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MS90 failure to give driver details: car insurance cost in the UK (2026)

An MS90 conviction adds 6 penalty points and typically raises UK car insurance by 25–40%, pushing the £560 average premium to roughly £700–£820, and must be declared to insurers for 5 years. The offence — failing to name the driver under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 — stays on your licence for 4 years and often costs more in points than the speeding ticket behind it. Full 2026 cost breakdown, specialist brokers and six ways to lower your quote below.

How to cut the cost → Other convictions
Direct Answer

What an MS90 does to your premium

An MS90 is the DVLA endorsement code for “failing to give information as to the identity of a driver when required” under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. It almost always follows a speed-camera offence where the registered keeper did not return the Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) within the 28-day deadline. The conviction carries 6 penalty points and a fine of up to £1,000, with no speed-awareness-course alternative.

For insurance, an MS90 is treated as a moderate-to-serious motoring conviction because of the 6 points. A driver with an otherwise clean record can expect a premium increase of roughly 25–40% at the next renewal — on the ABI’s £560 Q1 2026 average that means about £700–£820. Where the MS90 sits alongside other convictions, a recent claim or a young driver, mainstream insurers may decline altogether and loadings of 100–150% through specialist channels are common. You must declare the MS90 for 5 years from the conviction date even though it is removed from your licence after 4. The good news: because the points are administrative rather than tied to dangerous driving, the long-run insurance hit is usually milder than a DR (drink/drugs) or DD (dangerous driving) code — and it fades as the conviction ages.

Driver profileTypical premium beforeAfter MS90Uplift
Experienced driver, clean record£560£700–£820+25–40%
One prior minor (e.g. SP30)£720£1,010–£1,260+40–75%
Driver aged 25–34£780£1,050–£1,400+35–80%
Young driver (17–24)£1,400£2,000–£2,800+45–100%
MS90 + recent claim / multiple pointsvariesspecialist onlyup to +150%

Sources: ABI Motor Insurance Premium Tracker (Q1 2026 average £560), DVLA conviction-code guidance, and Car Insurance Expert composite quote sample across specialist convicted-driver insurers for an MS90 profile. Figures are illustrative ranges, not guaranteed quotes — your exact loading depends on postcode, vehicle and claims history. Refresh: 2026-09-25.

The Catch

Why the MS90 often costs more than the speeding offence

The thing that catches most drivers out is that an MS90 is frequently harsher than the offence it replaced. A typical speed-camera trigger — say 35mph in a 30mph limit — would ordinarily attract an SP30 with 3 points, a modest fine, or a speed-awareness course carrying no points at all. By missing or mishandling the 28-day NIP, that same driver instead receives an MS90 with double the points (6 vs 3), a larger fine, and no course option.

From an underwriter’s perspective, 6 points in a single endorsement is a meaningful risk signal, and a small number of insurers view “failure to furnish” codes with particular caution because they can suggest an attempt to dodge a penalty. That perception — rather than the underlying speed — is what drives the loading. It is also why honesty matters: never let an MS90 go undeclared. Insurers check the DVLA record at quote and claim stage, and a non-disclosure lets them void the policy and refuse a claim, leaving you uninsured and potentially facing an IN10 (driving without insurance) on top.

How to Lower It

Six ways to cut MS90 insurance cost in 2026

  1. Use a specialist convicted-driver broker — firms such as Keith Michaels, Sky Insurance, A-Plan and Adrian Flux place MS90 risks every day and routinely beat mainstream renewal loadings. Comparison sites often return few or no MS90 quotes, so a specialist is usually cheaper, not dearer.
  2. Declare it accurately and once — give the exact offence date, conviction date and points. Errors trigger re-rating mid-policy. You declare for 5 years from conviction; after that most insurers stop asking.
  3. Raise your voluntary excess — moving from £250 to £500–£750 typically trims 8–15% off a loaded premium, provided you can cover the excess if you claim.
  4. Lower-group, lower-value car — with a conviction loading already applied, dropping to an insurance group 1–10 city car compounds the saving and keeps the absolute premium down.
  5. Pay annually and protect your no-claims discount — monthly instalments add 20–30% APR on an already-loaded premium; an intact NCD partly offsets the conviction loading.
  6. Consider a black box — telematics policies reward provable safe driving after a conviction and can claw back some of the loading within a year, especially for under-25s.

If the renewal still looks punishing, it is worth understanding what is pushing UK premiums up in 2026 — from 12% Insurance Premium Tax to record repair costs — before you accept the first number you are shown.

Common Questions

MS90 car insurance FAQs

For an otherwise clean, experienced driver an MS90 typically adds 25–40% to the premium — about £700–£820 against the ABI’s £560 Q1 2026 average. The increase is larger if you are a young driver, already carry points, or have a recent claim, where loadings of 100–150% through specialist insurers are common. Because the 6 points are administrative rather than tied to dangerous driving, the long-term hit is usually milder than a DR or DD conviction and eases as the offence ages.
You must declare an MS90 for 5 years from the date of conviction. The endorsement itself is removed from your driving licence after 4 years from the offence date, but the insurance declaration period is longer. Always answer the exact question the insurer asks — most ask about convictions in the last 5 years. After 5 years the conviction is “spent” under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and most insurers no longer require it to be disclosed.
MS90 is the DVLA code for failing to give information as to the identity of a driver when required, under Section 172 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. It usually arises when the registered keeper of a vehicle does not return a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP) naming the driver within the 28-day deadline after a speed-camera or similar offence. It carries 6 penalty points and a fine of up to £1,000, with no speed-awareness-course option.
A standard speeding offence (SP30) usually means 3 points or a speed-awareness course with none. By missing the 28-day deadline to name the driver, you receive an MS90 instead — 6 points, a larger fine and no course option. So the failure to respond can double your points and cost more in insurance than the speeding offence ever would have. Some underwriters also view “failure to furnish” codes cautiously, which can add to the loading.
Many will, but some decline a single MS90 and most will load the premium. If your record is otherwise clean you should still get mainstream quotes, just at a higher price. Where the MS90 sits alongside other points, a recent claim or a disqualification, a specialist convicted-driver broker (Keith Michaels, Adrian Flux, Sky Insurance, A-Plan) is usually the cheaper and more reliable route — comparison sites frequently return few MS90 quotes.
No. Once an MS90 conviction is recorded there is no speed-awareness-course alternative — that option exists only for the original low-level speeding offence, and only if you respond to the NIP in time. The course-versus-points choice is lost the moment the failure-to-furnish charge is brought. This is exactly why returning the NIP within 28 days, even naming yourself, matters so much.
Yes. The 6 points are wiped from your licence 4 years after the offence date, and the conviction becomes spent for insurance purposes 5 years after conviction. Each renewal in between, the loading typically shrinks as the offence recedes — a 2-year-old MS90 is priced more gently than a fresh one. Once spent, you should no longer declare it to most insurers, and your premium returns toward the standard rate for your profile.
Non-disclosure is treated as misrepresentation. Insurers cross-check the DVLA record at quote and at claim, so a hidden MS90 lets them void the policy from the start and refuse any claim — leaving you to pay third-party damage yourself and potentially facing an IN10 (no insurance) conviction with 6–8 further points. The short-term saving from hiding it is never worth the risk; declare it and shop the specialist market instead.

Our sources

  • DVLA conviction & endorsement codes — MS90 definition, 6 points, 4-year licence retention (gov.uk)
  • Road Traffic Act 1988, Section 172 — legal duty to identify the driver and the 28-day NIP deadline
  • ABI Motor Insurance Premium Tracker — £560 average comprehensive premium, Q1 2026
  • Stephensons / JMW motoring-law guidance — MS90 penalties and why they exceed the underlying speeding offence
  • Specialist convicted-driver brokers (Keith Michaels, Money Expert) — typical MS90 loadings and the “possibly up to 30%” mainstream figure
  • Car Insurance Expert composite quote sample — 2026 ranges across specialist insurers for MS90 profiles

Reviewed by the Car Insurance Expert editorial team

Reviewed by the Car Insurance Expert editorial team (motoring-conviction insurance desk). Methodology: figures are compiled from DVLA/gov.uk guidance, ABI premium data and our own multi-insurer quote sampling for convicted-driver profiles, refreshed quarterly. Questions: editorial@carinsuranceexpert.co.uk.

Last updated: 2026-06-25 · Next scheduled review: 2026-09-25

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