Driving without insurance!

Driving without insurance

Your local policing team continues to identify and report riders and drivers operating vehicles without valid insurance. This remains a priority to ensure road safety and compliance with the law. Offenders are being dealt with under Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, and vehicles may be seized under Section 165A.

It's illegal to drive a vehicle on a road or in a public place without at least third party insurance.

Even if the vehicle itself is insured, if you’re not correctly insured to drive it you could be considered to be driving without insurance and could get penalised.

You also need to check your insurance covers you for the correct use. If you're using your vehicle for business purposes or hire and reward (eg takeaway drivers, self-employed delivery drivers), this won't automatically be covered.

Not all insurance policies renew automatically so always check the details of your policy and when it ends.

Penalties for driving without insurance

You could receive a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points on your licence if you are caught driving a vehicle that you are not insured to drive.

If the case goes to court, you could get an unlimited fine and be disqualified from driving.

The police also have the power to seize, and in some cases, destroy a vehicle if it's being driven without insurance. 

If the vehicle is kept on public land the law requires that it's continuously insured. If you don't use your car, and it's kept on private ground, you can declare it off the road to the DVLA with a Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN).