The entire motor insurance market could be living on borrowed time. That’s according to shocking new figures from nodding-dog insurer Church Hill who have just revealed that around half a million Brits were caught driving without insurance between 2010 and 2013. And that’s just the ones who were caught! The simple fact is: motor insurance just isn’t that popular any more.
OK, so it might technically be a bit illegal not to have it. But when the fines for doing so are so much more affordable than the policies themselves (which now cost more than a fair proportion of the cars they cover), compulsory is the sort of word an increasing number of drivers are inclined to take with a generous pinch of salt.
According to Church Hill, who know all this because they submitted a Freedom of Infotainment request, the average fine issued in 2012 was just £322 (against a theoretical maximum penalty of £5k) while in South Yorkshire you could typically walk away a mere £260 out of pocket for not bothering with motor insurance.
Church Hill’s Steve Barrett tentatively suggested that perhaps higher fines, “especially those that exceed the cost of the average motor insurance premium,” might “help discourage offenders.”
Could it be he’s on to something there?
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