Driving Without Insurance

To put it simply, car insurance is insurance for cars – nothing more. Its purpose is to protect all relevant parties if an accident happens – however, different types of insurances offer different levels of protection.

According to law, every person registered in England and other parts of the UK as a driver and using a vehicle has to have insurance. The most common types are:

• Third party – this is the most basic insurance allowed by law. It doesn’t matter if you drive your car every day or once a year – if you are getting behind the wheel, you need to have at least this level of insurance. Third party car insurance covers damages caused to other vehicles taking part in the accident, as well as any compensation that might be needed for those involved. It doesn’t, however, cover damage caused to your car, nor will it compensate you for your injuries.
• Third party, fire and theft – this level of insurance is slightly more comprehensive than the one we mentioned above. It covers everything regular third party insurance does, but it also covers you in case a fire or theft of your car happens.
• Comprehensive insurance – this type covers everything the two above mentioned do. Additionally, it also covers you and your car in case of an accident.

Because of the number plate recognition cameras, the police know when someone is driving without valid insurance.

In cases where you were caught driving without insurance, stopped by the police and asked to show your documents but were unable to, you have seven days to provide them with a document confirming having valid insurance in place. Remember that it has to be valid at the time you were stopped – you can’t just buy new insurance within this seven day period. If you fail to do so, you will have to face the consequences.

The number of points on your driving licence for no insurance will depend on the severity of the offence but it will be a minimum of six.

Driving without insurance is a serious offence. If you are caught driving without insurance you can face several consequences. Here is the minimum penalty for driving without insurance:

• fixed penalty fine of £300
• 6 penalty points in your license
• the IN10 endorsement staying on your license for four years
• you will need to disclose the incident to your insurance provider for five years from the day the offence was committed

You should keep in mind that if the police decide that the offence is more serious – for example, the driver gives false details or drives a high-risk vehicle such as an HGV – then they might let the court handle this case. If your case goes to court you could end up with an unlimited fine and a higher number of penalty points put on your license. In some cases, the court has the power to order someone to destroy the vehicle that is being driven uninsured. You might also get disqualified from driving.

Yes, driving without insurance is a criminal offence. It is a compulsory requirement for anyone who uses a vehicle on the road or any other public place to have the correct and valid insurance against third party risks. This includes vehicles that are only parked and are not driven. As long as the vehicle is on the road, it must be insured. The Magistrates Court’s treat driving without insurance very seriously because of the potential consequences if you were to crash when uninsured.

An IN10 endorsement is simply a code for driving without insurance, which will appear on your license. There are plenty of situations in which it can be issued, for example:

• when you forget to renew your insurance in time
• when you don’t check beforehand whether the person using your vehicle has an insurance
• when you forget to check if you are adequately insured to drive another vehicle
• when you deliberately drive knowing that you don’t have insurance

As the owner of the vehicle, you have the responsibility to make sure that every person you allow to drive it is properly insured. If you let someone without insurance drive your vehicle, you are subject to the same penalties as if you were driving an uninsured vehicle yourself.

If you are found to be driving a company car without insurance, and you were unaware, your employer’s failure to insure the vehicle means that you have a defence against charges brought against you. However, even if you’re cleared of wrongdoing, your employer could still be convicted for allowing you to drive while uninsured.

It is not the responsibility of your insurer to notify you about your insurance cover, their duty is to honour any insurance policy you have with them. You are responsible for ensuring that your vehicle is covered, therefore, you are liable if your insurer doesn’t automatically renew your cover.

However, despite being responsible, such circumstances may amount to ‘special reasons’, which could help you avoid a penalty.

As you were driving the vehicle, it is your responsibility to ensure that you are appropriately insured, meaning that you have committed an offence. Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to avoid penalty points by arguing ‘special reasons’.

A ‘special reason’ is something that does not amount to a defence but is connected with the offence. It must be a mitigating circumstance and something which the court should properly take into account. If the court find a special reason they might then decide not to impose penalty points on your licence. Examples in no insurance cases might include:

• A discrepancy with your insurance provider – e.g. cancelling your insurance without notifying you
• You genuinely believed that you were fully insured at the time
• You were driving someone else’s vehicle in reliance on their confirmation that their policy would cover you or that a policy had been taken out.