SORN or not?

MEM62

I am currently on a six month driving ban for medical reasons.  In short, I picked up a virus in December that caused me to pass out (Cough syncope)  Despite the fact that once I have recovered from the virus I have no residual issues, I cannot drive for six months.  I informed my motor insurer at the time and was advised that they would put a note on the policy but that the policy could continue to run.  (I was keen to maintain the fire and theft cover)  Now the policy has come up for renewal and I expect that this will be an issue as I cannot insure a vehicle that I am not able to drive. In that case - no insurance coverage - am I obliged to SORN the vehicle?          

Veteransaver

Yes, if it's not insured it needs to be Sorned. And it can't be parked or driven on a public road

FlorayG

SORN is for vehicle licencing. If it's not licenced then you can't keep it on a public road. If it's SORN you can't keep it on a public road. However, you can pay the licence and keep it on private land, you don't have to SORN it to do that.
Insurance isn't relevant to this it's a separate issue; although of course, licenced or not, you would be very stupid to keep it on a public road if it's not insured

DullGreyGuy

MEM62 said:

I am currently on a six month driving ban for medical reasons.  In short, I picked up a virus in December that caused me to pass out (Cough syncope)  Despite the fact that once I have recovered from the virus I have no residual issues, I cannot drive for six months.  I informed my motor insurer at the time and was advised that they would put a note on the policy but that the policy could continue to run.  (I was keen to maintain the fire and theft cover)  Now the policy has come up for renewal and I expect that this will be an issue as I cannot insure a vehicle that I am not able to drive. In that case - no insurance coverage - am I obliged to SORN the vehicle?          

If the vehicle is going to be kept on the road or in a public space then you must have insurance on it that covers third party risks. Some insurers will allow you to continue to hold a policy even if you cannot drive the car at the moment as long as there is at least one named driver who could drive it - doesn't mean they have to. 

Alternatively take it off the road and SORN it, you can still buy insurance on a SORNed vehicle, there are "laid up" policies that exclude third party risks or you can have a standard policy as per the above. Obv you cannot put it back on the road no matter how shortly until the SORN has been stopped... another poster "briefly" put their SORNed car on the road and has a £660 fine or a day in court to look forward to. 

Mildly_Miffed

FlorayG said:

SORN is for vehicle licencing. If it's not licenced then you can't keep it on a public road. If it's SORN you can't keep it on a public road. However, you can pay the licence and keep it on private land, you don't have to SORN it to do that.
Insurance isn't relevant to this it's a separate issue; although of course, licenced or not, you would be very stupid to keep it on a public road if it's not insured

You're forgetting the Continuous Insurance rules that came in in 2011.

A car that's taxed MUST be insured at all times.
If it's taxed but not insured, an offence is committed, even if it's off the road.

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

If it's not insured, it MUST be SORNed.

molerat

FlorayG said:

SORN is for vehicle licencing. If it's not licenced then you can't keep it on a public road. If it's SORN you can't keep it on a public road. However, you can pay the licence and keep it on private land, you don't have to SORN it to do that.
Insurance isn't relevant to this it's a separate issue; although of course, licenced or not, you would be very stupid to keep it on a public road if it's not insured

If a vehicle is not subject to SORN it needs to be insured so an offence is being committed under the continuous insurance regulations.

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

Penalties

If you’re the registered keeper of an uninsured vehicle that’s not been declared as off the road, you could:

• be fined £100
• have your vehicle wheel-clamped, impounded or destroyed
• be taken to court where you could get a maximum fine of £1,000

So once the insurance has expired it needs to be declared SORN or further insured for on road use.

MEM62

Mildly_Miffed said:

FlorayG said:

SORN is for vehicle licencing. If it's not licenced then you can't keep it on a public road. If it's SORN you can't keep it on a public road. However, you can pay the licence and keep it on private land, you don't have to SORN it to do that.
Insurance isn't relevant to this it's a separate issue; although of course, licenced or not, you would be very stupid to keep it on a public road if it's not insured

You're forgetting the Continuous Insurance rules that came in in 2011.

A car that's taxed MUST be insured at all times.
If it's taxed but not insured, an offence is committed, even if it's off the road.

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

If it's not insured, it MUST be SORNed.

This is what I thought.  Keeping the vehicle(s) off road is not a problem as they are motorcycles and live in my garage.  Fortunately, my car insurance is not due for renewal until after my driving privileges have been restored so that is not an issue.   

Thanks to all those that responded.  

LightFlare

MEM62 said:

I am currently on a six month driving ban for medical reasons.  In short, I picked up a virus in December that caused me to pass out (Cough syncope)  Despite the fact that once I have recovered from the virus I have no residual issues, I cannot drive for six months.  I informed my motor insurer at the time and was advised that they would put a note on the policy but that the policy could continue to run.  (I was keen to maintain the fire and theft cover)  Now the policy has come up for renewal and I expect that this will be an issue as I cannot insure a vehicle that I am not able to drive. In that case - no insurance coverage - am I obliged to SORN the vehicle?          

Have they actually said this - they may be happy as I presume their risk is lower if it’s just parked up instead of being driven around as well

MEM62

LightFlare said:

MEM62 said:

I am currently on a six month driving ban for medical reasons.  In short, I picked up a virus in December that caused me to pass out (Cough syncope)  Despite the fact that once I have recovered from the virus I have no residual issues, I cannot drive for six months.  I informed my motor insurer at the time and was advised that they would put a note on the policy but that the policy could continue to run.  (I was keen to maintain the fire and theft cover)  Now the policy has come up for renewal and I expect that this will be an issue as I cannot insure a vehicle that I am not able to drive. In that case - no insurance coverage - am I obliged to SORN the vehicle?          

Have they actually said this - they may be happy as I presume their risk is lower if it’s just parked up instead of being driven around as well

It looks like I can renew through my current broker but the cost has gone from £350 to £625.  (Nothing to do with the medical issue)  I might just have to suck it up for this year and shop around next year.   

Freecall

FlorayG said:

SORN is for vehicle licencing. If it's not licenced then you can't keep it on a public road. If it's SORN you can't keep it on a public road. However, you can pay the licence and keep it on private land, you don't have to SORN it to do that.
Insurance isn't relevant to this it's a separate issue; although of course, licenced or not, you would be very stupid to keep it on a public road if it's not insured

This is absolute rubbish and dangerous.

People will stumble across this on the internet for years to come and some might believe it.

As others have said, Continuous Insurance rules dictate that a vehicle MUST be insured unless SORNed regardless of it's location, driveability or anything else.

jimjames

MEM62 said:

LightFlare said:

MEM62 said:

I am currently on a six month driving ban for medical reasons.  In short, I picked up a virus in December that caused me to pass out (Cough syncope)  Despite the fact that once I have recovered from the virus I have no residual issues, I cannot drive for six months.  I informed my motor insurer at the time and was advised that they would put a note on the policy but that the policy could continue to run.  (I was keen to maintain the fire and theft cover)  Now the policy has come up for renewal and I expect that this will be an issue as I cannot insure a vehicle that I am not able to drive. In that case - no insurance coverage - am I obliged to SORN the vehicle?          

Have they actually said this - they may be happy as I presume their risk is lower if it’s just parked up instead of being driven around as well

It looks like I can renew through my current broker but the cost has gone from £350 to £625.  (Nothing to do with the medical issue)  I might just have to suck it up for this year and shop around next year.   

Is there any point insuring it for 6 months if it can save you £300 or so? That's assuming you have somewhere safe to store it.