Thousands of British motorists admit to driving without insurance potentially putting you at significant financial risk.

Imagine the scene; you are involved in an accident which is clearly not your fault. The disruption and hassle caused to you is immense (even assuming that you have not been injured); there then comes the unwelcome news that the 18 year old, who ran into the back of you, was driving his mother's car and was not insured!

Not likely to happen to you? Research by MoneyExpert.com has revealed that as many as 350,000 motorists have driven without adequate insurance in the past 12 months.

According to the study, young drivers are the worst offenders with 18 to 24 year olds responsible for over a third of uninsured driving incidents in the past year.

The most common reason given for driving without car insurance was that the insurance policy had lapsed without the driver realising, accounting for 46% of those questioned. Worryingly, 11% of offenders claimed they could not afford the necessary premia, even though driving without insurance is a criminal offence. 11% said that it was an emergency and they had to drive someone else's car. 13% said that they had deliberately driven without insurance.

So what do you do? You might be thinking "But I have fully comprehensive insurance so I will be covered under my own policy". Correct, but your excess will not be covered and any no claims discount you have built up after years of careful driving is likely to be affected. Just wait to see how much extra your insurance is next year when you come to renew! Then there is always the possibility that even the most minor of bumps can lead to an injury such as a whiplash coming on up to 48 hours after the accident. Your fully comprehensive insurance policy is not going to cover any claim for your injuries caused by an uninsured driver.

The answer is that an application for recovery of uninsured losses including any injuries must be submitted to an organisation called the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) which administers a fund set up in conjunction with the Government and all major Insurance Companies to compensate victims of hit and run accidents and uninsured drivers.

The process can however be far more involved and time consuming than bringing a claim against the other driver if he were insured. It may involve you having to obtain a judgement against the uninsured driver before the MIB are obliged to pay your claim.

Close Thornton Solicitors has extensive expertise in this area and can help. Shaun Burke and Kelly Henderson are specialist lawyers and have submitted many hundreds of claims to the MIB over the years and know the procedure inside out.

So, if the unthinkable happens, and that 18 year old turns out not to have been insured on his mother's policy, please ring Close Thornton immediately on 01325 466461 or contact shaun.burke@close-thornton.co.uk or kelly.henderson@close-thornton.co.uk for advice.

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