It is an offence to use or permit another person to use a vehicle without valid insurance in a public road or place. The penalty for doing so is a fine and 6-8 penalty points on your licence or a fine and a discretionary ban.
STRICT LIABILITY
Driving without insurance is a strict liability offence. This means that it is not a defence to say that you did not know you had no insurance. You may have special reasons for not having your licence endorsed with penalty points (see special reasons). However, the simple fact that you were not insured at the time of using the vehicle will normally be enough for you to be guilty of the offence.
EMPLOYEES DEFENCE
There is a statutory defence available to employees. If they were driving the said vehicle during the course of their employment and had been led to believe by their employer that they were covered to do so by a valid policy of insurance. This is a defence to a charge of driving without insurance. The onus here is for the defence to persuade the court of this.
“USE”
It is important to note that it is not only an offence to drive a vehicle but also simply to be using it. Therefore, if the vehicle is parked in a public place or street you can be found guilty of using the vehicle without valid insurance. The prosecution do not need to lead evidence of the vehicle actually being seen driven.
“PUBLIC ROAD OR PUBLIC PLACE”
What is defined as a public place is not always straight forward either. It will usually depend on the degree of public access available.
CAUSING AND PERMITTING ANOTHER TO USE YOUR VEHICLE
If you cause or permit another person to use your vehicle without a valid policy of insurance allowing that person to drive the vehicle you will be guilty of an offence. The penalties for this are identical to that for if you were using the vehicle yourself. As the owner of the vehicle the onus is on you to ensure that anyone driving that vehicle is adequately insured.
Whatever your circumstances it is our experience that cases of driving without insurance are rarely straight forward. For that reason seeking advice from a specialist is always advised.