This article was written by Jerome Smail from Sainsbury’s Finance.
With the rising cost of living and ever higher fuel prices, car insurance premiums can be seen as an unwelcome financial burden for motorists.
But car insurance is an essential expenditure. Not only does it give you protection in the event of an accident or theft, it is also a legal requirement for all drivers in this country.
However, that doesn’t stop a significant number of people giving into temptation and driving without being properly insured.
Uninsured drivers in the UK
According to Direct.gov.uk, there are an estimated 2 million motorists driving on UK roads without insurance, resulting in approximately 300,000 convictions every year.
But it gets worse: its research shows that drivers without insurance are more likely to be involved in accidents or criminal activity. They are also more likely to ignore road traffic signs and signals.
According to the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB), uninsured motorists cost innocent drivers more than £500 million a year, adding around £30 to the typical premium.
Penalties
The penalties for driving without insurance are severe, reflecting the serious nature of the offence and the cost to drivers and society at large.
These include:
- A maximum fine of £5,000, and
- An automatic six to eight penalty points on your driving licence.
- The courts can also order your immediate disqualification from driving.
The fixed penalty system can be used to punish driving without insurance, and the police can issue a punishment of a £200 fine and six penalty points.
Your vehicle
The police also have the power to seize and even destroy a vehicle that is being driven without insurance. Vehicles seized are only released upon payment of the fixed penalty and the presentation of a valid insurance certificate. If the vehicle is not claimed within a set time, it can be disposed of.
Under the Road Safety Act 2006, motorists who kill or are involved in accidents while driving without insurance can be given harsher sentences.
If your car is off the road
That’s not the end of the story, though. You don’t even have to be driving an uninsured vehicle to fall foul of the law.
New legislation called Continuous Insurance Enforcement means you must keep your vehicle insured, even if you are not driving it, unless you have made a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN). If you don’t have insurance and have not made a SORN, you could face a penalty, even if your car is being kept on your driveway or in a garage.
The exceptions are:
- if a vehicle has been kept off-road since before 31 January 1998 (when SORN came into existence), or
- if the Driver and Vehicle Licensing (DVLA) has recorded a vehicle as stolen, passed, sold, scrapped or permanently exported.
Consequences
If the Motor Insurance Bureau discovers that your vehicle is uninsured without a SORN, they will send you an Insurance Advisory Letter . This will advise on what you must do to avoid action from the DVLA.
If your off-road vehicle doesn’t have insurance, you risk:
- a fixed penalty of £100,
- having your vehicle wheel-clamped, impounded or destroyed,
- a court prosecution, and
- a maximum fine of £1000.
And, of course, you would still have to pay for motor insurance if your car hasn’t been scrapped.
