INSURANCE

Driving with insurance is compulsory in the United Kingdom, failure to have third party cover, which is the most basic cover, is considered to be one of the most serious motoring offences. If convicted you will almost certainly face a substantial fine and endorsement of between six and eight penalty points. It is also an offence which carries discretionary disqualification from driving and the Magistrates are encouraged to consider this where appropriate. In addition a conviction will also need to be disclosed to any subsequent insurance company which will then cause a rise in the next premium.

Insurance offences can be committed in circumstances other than direct driving so for example it is an offence to allow somebody to drive your vehicle knowing that they are not insured to do so.

In recent years the police have been able to identify non insured motorists with greater ease. In particular, the use of number plate recognition cameras has lead to a huge increase in the number of non insured drivers being caught. Another development over the recent years has been that of insurance companies restricting the cover they previously offered. Many insurance policies now have much greater restrictions when considering the cover offered than was the case a few years ago and benefits which would have been regarded as standard in the previous years are now no longer included.

When considering the appropriate number of penalty points the Magistrates normally work on the following basis. For cases of genuine mistake where the driver believed that they were insured but in fact were not, they would impose six penalty points. For offences where the individual was driving in full knowledge that they had no insurance then they will receive either eight penalty points or a discretionary disqualification.

The offence of no insurance is not restricted to driving. Insurance is required even if a car is simply being kept on a road and not used. The relevant section is 143 of the 1988 road traffic act.

Particular car needs to be taken when insurance policies are paid by direct debit. Recently I have dealt with a number of cases where for some reason their direct debit has been stopped. This has lead to the driver continuing to drive in the belief that they were insured when they were not. In these circumstances the offence is still made out although the court is likely to be more sympathetic and may, depending on the circumstances consider a special reasons argument in relation to the non endorsement of penalty points.

Other common scenarios are allowing third persons to drive motor vehicles which are insured by the policy holder. In these circumstances it is the policy holders responsibility to check properly that the third party is in fact insured to drive their car. Many people think that because they have fully comprehensive insurance they can drive other cars on a third party basis. This is rarely correct and if a mistake is made then it is not only the policy holder that can be prosecuted for permitting another person to use their vehicle without insurance but also the person who was driving. Both individuals face a fine and possibly between six to eight penalty points on their licence. Vehicles with no tax or mot still need to be insured if they are being used on the road. So for example if a vehicle is being towed by another vehicle and somebody is steering the vehicle which is being towed then that vehicle still needs to be insured, therefore if old vehicles are being taken for scrap they need to be collected or towed via a method which does not involve anybody having to steer them. If you are told by an employer that you are insured to drive a company vehicle and it turns out that you are not you are still liable to conviction and in addition the employer can also be prosecuted as part of a joint prosecution.

Obtaining legal advice for offences of no insurance is always advisable.