Premium news
21/01/2011
Ignoring a car insurance quote could end in crusher
Drivers who don't bother to get a car insurance quote or decide that they can't afford the premium will be hit by new rules which will make it illegal to keep an uninsured car in the UK, even if it is not being driven.
Saying that the proposal by the previous Labour administration would be introduced into law shortly, Transport Minister Mike Penning described the numbers of uninsured cars as a "real road safety issue" and that law-abiding motorists needed to be protected.
In 2009, an estimated two million people were driving on UK roads without insurance, some of which killed 160 people and injured 23,000, who were not then able to make an accident claim against the driver.
The number of accidents involving uninsured drivers directly leads to an increase in the cost of cheap car insurance premiums for all other drivers to pay for those who have not bought a policy.
At present, it is only an offence to drive a car while uninsured for which a fine up to £5,000 may be levied and penalty points put on the driver's licence.
Under the new rules, which will apply in England, Scotland and Wales, owners who do not have a Statutory Off Road Notification for an uninsured car risk having the vehicles taken and crushed.
However, motoring organisation, the AA, has warned that the move will do little to deter criminals and those who never registered ownership of a car or bought a car insurance policy.
Its president, Edmund King, said that the new system not stop the ‘motoring underclass' from operating but would only net people who left renewing their insurance for a few months before getting a car insurance quote again.