It may seem like an obvious thing but do you know if your car is insured? It is an offence to drive a car without insurance but it can also be an offence to have it sat on your driveway without insurance too.
Under the Continuous Insurance Enforcement scheme the DVLA (who manage motor vehicle usage in the UK) and the Motor Insurance Database compare records all the time to check which vehicles are insured, or not. This even picks up on cars that were insured but the owner hasn’t paid their monthly premium meaning they’re policy has lapsed.
In the old days the police would’ve just checked the drivers insurance cover note and assumed everything was OK. Now they have all the information at their fingertips to tell them instantly if a car is insured or not.
You may find out your car isn’t insured by receiving a letter in the post from the Motor Insurers Bureau called an Insurance Advisory notice. It simply tells you that your car is uninsured and you need to get the matter resolved within a number of days. If you ignore this your car can be clamped or seized and you’ll receive a fine.
How To Check Your Car’s Insured
If you want to check if your car is insured before a letter arrives then there is a website that lets you do it for free. It’s a simple insurance checker and takes about 30 seconds to give you peace of mind that you’re definitely insured. Simply visit askMid.com, fill in the online form, entering your number plate registration and then wait 10 seconds for an answer. If you’re insured then great, if not you have two choices: Get your car insured immediately or tell the DVLA it is SORN.
SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification) is a document which tells the DVLA that the car isn’t going to be driven and therefore doesn’t need insurance. It is an offence to drive without insurance or to drive while the car is declared as SORN.
If your car isn’t insured there are severe penalties included penalty points on your license, fines up to £5000 and even confiscation of your car. Therefore it does make sense to check that your car is insured. Visit the website, it takes 10 seconds to give you some peace of mind. Then make a note or reminder somewhere of when your policy expires and remember to renew your policy on time.