Uninsured Drivers Beware

Motorists are no doubt aware that it is a legal requirement that they must insure their vehicles for a minimum of third party cover unless it is declared SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) and is kept off the public road system. If they do not then they could face severe penalties.

It is worth noting that the “powers that be” are able to tell if a car is not insured even if they do not see it being driven. Such is technology and record keeping these days that the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) are able to identify those motorists who have not bothered to insure their cars.

You may find it surprising to read that as many as 3,000 drivers are being issued with what are called Insurance Advisory Letters (IAL) on a daily basis because they have not insured their cars. Another concerning statistic is that around a third of those motorists are subsequently receiving a fixed penalty notice. As a result, those offenders are faced with a fine of £1,000, points on their license and court prosecution plus they could find fewer insurers prepared to insure their vehicles and having to pay an awful lot more for their cover than what they would normally pay. It is also possible that their vehicles could be seized and taken away to be crushed resulting in them potentially loosing thousands of pounds. In 2017, in the region of 250,000 motorists received fixed penalty notices.

It is pleasing to hear that over the last 10 years the number of drivers here in the UK without car insurance has reduced by around 50%. This would indicate that significant progress has been made to reduce the number of uninsured drivers but it is still concerning to hear about so many drivers that are flouting the law and not taking out suitable motor insurance. Potentially, this could have an impact upon what the honest motorist is paying for his or her car insurance in a negative way.

Those motorists may wish to ask themselves if it is really worth the risk of not insuring their cars as it sounds like it is quite likely that he or she will be caught and be faced with significant penalties for breaking the law. The penalty points will no doubt be held on their driving license for many years thus impacting negatively for many years on how much they pay for their motor insurance.