Driving without insurance is a bad idea in every case scenario. Even though you might think you can easily get away with it, it’s enough to be pulled aside for a regular check by the police for you to end up in trouble.
In fact, driving without insurance is illegal.
Even if your vehicle is insured, you could be facing some penalties for not being correctly insured to drive it.
If it’s already late to get car insurance, it’s always good to get to know the process and to see how it really works.
For a start, some of the best solicitors can help you to file a claim about an accident in which you or the other driver were without car insurance.
So, there’s definitely a solution, but make sure you know all the details about driving without insurance.
Here, we’ll explain the legal perspective and penalties for not having car insurance.
Driving without insurance – the law
Driving without at least the most basic level of car insurance, third-party insurance, is illegal.
Third-party insurance is the bare minimum and covers you in case you are responsible for a road traffic accident that caused damages or injuries.
Besides this basic cover, you can add protection against theft or fire, or add a cover for damages to your own car.
It’s very much possible for you to be stopped by the police, as they have number plate recognition cameras for detecting whether a car is insured or not.
Once you’re stopped, you need to give them your documents and you have 7 days to provide them with an up-to-date certificate of insurance that has to be valid at the time they stopped you.
This means there’s no way of getting your car insured after you were stopped by the police and for that insurance to be valid for the past events.
It only applies from the moment you take it and can be used for future events.
Also, if your insurance has been cancelled when the police stopped you and you had no idea about it, you might have a defence.
Penalties
If you’re caught driving a car without insurance, you will be facing at least a fixed penalty fine of £300, plus 6 penalty points.
At the scene, the police will decide about the seriousness of your case and whether or not it should go to court. Serious cases refer to driving without a licence, giving false information, high-risk driver,…
In court, you could be facing an unlimited fine or driving disqualification, but they can also take away your car and even destroy it.
Fortunately, the conviction for driving without insurance doesn’t appear on a criminal record.
The severity of your penalties can be reduced due to ‘’special reasons’’.
They include an insurance provider not informing the driver that the insurance has been cancelled; a person being informed they can legally drive the car; any other fault by the policy provider, and not by the driver.
