Fall In Car Insurance Dodging Rate

• News
• Published: 22 Jul 2010 in Motoring and Car Insurance

The number of people driving without car insurance has fallen by 20% during the past four years, figures reveal. 

An estimated 1.5 million motorists were on the roads despite not having motor insurance cover during 2009, down from 1.8 million in 2005, according to the Motor Insurers' Bureau. 

But despite the reduction, it is still estimated that 4% of drivers in the UK do not have any cover, the highest level in Western Europe. 

Every year uninsured drivers in the UK kill 160 people and injure 23,000 people, costing insurers around £500 million and adding the equivalent of £30 to the cost of policies for honest motorists. 

Four of five top hotspots for uninsured drivers between 2007 and 2009 were in Birmingham, with Small Heath taking the top slot, followed by Bordesley and Saltley. 

Barkerend in Bradford had the highest proportion of uninsured drivers, between 1997, when the Motor Insurers' Bureau first started collecting data, and 2009, followed by West Gorton in Manchester, and Small Heath in Birmingham. 

The Metropolitan area had the highest number of uninsured vehicles in terms of police forces, with an estimated one in 10 motorists in the capital not having car insurance. 

Ashton West, chief executive of the Motor Insurers' Bureau, said: "We understand that times are tough and finances may be squeezed but motor insurance is a legal requirement. Even though the number of new claims reported to MIB is reducing, the costs to the industry and ultimately the honest motorist are just too high."