Continuous Insurance Enforcement

New penalty for vehicles without motor insurance

Government estimates that around 1.5 million motorists are driving uninsured costing honest drivers an average of £30 on their annual insurance premium to fund payments to victims of uninsured drivers made by the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB).

The Road Safety Act (2006) introduced a new offence of being the 'keeper of an uninsured vehicle' - unless that vehicle is subject to a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) or is in the process of being transferred to a new keeper by DVLA.

Now that all the necessary regulations are in place a new law, 'Continuous Insurance Enforcement'(CIE) comes into force this spring. At this time, CIE is not being introduced in Northern Ireland.

Driver and Vehicle records held by the DVLA will be compared with the Motor Insurance Database (MID).

Registered keepers of vehicles suspected of having no insurance or SORN will receive an official reminder – an 'Insurance Advisory Letter'.

If the letter is ignored and the keeper takes no action they face the prospect of;

  • A £100 fixed penalty (reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days)
  • A fine of up to £1000 if the case goes to court
  • The vehicle being clamped, seized or destroyed

Vehicles exempted from CIE

  • Vehicle with a valid SORN
  • Vehicle that was exempted from SORN (untaxed before 31/01/1998 and no tax or SORN activity since)
  • Vehicle recorded as 'scrapped'
  • Vehicle recorded as 'stolen and not recovered'
  • Vehicle recorded as 'disposed to the trade'
  • Vehicle recorded as 'disposed'
  • Vehicle recorded as 'exported'
  • Vehicle owned by the crown

How long before I get a letter?

An Insurance Advisory Letter (AIL) can be issued as soon as the MIB identifies an unisured taxed vehicle. So when insuring your vehicle it is important to check that your insurer has sent a record of your cover to the MID by checking on www.askmid.com.

 

1 February 2011