Guide to Insurance Offences
It is an offence for you to use, or to allow another person to use, a motor vehicle on
a road or a public place if you do not hold an insurance policy which insures against
third party risks.
This can be a serious matter which may result in a driving disqualification and
therefore if you face such an allegation please seek quality legal advice immediately
from our specialist motoring solicitors.
In the Magistrates' Court the prosecution do not have to show that you were driving
the vehicle at the time to prove a matter of no insurance. They just have to show
that the vehicle was in use on a road or a public place, for example if it were parked
on a public road without being insured.
There are a number of possible defences which our specialist solicitors can put
forward in relation to such an allegation of driving with no insurance and the law is
complicated in respect of these matters. Therefore if you are accused of this offence
we recommend that you consult our specialist driving solicitors right away.
The Penalty
You may be disqualified from driving in the Magistrates Court for any period and/or
until you have passed your driving test again. You may also be fined up to £5,000.
The offence of driving with no insurance carries between six and eight penalty
points.
Even if you do not have a defence available to you, you should still seek prompt legal
advice from our lawyers. Our specialist motoring solicitors may be able to avoid
penalty points being imposed upon you in the Magistrates Court by arguing special
reasons. An example of such special reasons would be if you had a genuine and
honest belief that you were insured based upon reasonable grounds (for instance
your insurance broker told you that you were insured to drive the vehicle) or if there
was an emergency.
If penalty points are imposed on your driving licence and this results in you receiving
12 points or more making you a 'totter' under the totting up provisions , our
motoring solicitors may still be able to help avoid you being disqualified from driving
by arguing exceptional hardship.
Causing Death by an Uninsured Driver
This is a very serious allegation which can be dealt with either in the Magistrates
Court or the Crown Court. The prosecution only have to prove that you were driving
on a road while uninsured and that by virtue of your presence a fatality occurred.
Unlike the offences of causing death by careless or dangerous driving there is no
requirement to prove that you caused the accident or that your driving was of a poor
standard. Once more our specialist solicitors are skilled at providing quality advice
and representation at both the Police Station and the Magistrates and Crown Courts
in relation to such matters.
The Penalty
The sentence for causing death whilst driving and uninsured can be up to a two year
prison sentence. There is also a mandatory driving disqualification. If you face such a
matter we would therefore urge you to immediately contact our motoring
solicitors.
Contact our specialist Motoring Law solicitors on 01225 400666 or email
[email protected]