Do you know that motor insurance is compulsory for any vehicle used on public roads?

This includes ensuring that cars that are parked on public roads and not used, or cars that are parked on private land but have not been registered off-road through a valid SORN, all need to have adequate insurance.

54% of adults have never even heard of “Ghost Broking”, a scam where fake insurance is sold to unsuspecting drivers, often via social media, that leaves them unknowingly uninsured and often facing criminal charges. The policies are often much cheaper than those offered by real insurance companies but if a deal looks too good to be true, it likely is.

Make sure you’re purchasing your insurance safely. You can use comparison sites to search for the best policy for your needs or go directly to trusted insurers or brokers.

  • Check the seller has a legitimate website, a UK phone number and address
  • If buying through a broker, check they’re registered with British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA)
  • If buying directly through an insurer, check they’re a member of Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB)
  • Check your insurance provider is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Once you’ve purchased your policy and it is active, you can use Navigate, the central record of all insured vehicles in the UK to check your vehicle is insured: https://enquiry.navigate.mib.org.uk/checkyourvehicle (please note, policies may not show for 7 days)

There are several different types of motor insurance policies which differ depending on how you use your vehicle. If you are using your vehicle differently to the usage stated on your policy, your insurance will be invalid.

Social, Domestic and Pleasure (SDP) policies cover vehicle use for day-to-day activities, excluding travel to or from a singular place of work.

Social, Domestic, Pleasure and Commuting (SDPC) policies cover travelling to or from a singular place of work, such as an office or shop.

Business use is needed on your policy if you are travelling to more than one place of work, such as multiple site locations, to meet clients, or you work in a trade. Even just one business meeting or travel requirement means you need business cover, but many insurers offer this as a short-term add-on.

Hire and Reward (or delivery) insurance is needed if you use your vehicle for deliveries, such as pizza or parcels. Some insurers offer this themselves, whilst some will need a ‘top up’ policy from another provider.

Fronting is a type of insurance fraud that happens when someone puts a more experienced driver (usually a parent) as the main policyholder on a car insurance policy, while the actual main driver is actually a younger, less experienced person.

This results in a cheaper premium, because insurers see the parent as lower risk but Fronting is illegal.

If the insurer finds out, they can refuse to pay out on a claim, cancel the policy, or pursue legal action. It can also lead to the consequences associated with uninsured driving (penalty points, fines and a driving conviction), as well as ending up on the Insurance Fraud Register, which results in difficulty getting insurance in the future for both the parent and the child.

If a young driver is the main user of the car, they must be the main policyholder. Parents can still be added as a named driver to potentially reduce the cost without breaking any rules, if they do genuinely have access to driving the vehicle.

Some fully comprehensive policies may have ‘Drive Other Vehicles’ cover (DOV). Depending on the policy, this may mean that you are insured to drive another vehicle with the permission of the vehicle owner. However, this isn’t always the case and is usually provided with third-party only cover. This means that if you had an accident when driving, the damage to the car you are driving would not be covered by the insurance policy.

There are some important restrictions that may be stated in your terms and conditions. You should check the small print of your own policy carefully, but the most likely restrictions include:

• Most polices offer DOV cover for emergency situations only – they’re not meant for regular or unnecessary use. If you are regularly driving another vehicle, you must be added to this policy as a named driver – this includes a parent driving your car as well!
• DOV cover is usually not offered to those under the age of 25 years old.
• Most policies only allow you to use DOV if the vehicle itself is insured, so make sure to check with the owner on whether they hold a valid policy for that vehicle.
• As the cover is likely to be third-party only, you may not be able to use it for anything other than social, domestic or pleasure use.

If you want to drive someone else’s vehicle, you can take out a temporary insurance policy which can provide cover from as little as one hour. This ensures that you are fully insured on the vehicle you are driving, and means you can take out the right type of cover for your needs.

Driving uninsured can have severe consequences that stay with you year-after-year, including:

  • £300 fine
  • Six points on your licence - as a new driver, this may mean losing your licence
  • Vehicle seized and potentially crushed
  • Potential driving ban and unlimited fine if the case goes to court
  • Harm to job prospects as convictions show in background checks
  • £1,000 increase to average premiums due to driving conviction