Not sure if your car insurance is up to date? Or who your insurer is? It's important to find out because by law you must have valid car insurance to drive on UK roads.
Even if you don’t drive your car, you’ll still need to be covered if you leave it parked on the street. We show you how to check if a car is insured, and what happens if you’re caught without insurance.
EASY AS HACK
If you can’t remember who your insurer is, try searching your emails to see if the provider’s name crops up. Alternatively, check your bank and credit card statements for evidence of insurance payments.
At a glance
- You can use the Navigate database to check if your car is insured
- You’ll need insurance unless you declare your car SORN
- Not having car insurance could result in a £300 fine and six points on your licence
how to check if you have car insurance
There are a couple of simple ways to see whether you have car insurance:
access the national insurance motor insurance database
The easiest way to check if your car is insured is to go to Navigate. This is an online record of all insured vehicles in the UK. You simply click the ‘Personal check’ box, accept the Ts&Cs and enter your car registration number.
The search, which is free, will confirm whether your car is insured, plus its make and model. It won’t provide any information on the details of your insurance policy though.
check your car policy documents
Another way to check if your car is insured is with the policy documentation that you were sent when the insurance was arranged. This will also tell you who your car is insured with.
If you only have the name of the provider, you can call them to request more information about your policy – for example, the renewal date or what type of insurance you have.
what happens if my car is not insured?
Driving without valid cover could have serious consequences. It’s an offence to drive a vehicle on a public road without at least third-party insurance.
So, if your car isn’t insured and you haven’t declared it off the road with a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN), you’ll be breaking the law. Not only that, you won’t be covered if you’re involved in an accident.
If you discover you’re not covered, you should set up an insurance policy as soon as possible.
penalties for driving without car insurance[1]
If you’re caught driving without insurance, you could receive a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points on your licence.
If the case goes to court, you could be disqualified from driving and given an unlimited fine. The police also have the power to seize and destroy uninsured vehicles.
how can i check if someone else's car is insured?
If you’ve been in an accident, you can use the askMID service to find out if someone else’s car is insured. You’ll be charged a £10 fee for this.[2]
You’ll need to provide details such as your name, email address and car registration number. You’ll also be asked about your involvement in the accident – for example, whether you were a pedestrian or cyclist at the time.
If you want to find out the insurance status of a car owned by your employer, you can use the Navigate service following the same steps as if you’re checking your own car.
how do i check if my car is taxed?
It’s easy to find out whether your car is taxed and has a valid MOT certificate. Simply go to the government’s vehicle enquiry service and type in the car’s registration number. This will tell you:
- When the tax expires
- When the next MOT test is due
- Other details about the vehicle, such as fuel type and year of manufacture.
why it's important to check who provides your car insurance
If your car is insured but you’re not sure who with, then it’s worth finding out soon. If you’re involved in an accident or your car is stolen, you need to contact your insurer as soon as possible after the incident.
This applies even if you don’t want to make a claim on your policy; you still need to notify your insurer.
Finding out what car insurance you have and who you’re insured with can give you peace of mind on the road and save you a lot of stress in the future.
Find out more about our car insurance products
FAQs
CAN YOU ever drive without car insurance?
You can’t drive without insurance unless you're driving on private land that the public can’t access.
There are a couple of other situations where you won’t need insurance, but they only apply if you’re no longer driving the car. They are:
- If the car has been written off, scrapped, stolen or exported and you’ve given notice of this. [3]
- If the car is between registered keepers or is being held in stock by an authorised dealer.[3]
is foreign car insurance valid in the uk?[4]
If you’re bringing your own car over to the UK for a temporary visit, your existing foreign motor insurance policy should provide at least third-party cover. This means it will cover damage to other people's vehicles in an accident but not damage to your own car.
Depending on where the policy was issued, you may need a Green Card to show that your cover is valid in the UK.
If you’re moving to the UK or staying for longer than six months, you'll need to register your car in the UK and get a UK insurance policy.
are you able to pause your insurance policy?
Insurance providers don’t generally allow you to temporarily pause your policy. Continuous Insurance Enforcement means your vehicle must either be insured or on the SORN register.
If you won’t be driving your car for a while, it could still be worth keeping it insured in case it gets stolen or vandalised.
am i insured after buying a new car?
You may be offered ‘drive away insurance’ after buying a new car from a dealership, or you can arrange temporary cover yourself. It’s your responsibility to make sure you’re insured, and you’ll need to be covered, even if you’re just driving your new car a short distance from a local garage.
Sources
[1] - gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/driving-without-insurance
[2] - askmid.com
[3] - webuyanycar.com
[4] - gov.uk/importing-vehicles-into-the-uk/temporary-imports
