Is it illegal to have your car locked away in garage without insurance?

jonj123

I was wondering whether it would be illegal to leave a car which is taxed and mot'd in garage without insurance.

Thanks

Dukesy

New rules mean you must also SORN it if it has no insurance.

ariba10

As long as it is not on a public highway there is no need for Insurance, M O T or Road Fund Licence.

spacey2012

ariba10 wrote: »

As long as it is not on a public highway there is no need for Insurance, M O T or Road Fund Licence.

If it is not sorn they send you a fake fine.

Aretnap

Yes - you either have to SORN it or get insurance

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/uninsured-vehicles

Must make life a right pain in the bum if you have a classic car you only take on the road a few days a year, and wanted to use day insurance for it rather than get an annual policy.

Dukesy

Aretnap wrote: »

Yes - you either have to SORN it or get insurance

https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-insurance/uninsured-vehicles

Must make life a right pain in the bum if you have a classic car you only take on the road a few days a year, and wanted to use day insurance for it rather than get an annual policy.

I used to use my Austin 7 daily, but due to having a baby, it's been hiding in a garage quite a lot recently. To be honest, though, classic insurance is so cheap (in my case it's £88 per annum) that I don't know anyone who only insures their classics on a daily basis.

That said, classics before (I think) 1973 are free to tax, so at least there's one less thing to worry about in respect of having to claim money back if you do end up SORNing it!

marleyboy

As of the 1st April 2011 it became illegal to keep a vehicle and not insure or SORN it.

Previously it was only an offence to use a vehicle without insurance but the new law means that if your vehicle is kept in a garage and never used it will still need to be insured or otherwise declared SORN.





Insurance Advisory Letters (IAL) are issued by the Motor Insurers Bureau to the registered keepers of uninsured vehicles.


The IAL will advise the registered keeper that their vehicle appears to have no insurance and what actions to take to avoid receiving a fixed penalty from DVLA.


If the vehicle does not have insurance the registered keeper could:
• Receive a fixed penalty of £100
• Have their vehicle wheel-clamped, impounded or destroyed
• Face a court prosecution, with a possible maximum fine of £1,000

missing_link_2

Dukesy wrote: »

I used to use my Austin 7 daily, but

woohoo:T nice to read someone on here involved in Classics,it's a pre-1960,eeeeeek! No MoT required:D

Dukesy

missing_link wrote: »

woohoo:T nice to read someone on here involved in Classics,it's a pre-1960,eeeeeek! No MoT required:D

It was my first car. Love my classics!

Gloomendoom

Aretnap wrote: »

Must make life a right pain in the bum if you have a classic car you only take on the road a few days a year, and wanted to use day insurance for it rather than get an annual policy.

Bear in mind that most insurance policies cover the car when it is off the road too.

If a vehicle has been off the road since before SORN was introduced it doesn't need to be declared SORN, nor does it need to be insured.

Aretnap

Gloomendoom wrote: »

Bear in mind that most insurance policies cover the car when it is off the road too.

True, but if you want cheap cover for when it's off the road you can get laid up insurance which covers it against fire and theft, but not road accidents. I'd assumed this would be a lot cheaper than a Road Traffic Act compliant policy... though from what Dukesy says maybe it's not much cheaper than a limited mileage classic car policy.