Common Mistakes Made by Motorists When Taking Out an Insurance Policy

Many motorists find themselves charged with driving without insurance for a multitude of different reasons. Common mistakes are often unintentionally made by the motorist, when taking out an insurance policy, who believe it to be in place and entirely legal.

The Motor Insurance Bureau found that 30% of uninsured drivers had no insurance because their policy had been cancelled, an additional 10% had expired insurance policies and a further 9% were driving otherwise than in accordance with their insurance policy. [Source: Motor Insurance Bureau]

This article outlines the most common mistakes motorists make when taking out their insurance policy and how this can be avoided.

Legislation Around Driving Without a Valid Insurance Policy

Driving without insurance is a criminal motoring offence, subject to Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 (1.a) which states:

‘a person must not use a motor vehicle on a road or other place unless there is in force in relation to the use of the vehicle by that person such a policy of insurance… as complies with the requirements of this Part of the Act..’

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Contact Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for friendly advice

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Penalty for Driving Without Insurance

Driving without insurance is a triable only summarily offence, which means a hearing for the offence can only be heard in the Magistrates Court not the Crown Court. The Sentencing Guidelines for this offence are split into three different categories depending on the extent of the serious nature of the commission of the offence, as follows:

Category One:

This is the highest sentencing bracket for this offence carrying a potential sentence of a six to twelve month driving disqualification and a Band C fine (125–175% of your weekly income).

Category Two:

This is the middle sentencing bracket for this offence carrying a potential sentence of a disqualification of six months or an eight penalty point endorsement and a Band C fine (125–175% of your weekly income).

Category Three:

This is the lowest sentencing bracket for this offence carrying a potential sentence of six to eight penalty point endorsement and a Band B to C fine (75–175% of your weekly income).

The category you fall into is calculated by the harm caused and the offender’s culpability. An offender would have higher culpability if they have never passed their driving test, if they have provided the police with false details, if they are driving a goods vehicle (HGV), if they were driving for hire or reward when the offence was committed, and if they have not held a valid insurance policy for a prolonged time. Greater harm would have been caused in cases where the motorist has been involved in an accident, when injury was caused to a third party or damage was caused to another vehicle or road furniture.

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Contact Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for friendly advice

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Driving with an Expired Licence

It can be easy to misremember the date your policy expires with busy day-to-day life. However, it is an offence if you continue to drive your vehicle when your policy has expired, even if you did not realise this was the case. As good practice, it is generally recommended to sign up for a reminder email or letter from your insurer to ensure that you retain a valid insurance policy.

Cancelled Policy or Failure to Auto Renew

Many motorists, especially long-term drivers, find themselves charged with driving without insurance after their policy has expired or been cancelled unbeknownst to them. This is common for motorists who have remained with the same insurer and have the policy set up on ‘auto renew’, thus do not need to manually contact their insurer to confirm they wish to extend the duration of their pre-existing policy. It is important to ensure you still check your policy at the renewal date to ensure your policy has been extended and not cancelled without your knowledge. This can commonly occur due to a payment or direct debit being unsuccessful.

In some circumstances, a motorist may only find that their policy has been cancelled when they are pulled over by police. If you find yourself in this position, you may be able to advance a Special Reasons Argument.

Please see below for further information on Special Reasons Arguments of this nature.

Not Updating Your Registration Plate Details When Exchanging for New Plate

If you have purchased or been gifted a new registration plate which you are looking to fit onto your present vehicle, which has a pre-existing insurance policy, it is paramount that you inform your insurer of this change. Your insurance policy must reflect the specific details of your vehicle and registration plate in order to remain valid. This can have further repercussions beyond being charged with driving without insurance. For example, if you are involved in a road traffic accident with another vehicle or someone comes into contact with your vehicle; your insurer will need to have the correct accurate information to ensure any claim can be processed.

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Contact Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for friendly advice

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Misunderstanding the Type of Coverage They Are Insured For

It is crucial that motorists have a thorough understanding of the classification of the insurance policy they have in place for their vehicle. Your vehicle must not only be insured, but it must also only be used in accordance with the purpose/terms agreed with your insurance provider. For example, if you are driving your vehicle for work purposes, such as making food deliveries as an Uber Eats driver, but only have a social and domestic insurance – you would be charged with driving otherwise than in accordance with your insurance policy.

You Were Sold a Fraudulent Insurance Policy

As technology continues to advance, unfortunately insurance scams are becoming more common and difficult to detect. Many motorists fall victim to insurance scams, believing they are getting the policy at a discount compared to larger named providers and only discover the policy is fraudulent upon being pulled over by police. If you have found yourself in this position it can be difficult to raise a full defence, as the policy you held was invalid and thus you were uninsured. However, if you held a genuine and honest belief the policy was valid you may be able to advance a Special Reasons Argument. Read more on this below.

Believing a Third Party Has Insured You

One of the most common circumstances we come across with clients who have been charged with this offence are those who were informed by a third party they were insured to drive the vehicle in question. The circumstances of this can vary case to case, but most often fall under one of the following:

• Your parent/s advised you that you were insured to drive as part of their insurance policy or they cover the cost of a separate policy for you
• If you were driving a company vehicle at the time of the offence and your employer advised you that you were insured to drive/covered to drive specifically for your employment role
• You were driving a friend or family member’s vehicle, who advised you that they had insured you to drive
• Your partner is responsible for paying/taking out your insurance policy and did not realise it had not auto renewed or expired

If you find yourself in this position, you will still technically be guilty of driving without insurance, as you did not hold a valid policy at the time. However, if you held a genuine and honest belief you were insured, as you had been misled by a third party – you may be able to advance a Special Reasons Argument. If you were advised by your company you were insured to drive a company vehicle, you may have a statutory defence. Please continue reading for more information on this.

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Contact Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for friendly advice

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Special Reasons Argument for This Offence

There are some circumstances that will not amount to a full defence but ought to be taken into consideration by the court. The law does make provisions for those who have made a genuine error or have special circumstances as to why the offence was committed. This is called a Special Reasons Argument.

The criteria for a Special Reasons Argument was established in the case of R v Wickens (1958). This case set the precedent that for a matter to be defined as a special reason it must:

• Be a mitigating or extenuating circumstance
• Not amount in law to a full defence
• Be directly connected with the commission of the offence
• Be a reason which the court ought properly to take into consideration when imposing a sentence

A Genuine and Honest Belief

If at the time the offence was committed you held an honest and genuine belief you were correctly insured to drive your vehicle, this could qualify as a special reason, as set out in Rennison v Knowler (1947). This special reason would be relevant in the following circumstances:

If You Were Informed by a Parent or Partner That They Had Insured You

In order to have reasonable grounds of success with a Special Reasons Argument, we would advise the party responsible for informing you the policy was in place prepare a statement and/or attend Court to affirm the same.

If Your Insurance Policy Had Been Cancelled Unbeknownst to Yourself

This could be a result of your policy not auto renewing or payments defaulting. To determine if you have reasonable grounds for a Special Reasons Argument, we would need to look at:

• How long you were uninsured for
• How you pay for your policy – monthly or annually
• If your policy was set to auto renew
• If you received any correspondence from your insurer and had sight of it
• You must be prepared to go under oath in court to assert your honest belief

If You Have Been Sold a Fraudulent Insurance Policy

You would need to evidence:

• Confirmation of the policy sale
• A certificate of insurance and any correspondence
• Proof of payment for the policy

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Contact Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for friendly advice

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Defences to Driving with No Insurance

Strictly speaking, if you drive your vehicle without a valid insurance policy, you are guilty of the offence, making it a ‘strict liability’ offence. As a result, there are very limited defences. Possible defences include:

If You Were Not Driving the Vehicle

This is a full defence. You must respond to your Section 172 notice and nominate the correct driver. If the vehicle was stolen or used without consent, inform the police immediately and retain any evidence.

If You Held a Valid Insurance Policy

You must provide documents to prove you held a valid policy for the type of journey at the time of the offence.

If Your Employer Informed You That You Were Insured to Drive a Company Vehicle

Under Section 143 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, you will not be convicted if:

• The vehicle did not belong to you and wasn’t under loan/lease
• You were using the vehicle during the course of your employment
• You had no reason to believe there wasn’t a sufficient insurance policy in place

If all three apply, you may have a statutory defence. Supporting documentation and a statement from your employer will help strengthen your case.

If you have been charged with driving without insurance and require advice or assistance on the best course of action to take, please contact our team for a free initial consultation.

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Contact Caddick Davies Solicitors today

Send us a message or call us on 0333 443 2366 for friendly advice

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Neil Davies

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I am a criminal lawyer with over 25 years of experience and specialising in the defence of Road Traffic (driving) prosecutions and the founder and Senior Partner of Caddick Davies Solicitors.

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