The Association of British Insurers has urged the UK government to introduce more expansive legislation covering motor insurance.
By introducing a new law which would make it an offence to be the registered keeper of a vehicle that is not covered by insurance, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) says that the cost of accidents involving uninsured drivers would be cut by GBP100 million. The group also predicted an improvement in road safety.
The ABI said that this new offence should lie at the heart of a new detection regime designed to make it much easier to identify motorists without insurance. At present it is only illegal to drive a vehicle without insurance, so offenders can only be identified by roadside checks.
According to the ABI, the UK has one of the highest levels of uninsured motoring in Europe. At any one time one in 20 motorists is driving illegally – more than one million in total.
The UK government is currently consulting on a proposal to introduce this new offence to complement the existing offence of using a vehicle on the road without third-party insurance.