Under legislation, insurers have to meet all claims against uninsured motorists by people injured or whose car or property has been damaged through their negligence.

This cost is now approaching £1bn a year and unfortunately is factored into the premiums of all the responsible owners and businesses that insure their vehicles. This extra cost adds about 10% to the cost of motor insurance for everyone. With motor insurance costs rising rapidly, the problems are likely to accelerate.

The insurance industry and the government are determined to reduce this cost and make driving uninsured more costly and difficult. Insurers already provides all details of insured vehicles to central database (MID) which enables police and other insurers to find out instantly who is insured and with whom. This is helping greatly to solve the problem. Police has also gained extra powers to remove and dispose of uninsured vehicles.

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In January of 2011, a further step was taken under 'The Continuous Insurance Enforcement' regulation. This made it an offence to be a registered keeper of a vehicle not covered by insurance even if it is not driven on the road.

Spot checks will be made on the Motor Insurers abase and DVLA records and where there are discrepancies action will be taken. All business which own vehicles which are not insured but are not being used on a road should make sure that they declare the vehicle SORN (Statutory off Road Notice). Failure to do so may mean prosecution in the future.

Give us a call if you need any assistance with your motor fleet insurance. Call Stephen Hegarty on 0118 979 2121.