BIBA: Uninsured drivers are ‘a massive problem’

With around two million people driving without insurance in the UK, the issue is a “massive problem”, the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has said.

The organisation said it is working with the government to reduce the number of uninsured drivers because they are costing other motorists over £400 million each year.

Graeme Trudgill, technical and corporate affairs executive of BIBA, says that next year there will be a new drive towards making sure motorists have car insurance.

“It will compare the Vehicle Registration Database with the Motor Insurance Database and anyone that’s got a car and hasn’t got car insurance will get a penalty notice and if they don’t get insurance then they will have their car seized,” Mr Trudgill said.

According to recent figures from moneysupermarket.com, 15 per cent of UK drivers admitted to driving without insurance, while 23 per cent of people in their twenties have driven without cover.

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Number of drivers caught without insurance ‘doubled’

The number of drivers caught behind the wheel without insurance has doubled over the last year, according one industry expert.

Graeme Trudgill, technical and corporate affairs executive for British Insurance Brokers Association, said in 2007, approximately 150,000 were seized by the police while in 2006 this number was 78,000.

Police now have access to the motor insurance database and the “power to seize uninsured vehicles”, which are both factors helping the authorities to solve other crimes.

“Usually criminals use a vehicle to aid in their criminal activity and it’s quite likely that, being the type of people that they are, they don’t bother to buy insurance, said Mr Trudgill.

According to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, uninsured driving costs law-abiding motorists in excess of £500m each year or around £30 on their insurance premium.

Uninsured drivers are also responsible for causing an estimated 160 deaths on the road each year in the UK.

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