Stopped by Police: No Insurance

pinkteddybear

I've just been pulled over by the Police on my way home from work because the car showed up on their system as being uninsured. They could have seized the car, but told me to produce my insurance documents within seven days.

I've just come home to get the letter from my insurance company and realised that there is a digit wrong on the license number.

Does that mean I have been uninsured for all the time I have been paying this company, and will I now face a fine/ban from the Police?

chilli_dog

Technically you may not be insured thats why they pulled as ther in car computer would flash up when it saw your number plate.

might be worthwhile ringing your insurance company. Are you fully comp?

ariba10

I would contact the insurance company as soon as possible and see if you can get replacement documents before the deadline for producing them to the police.

Failing that take what you have to the police and try to explain.

rwilts

You wont get a ban or a fine, as long as your insurance company correct the policy and reissue a certificate coving the time you were stoppd. If you cannot get this within the 7 days then attend at the station and inform them. They will report you for failing to produce your document , however by the time the paperwork comes through you will have sufficiant documentaion to prove you were insured, show the Court and that will be the end of it.

PasturesNew

While technically you weren't insured, I am sure this level of clerical error is commonplace.

People can argue you should have noticed, but to be honest I don't even open the envelopes. I just see them and think "car insurance" and shove them in the right box in case at some future and random date I need it.

Get in touch with the insurance company.
Get all your documentary evidence.
Go see Mr Plod at the station and have a word.

I'm sure it'll all be sorted and you'll all have a good laugh over it.

Good luck!

raskazz

pinkteddybear wrote: »

I've just been pulled over by the Police on my way home from work because the car showed up on their system as being uninsured. They could have seized the car, but told me to produce my insurance documents within seven days.

I've just come home to get the letter from my insurance company and realised that there is a digit wrong on the license number.

Does that mean I have been uninsured for all the time I have been paying this company, and will I now face a fine/ban from the Police?

If you have not done so already, you need to get in touch with your insurer asap and do two things:

1) Amend the policy to show the correct license number. However, documents sent for this change will only show the correct info from the date and time when you advised the insurer of the error. Obviously the police need to know you were covered at the date and time of the stop, so then -

2) Request a letter of indemnity from your insurer for the date and time stated on the producer. This basically will state that your insurer would have indemnified you to comply with the Road Traffic Act despite the error. They should have no problem doing this as long as the other details (e.g. use, driver in charge at the time) are in order.

If you do this and present the documents to the police then there should be no problem.

spookylukey

raskazz wrote: »

If you have not done so already, you need to get in touch with your insurer asap and do two things:

1) Amend the policy to show the correct license number. However, documents sent for this change will only show the correct info from the date and time when you advised the insurer of the error. Obviously the police need to know you were covered at the date and time of the stop, so then -

2) Request a letter of indemnity from your insurer for the date and time stated on the producer. This basically will state that your insurer would have indemnified you to comply with the Road Traffic Act despite the error. They should have no problem doing this as long as the other details (e.g. use, driver in charge at the time) are in order.

If you do this and present the documents to the police then there should be no problem.

Raskazz is completely correct, if you do not do number 2 then you will simply have a new insurance certificate timed and dated AFTER you were stopped so this will not be accepted by the Police when you go to produce your documents. I would also take both the old (incorrect) certificate and new certificate (which will begin after you were stopped) along with you when you produce.

Horace

A similar occurrence happened to my OH earlier this year, he was driving back to London and was stopped by the police a shortway down the road from my flat. The police took him to the Austin Social Club Car Park which they were using as a temporary pound, I received a panicked phone call from him to check on the internet to get the telephone number of his insurer. I did so and he phoned them, the police were helpful and said that if he could produce documents within 4 hours then they would release his car.

My OH went online to check his policy as well as his bank details - sure enough the payment had left his account but he noticed that his insurers had made an typing error when noting his registration number and got the R and L mixed up (they were in the wrong order). He rang them up again and asked if the they would mind explaining their error to the police and they agreed to let him have a number that he could ring. I then drove him round the corner (about quarter mile from my place) and into the pound, he spoke to the police and rang his insurers and they explained to the police that they had made an typing error and that in fact he was insured, they promised to send replacement documents out the next day - he was also asked to produce the documents at the police station (Bournville Lane). The police where sympathetic and one of them explained that his insurer had once done the same (his car was insured by one of the large supermarkets). My OH got his car back and even made a special trip back to Birmingham so that he could produce his documents at Bournville Lane even though he lives in South London.

OP you need to contact your insurer toot sweet and provide proof of payment in case they claim not to have received it. Explain to the police what has happened and say that you were in fact insured - if you can get the insurer to explain to the police that they made an error.

Hope this helps and good luck.

pinkteddybear

Thanks for the advice.

I was going to just go right to the Police station and produce as soon as I got home, so it's a good job my girlfriend cheched the reg before I left.

I'll get right onto the insurance company first thing in the morning.

No complaints about the Police, but I'm not happy at all with this company. I wonder what would have happened if I had an accident in these circumstances. Would I be covered or would they be able to fob me off?

Thank you for all your help. I feel a lot better about it now.

chuckles1066

The database the Police use can be found at

http://www.askmid.com/

The site itself is just a frontend, it interrogates the MIB database just as the Police do from their vehicles.

If your vehicle shows as being uninsured and you know that it isn't, time to shout lots at your insurance company :j

free4440273

^Christ! I just punched my car reg into the above and it comes up as a completely different car! :eek: