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IN10 – 14 FAQs About Driving Without Insurance 

UK motoring law requires that anyone driving a motor vehicle in a public place should have at least a third-party insurance policy in place. At Caddick Davies Solicitors, we specialise in the representation of motorists who find themselves caught driving without insurance and charged with the offence of driving a vehicle with no insurance.

Whether you have intentionally driven knowing that you are not insured, or if you have driven without valid insurance cover in a genuine error, it can result in an IN10 endorsement which is one of the most common driving convictions handed out to drivers in the UK.

If you find yourself in this situation, the repercussions can be significant and you will likely have lots of questions about what this means for you, your entitlement to drive, points on your licence and how your insurance is affected in the future.

Read on for 14 frequently asked questions and the answers you need to know about IN10 and driving without insurance from our expert team of motor offence solicitors.

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Need advice about IN10? Ask our expert motor offence solicitors – 

call 0333 443 2366 or send an enquiry.

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What Is An IN10?

IN10 is a driving endorsement code that indicates that the offence of using a motor vehicle that is uninsured to the legal minimum requirement has been committed. This offence applies when you are driving the car yourself or if you have given your car to somebody else to drive without the minimum insurance requirements being met. Anybody driving the vehicle you own needs a minimum of third party insurance.

When Do Police Issue IN10?

Whether you are knowingly driving around without insurance, or have accidently driven a vehicle that is uninsured to the legal minimum requirement, then police will issue you with an IN10 endorsement which comes with 6-8 penalty points and a fine.

Driving without insurance can happen accidently, particularly if you have forgotten to renew your insurance in time, have lent your car to others without adequate insurance, or haven’t updated your policy when your car or living arrangements changed.

Whilst genine errors, all of these situations are easy to miss but do make any current insurance policy void which means that you are not properly insured when driving.

How Many Points Do You Get For IN10?

The number of points you get when convicted of driving without insurance depends on whether you are given a Fixed Penalty Notice or have to go to Court. In either scenario you can expect at least 6 points and a hefty fine.

The police can issue a fixed penalty fine of up to £300 and 6 penalty points but if your case goes to court then you could get a driving ban and an unlimited fine. If you get 12 or more points within a three year period then you will also be banned from driving.

Driving Licence Conviction Code Motoring Offence Penalty Points Duration Conviction Stays on your Licence
IN10 Using an uninsured vehicle 6 – 8 points 4 Years from the date of the offence

Will I Be Disqualified From Driving Without Insurance?

You are unlikely to be disqualified from driving for the offence of driving without insurance alone, unless the 6-8 penalty points issued take you over the maximum 12 penalty points allowed.

It’s worth noting that although this endorsement is unlikely to result in a ban on it’s own, if you accumulate 12 or more points within three years, you can be banned from driving.

You should also be aware that new drivers on the roads within the first two years of getting their driving licence will be banned for a single offence in this time period. This is because new drivers can be banned if they accumulate 6 penalty points in the first two years of driving and as the endorsement for driving without insurance comes with 6 penalty points, this equates to an instant ban.

How Long Does An IN10 Last?

If convicted of driving without insurance the IN10 endorsement will stay on your drivers licence for four years from the date of the offence.

IN10 But Wasn’t Driving

It’s very common to drive a car that isn’t legally yours, but you are still required to have valid insurance.

Whilst it is an obvious offence to use a vehicle yourself without full and proper insurance, it is also an offence to permit any other person to use your vehicle without valid insurance too.

For example, parents may let their teenagers drive their car and employees can drive company pool cars. In any case, whoever is driving the car must be covered by valid insurance. If they are not, both the driver and the owner of the car could face prosecution.

How Do Police Know If You’re Driving Without Insurance?

If you genuinely believe that you held valid insurance for your car at the time of being pulled over, you may be wondering how you were caught in the first place. Police forces around the UK use number plate recognition cameras to check vehicles against a central database of insured vehicles.

If your number plate is flagged as uninsured and your car is captured by one of the cameras then the police monitoring them will be alerted and may pull you over. At this point, you will be given seven days to provide evidence of insurance at the time you were stopped.

Insurance policies are often invalidated due to errors such as;

  • buying the wrong type of policy,
  • not renewing on time,
  • not providing important information about you, your employment, health or convictions when applying for car insurance
  • not declaring car modifications that you or a previous owner have made,
  • thinking your insurance covers you to drive other vehicles when it doesn’t etc,

If any of these scenarios occur then being pulled over for lack of insurance may come as a surprise but unfortunately in any of the situations above, you are effectively uninsured and will still have to face the consequences if caught.

__________________________________________________________________________

Need advice about IN10? Ask our expert motor offence solicitors – 

call 0333 443 2366 or send an enquiry.

_____________________________________________________________

Can You Go To Jail For IN10?

Getting pulled over by the police can be daunting, especially if you didn’t realise you were uninsured in the first place but thankfully, whatever the outcome of the enquiries, you won’t go to jail for the motoring offence of driving without insurance alone.

IN10 endorsements will also not appear on a criminal record but will remain on your driving licence for four years. Whilst you won’t go to jail, driving without insurance is a serious offence and the consequences of being caught can have a big impact on your driving life. As a result, it always pays to triple check the information on your insurance documents very carefully.

Can You Drive A New Car Home Without Insurance?

As the law states that drivers need at least third party insurance cover to drive on any public road in the UK, it would be illegal to drive a car home after buying it if you don’t have valid insurance cover.

This means that if you drive a new car home without getting insurance beforehand, then you are commiting an offence and will have to face the full consequences and conviction if caught by the police.

Getting insurance cover is very easy and can be done quickly over the phone or online for any car so don’t take the risk!

Will IN10 affect Insurance?

You are legally required to disclose any and all convictions you have when purchasing car insurance. Failing to do so can invalidate your car insurance and result in a driving ban if stopped by the police.

As IN10 endorsements stay on your licence for four years, you will have to declare it to insurance providers for the full duration of this time, and usually for an additional year after this too, as most insurers request to know all convictions within five years of the insurance cover being issued. You should therefore always check the declaration requirements with the insurer themselves to make sure that you don’t unwittingly invalidate your insurance.

Sadly, the outcome of having driving endorsements does mean that your insurance premium will be negatively impacted as you will be viewed as a higher risk of insurers having to pay out when compared to a driver with a clean record.

The cost of insurance is likely to be higher if you have any endorsements on your licence and if you have been banned from driving, it will be even more difficult to find insurers to cover you in the future.

What Is IN10 Insurance?

As getting insurance with endorsements on your driving licence can be costly and more difficult, there are specialist insurance providers that offer insurance for drivers that have been convicted of driving offences.

What Do I Have To Do For A Fixed Penalty For IN10?

If you have been issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice from the police you will have to pay £300 and take 6 penalty points on your driving licence.

Fixed Penalty Notices give you the option of accepting the offer of points and a fine but if you choose to reject the offer or do not respond, then you will be summoned for formal prosecution before the Magistrates’ Court and this could result in much higher penalties.

To accept the offer made, you should follow the instructions on the letter sent to your home address notifying you of the driving conviction.

If you do not accept that you were driving without insurance or believe you have done so for a genuine and honest reason, then you should not accept the Fixed Penalty Notice.

Can A Solicitor Remove IN10?

If you’re wondering if a solicitor has the power to remove the IN10 endorsement from your driving record then sadly, the answer is no. Nobody has the power to remove a driving endorsement, but a solicitor can help you to challenge a conviction or fixed penalty notice by providing a valid defence in court.

If you have been convicted of driving without insurance, it is up to you, or your solicitor to prove that you did in fact have valid insurance or provide an alternative successful defence to overturn the conviction.

Defending a charge for driving without insurance can be done if;

  • You can prove that you held a valid insurance or;
  • Prove that you were driving a vehicle that didn’t belong to you and you were not aware that you were uninsured. This is often used when using employer pool vehicles or parent/child cases.

Although the defence options are limited, driving without valid insurance can often be the result of an innocent mistake. If you had an honest and genuine belief that you were insured at the time of the offence, then a solicitor may be able to support your case by asking the court not to impose penalty points on the basis of ‘special reasons’.

Who Can Help With IN10?

An IN10 endorsement can have a big impact on your life, from large fines, all the way up to being banned from driving. Any penalty comes with its own set of consequences on your life and in the case of a driving ban, your ability to get around so it can be in your best interests to seek professional advice when faced with a driving conviction.

If you have been caught driving without insurance and charged with the offence of driving a vehicle with no insurance, or have been issued a Court Summons then Caddick Davies can help. 

Our expert team of motor offence lawyers have been representing motorists covering a broad range of offences including driving without insurance for many years. We therefore have the experience and expertise to help you with your UK legal options when it comes to cases of driving without insurance anywhere in the UK.

Should you find yourself being investigated or prosecuted for driving without insurance or other related offences, please get in touch for a free phone consultation which will enable us to get to understand your case and provide an honest assessment of the options available to you.


Our leading team of motoring offence solicitors at Caddick Davies have a reputation for success when it comes to defending motorists charged with driving offences. We work with clients all over the UK and are rated in the top 20 law firms on TrustPilot. 

For efficient and effective legal advice for motoring offences, please get in touch to discuss your case with our friendly team today. 

Motoring Lawyer at Caddick Davies Solicitors
Caddick Davies is recognised as one of England and Wales’ leading motoring law firms, offering specialist Speeding Solicitors, Drink Driving Solicitors & Dangerous Driving Solicitors.We provide advice and representation on all motoring offences including speeding, the avoidance of disqualification on penalty points or “totting up” (exceptional hardship), driving without due care and attention (careless driving), dangerous driving, drink driving, as well as a range of services related to medical revocation of a driving licence.
Neil Davies

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