Driving Without Insurance

It is an offence to drive, use or cause or permit the use of a vehicle which does not have third-party insurance.

The law requires drivers to have at least third-party insurance on any vehicle they are driving.

‘No insurance’ issues can transpire innocently but can have serious consequences; for example, you could face a penalty of £300 and 6 points on your licence, if you end up court you could be charged with a maximum fine of £5,000 and disqualified from driving. In some cases, you may not realise you have committed a driving offence, some individuals are unaware that if you permit another person to use your own vehicle whilst uninsured you can be convicted.

This is a ‘strict liability’ or ‘absolute’ offence meaning there is no knowledge element of the offence. Therefore, even if you are unaware and you are driving without insurance you will still have committed an offence. – There are however ways in which we can help.

It is a defence if it is proven that the person accused of the offence was driving in the course of their employment, that the car being driven did not belong to him and that he did not know or have reason to believe that he was not insured.

Special Reasons Argument

If you do not have a defence to driving without insurance, it may still be possible to argue that special reasonsapply. A special reasons argument is an argument aimed at persuading the Court to use its discretion and not endorse a person’s driving licence with penalty points. This can be done if we can illustrate to the Court there was a reason which meant you did not knowor could have known you were driving without insurance. For example, if it had been cancelled without their knowledge or a family member had unintentionally misled them about insurance being in place.

If the Court finds that there are special reasons, it may decide not to impose penalty points and may even award an ‘absolute discharge’ and there being no penalty at all.

The circumstances and quick action are essential when considering a special reasons argument.

Vehicle being used for a purpose not covered by insurance

In times past there was only a few types of policies and conditions. However, in modern times there are a lot of conditions laid out in an insurance policy. For instance, where a driver holds insurance which covers social and domestic use, but not professional use and the police believe they are using their vehicle for business use, such as an allegation a person is delivering food for a takeaway, or transporting goods for a business.

If the police believe the vehicle was being used for a purpose not covered by the insurance policy in place, they can charge the driver for driving without insurance. In these circumstances the burden, or responsibility lies with the police to prove that the vehicle was being used for a purpose not covered by the insurance policy. We can often cast a doubt on this evidence.