Changes to the law on motor insurance

The new law – called Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) – is being introduced to combat the high numbers of uninsured drivers in the UK. About 30,000 claims are made to a central guarantee fund each year for accidents caused by uninsured drivers and those that leave the scene. The Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) manages the fund on behalf of insurers (who are legally obliged to pay into the fund). Unfortunately legitimate drivers when paying their premium are in fact paying a percentage of their premium into the compensation scheme.

The records on the Motor Insurance Database (MID) – a central record of 34 million motor insurance policies in the UK and to which all UK insurers supply insurance details – will be regularly compared with the DVLA’s registered keeper records. Registered keepers can check their vehicle insurance at www.askMID.com for free.

As the registered keeper of a vehicle that has no insurance, you could face:

• A £100 penalty;
• Your vehicle being clamped seized and destroyed;
• Court prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000;
• The Police will also continue to seize vehicles that are driven without insurance – different penalties apply for this offence. 

Payment of a penalty does not replace the need for motor insurance.

Contact your insurance provider straight away and ask them to check, and if needed update your records on the MID.

Providing you have a current motor insurance policy and it appears on www.askMID.com then no fixed penalty will be issued to you.

CIE applies to all types of motor vehicles in England, Scotland and Wales. This includes cars, vans, motorbikes, motorhomes or HGV’s.

A vehicle can have no insurance if it:

• Has a valid SORN
• Was exempted from SORN (as untaxed on or before 31/01/1998 and has had no tax or SORN activity since)
• Is recorded as 'stolen and not recovered' by the Police
• Is between keepers
• Is scrapped
• Is held in stock by an authorised Motor dealer

Yes a penalty will be applied to each vehicle that is kept without insurance or has not been declared off the road (SORN) with DVLA.

You’ll need to fill in the relevant section on the Registration Certificate (V5C) and send it to the DVLA. If you don’t have the V5C write to DVLA, Swansea, SA99 1BD with the vehicle registration number, make, model and date you sold it and the name and address of the person you sold or transferred it to together with any supporting documents or evidence of the sale.

You’ll still need to have insurance in place at all times regardless of where the vehicle is kept, unless a valid SORN is in place.

In many cases, car hire companies will include insurance as part of their hire package, however it is your responsibility to check that you’re insured for the time you’re using the vehicle.

The registered keeper is responsible for ensuring the car is insured. However, you’re responsible for checking that you’re a named driver or that your own insurance allows you to drive another vehicle.

If the company is listed as the vehicle’s registered keeper, they’ll receive a warning letter, followed by a penalty if there is no valid insurance policy. You should check with your employer.

To stay insured and stay legal always tell us about changes to your vehicles and drivers and renew your policy each year.

If your vehicle is taxed and you would like to take it off the road you should return the disc and make a SORN using a V14 application form which is available from Post Offices or online at www.direct.gov.uk/vehicletaxrefund.