It is considered illegal and an offence to drive a vehicle without motor insurance against third party risk. Driving a vehicle on a road without with out the right motor insurance for the vehicle will result in a fixed penalty notice or penalization.

According to the seriousness of the offence, the level of the maximum fine can go upto 5,000 UK pounds, and the automatic endorsement of an offender’s license with six to eight penalty points. The courts can order the immediate disqualification of the offender. The police also have wide powers to stop vehicles and inspect certificates, and this leads to around 300,000 convictions for uninsured driving every year.

Driving without insurance can be punishable within the fixed penalty system. The fixed penalty of 200 UK pounds and six penalty points allows a more thorough enforcement of this offence.

The possibility of a fixed penalty gives the police an extra option for dealing with the offence concerned, but it does not prevent the police’s ability to prosecute in appropriate cases when they consider that to be the best course of action. The police have the power to seize, and in some cases, destroy the vehicle that is being driven uninsured.

Any vehicle seized under these powers will only be released on payment of the fixed penalty and must show a valid insurance certificate. The vehicle will only be released to the registered keeper of the vehicle or, if there is no registered keeper, to the person appearing to be the owner. The police can dispose of vehicles not claimed within a set time. The Road Safety Act 2006 makes provision for harsher sentences for those who kill or are involved in accidents while driving uninsured.
The UK Department for Transport has worked out an effective way to control uninsured driving. Provisions in the Serious Organized Crime and Police Act 2005 enable the police to use their access to the Motor Insurance Database in conjunction with their Automatic Number Plate Reading equipment.
There is also a plan to enforce a continuous insurance enforcement scheme provides a new fixed penalty for people who ignore official reminders that their insurance has expired. The scheme is expected to come into force during 2011. This will apply to vehicles that are not declared as being off the road through Statutory off Road Notification (SORN) and not insured. Continuing offenders will risk having their vehicle seized and destroyed.

However, if a motor vehicle is not used on a road or other public place, there is no requirement to purchase insurance cover for ‘on road risk’ as long as a SORN declaration has been made.

A suitable motor insurance cover is needed before you can tax your vehicle. And if needed, the vehicle must be MOT tested. Vehicle tax can be delayed or prevented by wrong insurance cover, an overdue MOT, insurance certificates that are incorrect and misplaced or late arriving.

In order to tax your vehicle, you must have insurance cover that covers you against third party claims for death or injury and damage to property caused by using the vehicle, covers your use of the vehicle for taxing purposes, and is valid on the day the tax disc comes into force. The insurance policy for your vehicle may allow you to drive any other vehicle with the owner’s permission. However, your policy can not be used as evidence of suitable insurance to tax any other vehicle. If your insurance cover for taxing purposes is not clear, you may need to provide additional evidence. Please contact your insurance company for advice.
Insurance certificates and cover notes are usually a printed or laser-printed document, or a plastic credit card style document. The unacceptable documents are policy schedule, renewal notice, and receipt for payment, unstamped amended certificate or cover note, foreign certificates, photocopies or faxes and so on. In case of lost, stolen or damaged insurance certificate, you will need to get a duplicate insurance certificate or cover note from your insurance company.

You can not tax your vehicle until your insurance certificate arrives or your insurance cover for your vehicle has been updated on the Motor Insurance Database. You must keep your vehicle off the road in the meantime. If you are taxing your vehicle using the DVLA vehicle online service, then you’ll need to wait until MID has updated before applying. You can check online to see if your insurance has updated. If you want to tax your vehicle at a DVLA local office or Post Office® branch, you’ll need to take your insurance certificate.

An MOT test is needed every year for cars, motorcycles, motor caravans and light goods vehicles that are more than three years old. It also needed for passenger carrying vehicles with more than eight seats and taxis, excluding private hire vehicles that are more than one year old. You must produce an MOT test certificate that’s valid on the day the tax disc comes into force. A certificate that expires on the last day of the month can not be used if the tax disc is to start on the first day of the following month. The certificate must be original, a photocopy is not acceptable.

In place of a lost, stolen or damaged MOT certificate, you will need to get a duplicate from any MOT testing station for the fee of £10. You’ll need to provide the vehicle registration mark and reference number shown on your registration certificate (V5C). If your vehicle is exempt from MOT testing, you will need to fill in form V112 ‘Claim for exemption from MOT testing’ to produce instead of the MOT certificate. A list of exempt vehicles is shown on the V112 form.