You must have at least third-party insurance to drive a motor vehicle on the roads of England and Wales. The purpose of the insurance is to protect other people should you cause an accident that injures other people or damages their property. Therefore, it is treated as a serious offence by the courts since a lack of insurance means a lack of protection for anybody injured by an uninsured vehicle.
We have had a great deal of success defending insurance offences, because we approach each case methodically. We look first at what evidence there is for the lack of insurance, then consider whether that evidence supports a conviction in law – frequently we find it does not, for example where a person is charged simply because they have no valid driving licence and so a police officer assumes that any insurance would be invalid.
The law on motoring insurance can be very technical and complex. For example, we have seen a number of cases where the police have been told by an insurance company that our client would not be covered for some reason leading the police to charge with driving with no insurance; however, we have been able to show that our clients were insured, for the purposes of criminal law at least, and thus secure their acquittals.
We also see situations where a client holds insurance that covers you for social, domestic, pleasure and commuting but tells a police officer you are driving for “for work”, which leads to them being charged with no insurance. Again, we have been able to assist clients to prove that they were insured.
When passing sentence, the court will begin by assessing the seriousness of the offence. Offences where you lied to police, e.g. by giving the name of somebody with insurance on the vehicle, or where you are driving a lorry or other large vehicle and offences where you have been involved in a collision (even if not your fault) will be treated more seriously
The maximum sentence is an unlimited fine and a driving disqualification. The sentencing guidelines recommend an upper limit of a 12 month driving ban; however, there is nothing in law to prevent a court imposing a longer disqualification if they think the offence is particularly serious.
Because this area of law is complex and technical it is important that you take legal advice from a solicitor with expertise in and experience of defending accusations of driving without insurance - a solicitor like us! Call now on 01869 866 490 or send us a message on our contact page.