There are many penalties - both financial and legal - if you venture onto the UK’s roads in a motor vehicle without adequate insurance. If caught in an uninsured vehicle, as well as facing hefty fines, the owner risks having their car crushed. This may seem extreme to some, but the problem of uninsured drivers on the roads is one of the UK’s biggest motoring issues. During 2007 the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB), an organisation that pays out when uninsured or untraceable drivers cause damage to third party vehicles, needed over 360million to pay for claims. That sum is ultimately paid for by imposing a levy on those drivers who do possess valid insurance. Legislation was first introduced in the UK in 1930 which required every person using a motor vehicle on public roads to be insured against damage caused to third parties, and also required those vehicle owners to ensure that anyone else who drove their vehicles was also insured. Various Road Traffic Acts since then have modified the legislation, but the legal requirement for all vehicles to be insured has remained in force. But, apart from the legal requirement to be insured there are other reasons to insure your motor vehicle, not least of which is the need to protect your investment. Modern motor vehicles are expensive to buy, especially from new, and if written off or damaged in a road traffic collision, motor insurance provides the funds for replacement or repair. Not every car insurance policy is the same. Most insurance companies offer three types of cover; third party only; third party fire and theft (TPFT), or fully comprehensive. As its name suggests, cover under third party only policies extends only to accidental damage to a third party vehicle, liability to passengers in the policyholder’s car and injury to third parties. Third party, fire and theft cover usually offers the benefits of third party only insurance, but with additional cover for fire, lightning and explosion, attempted theft and theft. In addition, taking the vehicle without consent (TWOC) is also usually covered under such motor insurance policies A fully comprehensive car insurance policy offers all the benefits of third party, fire and theft plus additional cover that include damage to the policyholder’s vehicle. Because of the levels of cover offered, the amount paid in premiums also varies, with third party only insurance being the cheapest and fully comprehensive that most expensive. The most important thing to remember is that cheapest car insurance quotes may not always the best. You must check exactly what cover is on offer. Some insurers offer discounts for accepting a higher additional voluntary excess on the policy, but you should always be aware of the compulsory excess which varies from insurer to insurer. If you think that any car insurance is too expensive then bear in mind the severe penalties that await you if apprehended on public roads or worse still involved in major accident.
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