Why Obtaining Sufficient Car Insurance is Vital in 2011
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
For many motorists, a car insurance quote one of the necessities of driving. Most drivers accept that traversing the roads in the UK and Ireland brings with it a degree of risk, and while drivers are happy to accept those inherent dangers, most responsible motorists understand the need to have insurance against accidents or other issues that can affect an unfortunate driver, passenger or pedestrian.
Unfortunately, a significant number of drivers in the UK do not follow this line of reasoning and have been driving on public roads without insurance, which is a criminal offence. Unfortunately, being the registered owner of a vehicle without insurance is not a criminal offence at present, which makes it particularly difficult for police to catch drivers who do flout the law.
New legislation, due to be ratified by parliament in early January 2011, should help combat this problem and force many drivers without insurance into obtaining the correct cover for their vehicle, or face the risk of significant fines and even their vehicle being seized and crushed, if they fail to comply.
The new law is named Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) and road safety minister Mike Penning outlined the proposals in early January as to how the new CIE system would work.
Initially, any registered keeper of a vehicle who is not recorded on insurance companies' or DVLA databases as having taken out insurance for their vehicle, will be sent a letter reminding them that under the new regulations, they must at least have third party insurance for their vehicle.
The letter will state a date within which the car owner is expected to have obtained their car insurance quotes and selected a level of cover adequate for their needs. If this date is reached with no cover being taken on the vehicle, the keeper will be issued with an initial £100 fine.
Additionally, if the vehicle remains uninsured, authorities will then have permission to clamp and remove the vehicle for crushing, regardless of whether the owner has or has not paid any fine imposed as sanction for the lack of insurance.
The move is designed to combat the menace of uninsured drivers on the roads, which government estimates suggest are responsible for the deaths of 160 people a year in the UK, with a further 23,000 injured by their actions.
Furthermore, it is estimated that car insurance companies in the UK charge around £30 extra per policy, specifically to cover the costs associated with incidents involving drivers who have no form of car insurance.
Certainly, implementation of the new CIE will mean that there is an increasing need for drivers to ensure that their car insurance is up to date and covers their needs adequately, in much the same way that people are keeping abreast of their needs for contents insurance or motorbike insurance, for example.
While the new legislation is one reason why car insurance needs to be a priority for many in 2011, there is also another excellent reason to keep checking your cover is adequate.
The recent harsh winter has led to many roads in Britain and Ireland suffering from potholes, and an spokesperson for a major roads agency has reported an increase in the number of claims being made as a result of accidents and incidents on the roads, caused by potholes.
Potholes can cause damage to wheels, suspension and the car's bodywork and it has been reported that the average insurance claim for damage to cars caused by potholes is around £1,300. Experts feel, however, that this average could be considerably higher as many people do not claim for insurance for small amounts of damage for fear of adversely affecting their no claims bonus.
In 2009-10, the road agency announced that the cold snap resulted in a threefold increase in claims. With the winter of 2010-11 significantly worse than in previous years, the motoring insurance giant feels that the cumulative effect of three cold winters combined with cuts in road maintenance of 20 per cent means that while many dangerous potholes will be filled, many others will remain a menace to road users.
2011 is looking to be an important year for car insurance providers and motorists. The new CIE legislation is cracking down on those who drive and own cars without insurance, while adverse weather and poor quality roads are translating into an increase in claims. There has seldom been a more appropriate time for all drivers to ensure that their car insurance cover is sufficient for their needs.
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