Buy Car Insurance Even If You No Longer Drive Your Car

Did you know that even if your car is no longer driven you still need to buy car insurance?

If you didn’t, you’re not alone. According to research from Post Office Car Insurance, many car owners across the UK remain unaware of new regulations that require a car to be insured, even if it is no longer driven.

If you don’t have the insurance it means you could inadvertently be breaking the law.

Changes to requirements were made in June 2011 to help tackle the number of uninsured drivers when the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) was introduced.

However, a year later, despite much effort to raise awareness, over 20% of drivers remain unaware that insurance is required unless a car is registered as SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification). If you don’t have cover you are at risk of a hefty fine.

Gerry Barrett, Head of Insurance at Post Office, said: “Motorists can face a fixed penalty of £100 if a vehicle does not have insurance and receive a possible maximum fine of £1000, plus they could have their vehicle wheel-clamped, impounded or even destroyed.

“Motorists should ensure they are aware of the rules to avoid incurring penalties.”

Uninsured driving

Uninsured driving costs the industry £500 million a year[1].

Many of course flout the law deliberately, however it seems some are simply disorganised.

Of those drivers surveyed by Post Office, around 10% admit to having driven their car without insurance at some point – for example because they were between insurance policies, had forgottoen to renew their policy or were not fully aware of their insurance policy details.

Gerry Barrett said: “It’s clear many people find themselves accidentally uninsured, so we want to encourage drivers to tackle this problem by carefully checking insurance policy details and setting-up reminders to ensure they are aware when their policy is up for renewal.”

MoneyHighStreet comments: “Making sure you have the correct car insurance is vital. Did you know that you can check that your car is insured correctly using the national Motor Insurance Database?

“The national Motor Insurance Database (MID) is a central repository of all the insured vehicles in the UK. Police and the DVLA use it to find uninsured vehicles, however very few drivers know that it can be used by them to check that the details of their car insurance have been recorded correctly.

“Whether deliberately or otherwise, it really isn’t worth being uninsured. Apart from anything else uninsured drivers add an average £30 to every motorist’s premium.

“If money is tight, there are steps you can take to legally save money on your car insurance, including to consider exactly what cover you need included. For example can you reduce your annual mileage? Do you need a courtesy car? Can you keep your car off the road?”

To find out more about Post Office Car Insurance visit their website, call 0800 783 0180, or pop into your local branch.

1. http://www.mib.org.uk/Media+Centre/en/Key+Facts/Default.htm