A national newspaper report today states that 'One in six UK motorists is taking to the roads without insurance' .......
| Related: | Personal Finance•Insurance•Car Insurance |
I mean how scary is that? And while we may think that is has little to do with us, it goes on to say that this is costing the car insurance industry £500 million pounds each year, ading £30 to every motorists premium and of course rising!
It seems that 38% of people blamed 'being between policies' whe they asked why they had no cover, 9% just 'can't be bothered', 6% believe there's no point 'as they won't crash' and 13% simply 'cannot afford it'.
Giving the police the power to impound an uninsured vehicle is excellent but if one in six is to be believed ( and I find that quite shocking ), then more needs to be done. Okay, it is all down to money but an uninsured driver could, by crashing into you, cause you to lose your life, your freedom, your livelihood and your expensive car.
And does anyone know how the 'Compensation of Victims of Uninsured Drivers' is handled through the Motor Insurers Bureau and just how effective is it? And after all, all insured motorists pay into the scheme, whether they like it or not. And while it exists to protect us all, it's surely just another by-product of an increasingly errant and culpable society?
What say you all?
Responses (7)
The insurance industry especially with regards to motoring needs to be regulated as companies increase the price of policies by as much as 100% over a 12 month period my son as just turned 25 as accumulated 7yrs protected no claims bonus yet his renewal as rocketed from £420 last year to nearly £800 this year though no claims have been made and he is accident free. In a nut shell DAYLIGHT ROBBERY by a not very ADMIRAL insurer.
I don't think 'it has little to do with us' at all. It has everything to do with us, as you so rightly say, Snoops. It's an unfair and dangerous situation, but not the easiest one to solve.
The new continuous insurance rules that come into force in April, when we will all be legally required to have our vehicles either insured or declared with a SORN, will help a little, but won't solve the problem.
The figures you quote, Snoops, add up to 66%, what's the 'excuse' for the other 34%, I wonder??
And the problem with those who say they can't afford it is that by not paying for their own insurance they are contributing to making premiums more expensive for themselves as well as the rest of us, but they don't seem to see that.
The whole situation is, as you say, very scary.
I've just done a bit of checking, and it seems that the other third claimed that they didn't realise that they had to have insurance! Yeah, right...!!!
It's enough to make you spit!
Ludicrous.
I think castration would be a suitable penalty with a public display of the 'goods' to warn potential offenders. And with the level of oiks that we are talking about, I would suggest tweezers and a magnifying glass would be needeed. OMG, I'm turning into Omendata!
Please don't tease Omen, Snoops, I'm worried he won't come back to us!
I second Snoopy's idea of castration.
If you're caught without insurance you should have your licence taken away...but then I don't suppose that would stop people getting in a car anyway. Hmmn, what could be a more apt punishment? Perhaps a huge fine that pays for the fund you talk about Snoppy so that it helps to reduce the cost for people who do actually bother with insurance.
Perhaps your car should be seized for 30 days and to get it back you have to bring proof that you have purchased a valid insurance policy?
Great Scott how are these people managing to drive or propel a vehicle at all with such limited intellect.
A scary prospect indeed, fruity's stats are alarming,Noddy's post re the insurer is staggering.
Snoopy I don't know what I would do if an uninsured driver ploughed into me well alright yes I do just hand me the blunt scissors......
A subject close to my heart, Snoops. The only time I had a serious car accident was nearly 30 years ago when I was hit by an uninsured driver who shot a red light when he was being pursued by the police!
My (beloved) Alfa Romeo GTV6 was written off, I had to pay a huge excess, and I collected some broken ribs to add injury to insult! Thankfully, my passenger and I both survived but if my (then) parner had not been bending down at the point of impact to change the cassette he would have been decapitated by the door pillar which came two feet into the passenger compartment.
Castration is too good for these people, they should be made to eat their own genitals.
So glad you survived to tell the tale Feline.
I shall be sure to pass on the scissors should the need arise.
Wow, Feline, thank goodness you both survived! You must have been heartbroken about your Alfa though. :-(
Ps my driving instructor was passionate about Alfas, he never stopped talking about his!
That's shocking Feline, I hope the scoundrel was put behind bars for a very long time.
I never found out, Pete, but I suspect not. He got away as the police obviously stopped their pursuit to check out the accident and made sure we got to hospital.
Somebody suggested I should have sued the Police but that wouldn't have felt right.
Yes, and under the Bliar "government", uninsured drivers got a fine of £250, way less than they would have paid to insure their car. Great strategy (for uninsured drivers), a bit like giving pubs 24 opening hours to cure binge drinking. Bliar and Brown were seriously perverted ppl.
Lol, I like your analogy.
Only because it means more gin time, Lillie! ;-)
Did somebody mention gin?
Hell's teeth, Feline, you've got good hearing! ;-)
Actually there is more to it. I've read somewhere that there are criminal gangs who intentionally drive without insurance with intent to cause an accident - don't know what they get out of this apart from some sick pleasure of hurting/causing injury to other people
Posts within the money.co.uk community represent the views, experiences and opinions of members only. They should not be taken as financial advice and should not be followed without further research.
More Discussions for Car Insurance
Get fast answers to your money questions, Expert insight, top tips & much more...
