Cheap car insurance news
08/05/2009

War on uninsured sees claims costs drop in past year

A war being waged on UK roads against irresponsible motorists to tackle uninsured driving - and help push down the cost of car insurance - has made some major progress this year.

Although law-abiding drivers across the country still have to foot a £30 levy to meet the cost of uninsured motoring, the overall bill for meeting the cost of damage and accidents has gone down in the past 12 months by £10m to £407m.

Currently, hit-and-run and uninsured drivers injure about three people every 60 minutes on the nation's roads. To cover the cost, the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) is paid a budget based on levies from all honest motor cover customers.

Some 30,000 accident claims caused by uninsured and untraceable motorists are handled annually by the MIB. In 2005, this figure was about 38,000 so claim numbers are falling.

An MIB spokesman said, "This is the first time the cost of uninsured losses has come down year on year."

He reckoned about 15 per cent of uninsured drivers are now no longer on the road, although some 2m are estimated to be currently driving without cover.

The reduction in uninsured losses has been attributed to the Motor Insurance Database (MID). Police now use MID to make immediate spot checks on drivers' insurance cover, cheap or otherwise.

Automatic registration plate identification technology means police can more easily stop and target suspicious vehicles.

Any cars found on UK roads without car insurance can be seized, impounded and crushed. About 185,000 vehicles were taken off the road last year by these methods and some 300,000 motorists were prosecuted.



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