If you find yourself asking the question “is my car insured?” you’re not alone. With work and home to juggle, renewals for driving essentials like car insurance can easily get overlooked. But failing to have appropriate insurance could end up costing you big in fines, penalty points, and even court proceedings. And if you have an accident you’ll be left paying the repair bill yourself. If you’re not sure if you’re covered, use our quick guide to find out today.
How do I know if my car is insured?
1) First, check your files
The first thing to do when you’re trying to find out if your car is insured is to check through your files. Look for paperwork relating to car insurance and you should find the date the last policy was taken out. There will also be details of the date the insurance policy runs out.
If you’re someone who’s not good at keeping paperwork in order, or you simply can’t find what you’re looking for, don’t worry. There are lots more ways you can find out if your car is insured.
2) The free national database
It’s quick and free to check if your car is insured using the ask Motor Insurance Database (askMID) numberplate database There is no charge to use this service unless you need to know more details, such as the name of your insurer. Bear in mind that using the askMID service is not proof that you hold insurance or don’t have insurance.
3) Check bank statements
Another way to find out if you have car insurance is to look through your past bank and credit card statements. You can scan back over the last 12 months or so to see if you can find a payment going out to an insurance company. Remember this could be other insurance too if you have a home or take out travel insurance. But it can be a good place to start looking. Once you have the name of an insurance company, you can get in touch with them to see if your insurance is up to date.
4) Check through old emails
Many insurance companies now opt for paperless services. If you can’t find a paper copy of your car insurance schedule, it’s possible that you’ve been sent your insurance paperwork through email or via an email link.
Checking through your email may also give you more clues about your renewal date. Whilst reminder letters are less commonplace these days, many insurance companies will send you a renewal reminder email. Check back to see if there are any for you. Don’t forget to check your trash and junk folders just in case it’s ended up in there.
5) Call your insurance broker
There are lots of benefits to using an insurance broker for your car insurance. As well as hassle-free shopping around for the best value price, you can also call them up to retrieve your details when you need to. Simply get in touch with your name and address and they’ll be able to talk you through what policies you hold.
What happens if my car is not insured?
You must have insurance if you drive your vehicle on public roads or in public places.
If you’re caught without insurance:
- You’ll receive a fixed fine of £100
- Your vehicle can be impounded by the police. It could also be destroyed
- You could face court prosecution with a maximum possible fine of £1000
Driving without a minimum of third party insurance is an offence, code IN10. The IN10 code will stay on your licence for four years from the date of the offence.
Driving without insurance will also mean between 6-8 penalty points on your licence. If you’ve only passed your test within the last two years it will mean your licence will be cancelled (revoked). You’ll have to pass both your theory and practical driving tests again, meaning extra costs.
Regardless of how long you’ve been driving, the extra penalty points on your licence are very likely to mean an increase in the amount you’ll need to pay for car insurance for the next few years.
What happens if it is my car but someone else is driving without insurance?
As the vehicle keeper, it is your responsibility to ensure that anyone who drives it has the appropriate insurance. Regardless of whether you are driving it or not, you will be the person who is penalised if the car is on the road without the appropriate level of insurance.
SORN
If you plan to keep your vehicle off the road for an extended period of time you need to register it with the government as off the road SORN. If your vehicle is SORN and kept on private land, you will not need to have insurance by law. However, it could still be a good idea to have insurance to protect you from fire and theft.
Check if your tax and MOT are in date too
Car insurance is not the only driving essential you need to renew every year. Use the government’s vehicle enquiry service to check if your tax and MOT have run out.
Call Park Insurance for great value car insurance
Whatever your motoring situation, trust Park Insurance to source you the right insurance to meet your budget. Whether you’ve got penalty points on your licence or an unblemished record, we’ll shop around on your behalf to get you a great value price. As an independent broker, we’re free to search thousands of policies from some of the UK’s most trusted insurance names. And as one of the UK’s largest independent brokers, we’ll use our considerable buying power to negotiate hard on your behalf.
Call our friendly team on 0117 955 6835 to find out more or get a car insurance quote today.