no longer have the rego details of the car i was driving at the time
2. If penalty points from OZ get attached to an Irish licence(I drove on my Irish licence during my stay in OZ)
3. If any Irish insurance companies would not require this information .

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

GladWrap

You'll need a Driving Record.
You can do this online using your licence.

http://www.service.nsw.gov.au/transaction/request-driving-record

Penalty points do not get attached to an Irish licence.
Insurance companies may require this information but you don't have to disclose it.

Peregrinus

If they ask, you have to disclose. And, arguably, even if they don't ask. When forming an insurance policy, you have a duty to disclose all material facts that are within your position. A track record of speedings infringements is definitely material. Failure to disclose this may void your policy.

lg123

true but the chances of them checking the driving record in australia is very small. especially as the OP was always on the irish license. it would be a bureaucratic and legal nightmare for an irish motor insurance company to get their hands on an australian driving record.

from a legal position, you probably should declare, but I think quite a few might forget.

Re Q2, even if you volunteered this info, I don't think the points would get transferred over - very different penalty system. An example would be drivers from the 6 counties coming south.

Mellor

lg123 wrote: »

Re Q2, even if you volunteered this info, I don't think the points would get transferred over - very different penalty system. An example would be drivers from the 6 counties coming south.

It's not a question of points transferring over, that's nothing to do with insurance. It's simply a matter of affecting his premium, and invalidating if he was found out.

GladWrap

If the insurance is for Ireland only then such material would be viewed as prejudicial and, some would argue, irrelevant hence the suggestion.

As for points, different system, different laws, different legislation. Points are not transferred over. The fine, however, will remain and you still have to pay that.

Peregrinus

GladWrap wrote: »

If the insurance is for Ireland only then such material would be viewed as prejudicial and, some would argue, irrelevant hence the suggestion.

If you have a record of repeatedly infringing speed limits, how can that be "irrelevant" from the point of view of an insurer trying to assess the risk presented by your driving? I can't see any argument for saying that speeding infringements you have committed in Ireland can tell an insurer something meaningful about how risky a driver you are, but speeding infringements you have committed in other countries can not.

Anyone proposing for insurance has a duty of "utmost good faith" which requires them to disclose (even if not explicitly asked, though it's clear in fact that the OP has been explicitly asked) all information relevant to assessing the risk and deciding whether or not to accept it, and on what terms. If you have picked up a clutch of speeding fines, you should say so. It doesn't matter where you picked them up.

GladWrap wrote: »

As for points, different system, different laws, different legislation. Points are not transferred over. The fine, however, will remain and you still have to pay that.

Sure. Points are not transferred over. Fines are still payable though, if the OP has left Australia and has no intention of returning, there is probably no effective mechanism to compel him to pay any unpaid fines he may have left behind.

But it's not the points or the fines which are material to an assessment of the risk presented by the OP's driving; it's the speeding. And that's what he has to disclose. His duty of disclosure isn't affected in any way by whether the points do or don't transfer over, or whether he was fined or otherwise sanctioned.

GladWrap

You're overthinking this, Peregrinus.
Have a drink and a lie down

Peregrinus

Hey, he asked! I think he deserves the correct answer.

lg123

there is a correct answer and a real world answer. i think both have been covered above.