Are you sure what your motor insurance policy covers you for? If in doubt, it is always best to check with your insurer before setting off on the road to be certain. According to the MIB, between July 2016 and June 2018, 3,000 vehicles were seized as a result of people driving someone else’s car in the mistaken belief that they were insured to drive the vehicle they were in.
Driving Other Vehicle extension: will you always be insured to drive?
The MIB report that statistics show that people often assume they have the Driving Other Vehicle (DOV) extension on their insurance policy because there is fully comprehensive cover. If it is in place, the DOV extension does not cover you if you are a named driver on the policy; it is only valid if you are the policyholder. This is something to check if you ever drive your friends’, partners’ or other family members’ cars.
Driving uninsured is breaking the law, even if you did not do it intentionally and genuinely believed you were insured to drive the vehicle. In one example, a mother was stopped by the police on the school run in her partner’s car. There was no DOV extension in place and the partner’s vehicle was seized.
The consequences for driving uninsured are serious, and penalties include:
- Six points on your licence;
- £300 fine;
- Vehicle being seized (possible even crushed);
- Higher Insurance premiums in the future.
Check your insurance policies
You should also remember that if you are at fault in a road traffic collision and you are not insured to drive the vehicle, you will be liable for any costs, so it really is not worth the risk. Where there is no valid insurance in place, the MIB may step in to pay damages successfully claimed against you by a third party, but they have the right to recover this amount from you, the uninsured driver, directly.
So, drivers beware! Do check your own insurance policies (or polices on which you are a named driver) carefully, so that you remain on the right side of the law; otherwise you could face serious consequences.
For more information on vehicle insurance, the MIB or any of the other issues raised in this article please contact Principal Associate Helen Hornby by emailing [email protected] or calling 0117 904 5777.
