Here are five reasons why you really do need to have car insurance:
1. Driving without insurance is illegal
The most important reason not to drive if you don’t have insurance is because it’s illegal. If you drive on a road or in a public place without insurance you are breaking the law.
2. If you don’t have insurance, you’ll probably get caught
The police have access to the Motor Insurance Database, which they use in conjunction with automatic number plate reading equipment, so it’s very easy for them to find out if you’re uninsured. The police are seize around 1,500 uninsured vehicles a week and 300,000 people are convicted for driving without insurance every year.**
Driving without valid car insurance cover could land you in trouble with the law. Image by sankarshan via Flickr
3. You’ll be fined and get points on your licence
The fixed penalty is £200, but the maximum fine is £5,000. You can also get either six or eight points on your license. You can lose your driving licence too.
4. Your vehicle may be destroyed
The police have the power to seize and even destroy your car if it’s being driven without insurance.
5. Driving without insurance is selfish
Uninsured drivers drive up the cost of car insurance for everyone else. They add about £380 million each year to insurance premiums – that’s the equivalent of £30 for every driver. Uninsured drivers are also more likely to be involved in accidents and ignore road signs and signals.*
Finding affordable car insurance
With convictions of uninsured drivers rising every year, it just isn’t worth driving without car insurance. If you get penalty points on your license, the cost of your car insurance can go up by hundreds of pounds too. The most basic level of car insurance in third party cover, and it usually comes with the lowest price tag too.
We have lots of tips and advice to help you get a better deal on car insurance, so don’t be tempted to go without.
*60% of car insurance customers could save up to £200 (Consumer Intelligence data, December 2011)
**Stats from DirectGov.
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