The Independent’s journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission. Why trust us?
Not only is it ill-advised to drive without car insurance – you’d have to pay the full costs of any accident yourself – it’s also illegal. Which means you can get in all sorts of trouble if caught.
Below, we detail the maximum fine for driving without car insurance, what other penalties you may face, and how the police can check whether or not you’ve got cover in place.
If you’re caught driving without car insurance, you can be fined £300 and receive six to eight penalty points on your licence. This is officially known as an IN10 driving conviction.
These penalty points will stay on your licence for four years from the date of the offence. If you build up 12 or more points on your licence within a three-year period, you can be banned from driving full stop. For new drivers, the rules are even stricter: if you collect six or more points within two years of passing your test, your licence will be revoked.
You may end up paying a much higher fine, and incurring a more severe punishment, if you have to go to court for driving without insurance. For example, if you were caught without insurance and were drink driving or driving while banned, or if you gave false information to the police when stopped.
As mentioned, a £300 fine and at least six penalty points isn’t the maximum penalty you can receive if you’re caught driving without car insurance. In some cases:
Since you must disclose your driving convictions to any potential insurance provider, you may also have to pay a much higher premium for the next few years. And with car insurance already so expensive, the last thing you want to do is give an insurer more reason to push the price up.
At the very least, you must have third party car insurance to drive on UK roads. However, you may want more than the legal minimum. That’s because third party insurance only pays for the damage to another driver’s car if you have an accident that is your fault.
If you want cover for if your car is stolen or damaged by fire as well, then you should consider third party, fire and theft insurance.
Meanwhile if you want all of that and cover for repairs to your own car, alongside any medical expenses, you’ll need fully comprehensive car insurance.
REMEMBER: it isn’t the car that’s insured – it’s the driver.
So, for example, if your parents have car insurance, and you are learning to drive, you may need to take out specific learner driver insurance to use their vehicle. Or, if you just want to borrow someone’s car for a short amount of time, you may have to get temporary car insurance.
While you should always drive with the right level of cover, you might wonder how you could get caught for something that isn’t immediately obvious. That’s where the Motor Insurance Database (MID) comes in:
If your car is flagged by the ANPR scan, that doesn’t automatically mean you don’t have insurance. While insurers frequently update the MID, there may be a lag between you taking out insurance, and your car appearing on the database. In that case, your cover note or certificate of motor insurance can be used as your proof of your policy.
It’s not just the police checking whether or not you have car insurance. As part of the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) scheme, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) regularly compares the MID with the records of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
This is to see whether there are taxed cars on the DVLA records that don’t appear on the MID.
When the MIB finds such a car, it will send out an insurance advisory letter (IAL) to the registered keeper of the vehicle.
What to do if you receive an IAL:
If you don’t comply with the terms of the IAL, you can receive a penalty that differs from the one you’d receive if you got caught actively driving without insurance by the police:
If you keep on top of your car insurance renewal dates, you should always be aware if you have cover or not. Sometimes, however, things slip through the cracks. In that case, how can you find out if your car is insured?
Well, the Motor Insurance Database isn’t just for the police or the MIB. You can use the askMID service to find out whether your car is insured. All you need to do is type in your vehicle registration number, ie your number plate.
If you’re driving a car, you must have car insurance. However, if you just own a car, there are some exceptions where you won’t need to have cover in place:
Whether you can make a claim if you’re hit by an uninsured driver depends on your level of cover. With fully comprehensive insurance, you will be able to make a claim, though the process may take longer, as the insurer won’t be able to recover the costs.
If you only have third party, or third party, fire and theft, cover, you won’t be able to make a claim.
However, you may be able to claim compensation from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.You, or your legal representative, can register your claim online.
Regardless, you should try and get as much information from the uninsured driver as possible. If they refuse to give you any information or leave the scene of the accident before you can talk to them, then you should contact the police to report the accident. You would also report the incident to your insurance provider as normal, and it will confirm whether or not the other driver is insured.
Unfortunately, if you didn’t realise your insurance had expired, and you get caught by the police, they won’t accept that as an excuse. This is because it’s the responsibility of the driver to maintain their car insurance policy. And most policies auto-renew once they expire, unless you tell your provider not to.
Therefore, you should always be proactive about making sure you have the right cover, by:
Technically, yes, you can drive on private land without insurance. But the rules are so strict that you might not want to take the risk. If there is any public access to your land – and that can include ‘private’ car parks and estates – you must have car insurance.
