15 March 2012

16% of Brits drive without insurance

A shocking proportion of British motorists, one in six, take to the roads with no car insurance in place. This represents a high risk for all car users.

A shocking proportion of British motorists, one in six, take to the roads with no car insurance in place. This represents a high risk for all car users and adds an extra £30 to every other vehicle policy.

New research from a leading comparison site has found that a scandalous number of UK drivers hit the UK road with nothing to protect them in case of accident.

Up to 16% of Brits polled confessed to have driven a car they were not insured on. A further 8% of respondents even stated that they drive their own car with no motor protection in place, while 6% admitted to having been behind the wheel of someone else's car with no insurance.

"Year-on-year we are still seeing a worrying number of drivers prepared to hit the road without insurance, despite the introduction of new Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) rules last year,” said car insurance expert at MoneySupermarket, Peter Harrison.

When these drivers were asked about their behaviour, 18% of them argued that they simply ignored the legal requirement for drivers to have car insurance. The majority of Brits, however, stated their reason for being uninsured is that they haven't got around to renewing their policy.

Shockingly, 7% said there is no point having insurance as they don't believe they will crash, 6% argued they cannot afford motor insurance and a further 5% stated that they literally "couldn't be bothered to arrange insurance cover”.

The cost of being uninsured

Harrison warned that in the event of an accident uninsured drivers could face thousands of pounds in liability, a conviction, including six points on their license, as well as fines of up to £5,000.

What a number of drivers ignore, however, is that their insurance provider has the right to cancel their policy if motorists perform modifications to their cars. By installing flared wheel arches or strengthening brackets, you could be invalidating your current car insurance policy without knowing it.

In case of undertaking car modifications, it is important to let your insurer know about the changes. Otherwise car owners' may then face having a modified car that is uninsured. Drivers can look for appropriate policies online.