if your car is sitting on the road with mot and tax does it need to be insured even though it isnt being used?

Question

my car was writing off by a drink driver whilst it was at the roadside,i had just bought it and it was mot'd and taxed,my insurance company says my insurance was nul and void as i hadnt passed my no claims certificate to them before hand,now the police have charged me with having a vehicle uninsured even though it was parked up not being used at the side of the road at the time of the accident. where do i stand??

Answer 1

same rules apply with no road tax, the car should have been parked on your driveway or off the public road.
as in the eyes of the law it was uninsured! the police could turn a blind eye, its a bit off charging you!

Answer 2

oooh that lot stings.

First, I think you are OK in regard to having an uninsured vehicle because you weren't driving it. The police should also see that to the best of your knowledge it actually was insured.

Second, I think the insurance company can be shown to be wrong if you can now produce the no-claims certificate. This might take a visit to the Insurance Ombudsman - but make sure you exhaust all possible lines of complaint first.

Third, you can't "write off" an uninsured vehicle - that's meaningless. A write-off is when the insurance company is landed with a repair bill that's bigger than the value of the car. So instead of fixing the car they just give you the value of the car as they had it (and then keep the car, either to cube or to auction or whatever). If the car is a banger, it doesn't take much to write it off. My last car was worth £100, so a bit of dodgy supermarket parking would have written it off. A brand new merc needs a bigger whack to write off.

But that's detail. I think you are in the right here but I think this could be a long struggle. Take it calmly and methodically, and think about getting help (Citizen's Advice Bureau)

PS a car on a road must be TAXED, and the post office won't give you a tax disc unless you are INSURED and MOT'd. It's the tax that matters for being on the road. Insurance and MOT matter for driving it.

If I took all the wheels off your car and left it stacked on bricks, would it pass its MOT? No. Would it be on a public road? Yes. Would YOU be breaking the law? No. At least not until the tax ran out again and you couldn't pay it because you had no MOT.

Answer 3

Get a Lawyer, Now.

There is no need for a vehicle to be insured, in the UK, the driver needs to be insured, I often drive vehicles on my insurance which are not otherwise insured and must ensure I do not leave these on a public highway, The Insurance company are also being high handed so pay a Lawyer, it could save you 8 points so that is £ 1200 worth in my book and the money for the car,

Answer 4

Any vehicle parked on the road does need insurance, however your insurance company could/should of given you a temporary cover notice for 30 days, that way you would of had time to pass on your no claims certificate and still be insured. Guess you ought to seek legal advice about this one. Hope all goes well

Answer 5

Under the road traffic order you are required to have a policy of insurance or surety for a motor vehicle on a road or other public place......if you didn't you can expect to be prosecuted for it.
You will be claiming from the insurance police of the drunk driver, so go through a solicitor for that.
Your own insurance company didn't give you much grace, however, they will have stipulated that you are required to provide NCB details for the policy to be in force.....again, a solicitor might be able to get you off on that one, provided you actually are entitled to a NCB....if you are not, you are in the brown sticky stuff

Answer 6

The car was on the road with no road tax I'm afraid your in trouble, the law might say how did it get to your house who drove it there. perhaps if it had just been delivered and you can prove it the court might consider it.But you have no insurance you will probably have to pay up,unless you put up a good claim against the drunk driver, who shouldn't be on the road. I think the best thing would be to ask the police how you stand.But I would think its going to cost you, money and possibly your licence might suffer too

Answer 7

Fraid so. If a vehicle is on a public highway, regardless of the situation and its condition, it MUST be taxed, insured and MOTd.
The only exception is you can drive a vehicle to a MOT test station without tax and MOT providing it is booked in. It still has to be insured.

Answer 8

unfortunatly it does have to be insured in the UK unless it is not on the public highway, many have said it, many are right

insurance companies will try ANYTHING to not pay out a claim but if they have taken your money but not given you enough time to produce the proof of NCD you would have a very good chance in court. the only question remains, did you sort out your insurance before you picked up the car, if not the police are quite entitled to prosecute you.

remember the golden rule, insurance companies are there to ensure you only get screwed by ONE set of people, i.e. them

Answer 9

What does this mean ... mot'd and taxed? If your car is on the street it needs to be insured. If you don't want to insure it put it in your garage or on your property. If the car was not drivable, when you go to court let them know and they may give you a break.
P.S: If you just brought it from somebody (private owner) it may be covered under their name. Can't hurt to check.

Answer 10

it only as to be taxed ,mot helps but doesn't matter unless you are driving it, plus you only need the drink drivers insurance details . the police will want proof of how your car got outside your house without insurance,you will have to say you bought the car picked it up on a transporter dropped it of at your house ,you will have evidence of the transporter egg receipt.if you don't want to lie you will get your 9 points on your licence but get your money back for your car.