Home Insurance with a CCJ

Written by

David Joyson

Home Insurance Expert & Customer Champion

Reviewed by

Sophie Kamkar

Content Marketing Manager

What is a CCJ?

CCJ stands for ‘County Court Judgement‘ – it’s a court order which requests that you pay money you owe.

How having a CCJ affects getting home insurance

If you’ve had a CCJ made against you, some insurance providers won’t give you a quote.

We’re not like that! Although we need to know if you (or anyone else in your household) has had a CCJ in the past 25 years, we aim to provide you with a competitive home insurance quote online irrespective of this aspect of your past financial history.

Save money and avoid a credit check by paying annually for home insurance

When you buy your policy, we offer two payment options allowing you to choose whether you pay a single amount up front or monthly instalments. The monthly payment option has a transaction fee and it requires you to have a credit score check undertaken by the credit provider. So if you’ve had a CCJ, the easiest and least stressful payment method is to pay your annual premium in one go with a payment card.

Tip: It might be tempting not to tell your insurer about bankruptcy in the past, but if you omit to disclose this and you later need to make a claim, the insurer will find out about your financial history because it’s available in public records and will most likely refuse the claim and cancel your policy immediately. Being honest about your situation is the only way to be sure you have the protection you need.

What is a CCJ and what does it mean?

If you’ve been taken to court by someone to whom you’re in debt and your fail to respond, the court is likely to issue a CCJ or County Court Judgement against you. This means that it has decided you do owe the money. The court will issue a judgement by instalments or forthwith, determining how and when you have to repay your creditors.

Unless you pay off a CCJ within 30 days, it will show on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for six years. If you do repay the debt straight away, the CCJ stays on the register, but is recorded as ‘satisfied’. Non-payment results in ‘unsatisfied’ appearing beside your CCJ on the register.

Meeting the deadlines

If you don’t meet the deadlines set out by your CCJ, your creditor can return to court to seek enforcement of the order which might result in bailiffs visiting your home or business. Banks use the CCJ register to assist their decisions over whether or not to offer you credit, so once a CCJ has been awarded against you, it is essential that you do your best to meet the terms of the order.

Change of circumstances

If you suffer a change of circumstances that leave you in a position where you are unable to meet the terms of your CCJ, you should apply to get your court order changed rather than allow yourself to fall behind with repayments. If you fail to take action to change your CCJ and subsequently fail to meet its terms, then you could be at risk of losing your possessions and even your home in more severe cases.