No Insurance/MOT Certificate

Insurance

It is an offence to use a motor vehicle on a road or other public place where the driver is not covered by, at the least, third party insurance.

It is also an offence for a person to cause or permit any person to use a vehicle without such insurance.

Each of these offences attracts a maximum penalty of a fine of £5,000, the endorsement of 6 and 8 penalty points on your licence or even a disqualification from driving.

MOT

You can be fined up to £1000 for driving a vehicle without a valid MOT.

The offence of driving with no insurance is termed ‘a strict liability offence.’

You were either covered by insurance or you were not when driving the vehicle and, basically, you are required to ensure that you are properly insured before commencing any journey, and casual excuses for not being insured will not be accepted.

The only defences to a charge are proving that:

• you were covered by a valid insurance policy or
• you were driving a vehicle that did not belong to you in the course of your employment, you did not know you were not insured and could not have been expected to do so.

Avoidance of Penalty Points | Special Reasons

It may be possible to convince the Court not to impose penalty points on the grounds of a special reason, such as, for example, if you can show that at the time of driving you held a genuine and honest belief that you were insured and that it was reasonable for you to believe that.

One such reason may be, for example, that an insurance company may have cancelled your policy without notifying you.

Any such argument will not be accepted lightly and in the pursuit of your contention, it is likely that you and any other relevant witness would have to attend a court hearing and give evidence to the Court.

How we can help

Berri’s Law Specialist Motoring Department can assist you if you are summonsed to Court for the above motoring offences.

Contact our team through either of the following should you wish to discuss your case and obtain a fixed fee quote.