It’s a simple truth; drive a car without insurance and you’re breaking the law. Despite this, it’s reckoned there are more than 1 million uninsured drivers on our roads. They cost law-abiding motorists £400 million each year but only 150,000 or so are prosecuted annually.

If you’re caught driving without insurance your car will be seized, may be crushed and you can also expect between six and eight points on your licence. That’s as well as a fine of around £300 – although it could be far more if the case goes to court.

Many of those who drive without insurance do so deliberately, but in a lot of cases it’s because of an oversight, poor communication or some kind of misunderstanding. So before you drive any car, make sure you don’t fall prey to one of these:

You forgot to renew

It’s easy to put that renewal reminder to one side then forget about it, so jump onto it before it’s overlooked. Also, some insurance companies will automatically renew your policy after 12 months, while others will wait for you to confirm that you want to stick with them. If you haven’t received any paperwork from your insurer to confirm that you’re with them for another year, the chances are you’re not covered – so phone them for confirmation.

Your insurer cancelled your cover

Insurance companies don’t usually cancel a policy for no reason but computer errors do occur and there’s nothing you can do about them. What’s more likely to happen though is a direct debit fails to go through (perhaps because of a lack of funds) or your insurer might write to you to ask for proof of No Claims Bonus once you’ve taken out your policy. Fail to respond to this correspondence and your policy might just be cancelled, which is why you must always stay on top of your post.

You thought you had third-party cover

If you have comprehensive insurance on your own car you’re often insured to drive someone else’s car with third-party cover, as long as you’ve got the owner’s permission and the car is covered by a policy of its own. But not all comprehensive policies come with this feature as standard (it might be optional or unavailable), so check before taking the wheel. Drivers over 25 are more likely to have this feature, but even older drivers can’t just assume they have it.

You decided to take a risk

This one is simple; you reckoned you wouldn’t get caught so you decided to just drive without insurance. But our roads are littered with Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras linked to road tax and car insurance databases. Get spotted by one of these and if there’s a police car nearby you can expect to be apprehended. And remember many traffic cars are unmarked, so you’re being watched even when you think you’re not…

You thought it was private land

If you drive on private land you may not need car insurance, although it depends on the circumstances. You must always be insured if you’re driving on the public highway, but sometimes it’s not obvious whether you’re on public or private land. Assume it’s the latter when it’s actually the former and you could end up in big trouble.

You weren’t driving

You don’t have to be driving to be nicked for driving without insurance. You merely have to be in control of the car. So if you’re pushing a broken-down car on the public highway, on your own, you could be prosecuted for driving without insurance. Yes it’s an unlikely scenario, but it does happen.

You were told you’re insured

The classic situation here is you’re looking at buying a used car and you’re told that you’ve got cover. You act in good faith then find out that you’re not insured – but it’s you who is liable, not the person who mistakenly misinformed you. So always check, just to be on the safe side.

You’re guilty of fronting

It seems innocent enough; insuring a new or young driver can be hugely expensive so it’s common for a parent to put them on their own policy as a named driver – even if the child is the main or sole driver. The problem is this is fraudulent and if it’s discovered the policy will probably be cancelled – potentially in the throes of a claim. While you’re unlikely to be prosecuted for driving without insurance, it is possible.

You’ve misled your insurer

When you insure a car you’re entering into a contract with an insurance company. You expect them to be honest with you, so if you lie to them, they might cancel your policy in the event of a claim. So disclose those points on your licence and don’t lie about what you do for a living or where your car is stored. Do so and you could end up in hot water.

The data transfer failed

We’ll finish on a high note because this is the one where you’re in the clear, even if the police initially disagree. When you insure your car your insurer will upload the necessary data to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) database. This is the database to which the police refer to make sure that you’re covered – and you can refer to it as well. Just log on to the askMID website  to make sure that you’re insured.

Sometimes the data doesn’t get transferred to the database, typically because of a fault with the phone line when the upload takes place at the end of each day. It’s an unusual situation but it does happen, which is why it’s worth checking the database the day after you’ve renewed your policy.

Richard Dredge

April 2016