Why is Car Insurance Mandatory?

If you drive a car in the UK, you are legally required to be insured to drive it. This is because everyone who is driving needs to have a degree of financial protection. The minimum degree of insurance that you need to have is Third Party cover.

You might think that if you damage your car, this is your problem, and only you should be responsible for fixing the damage. However, the vast majority of accidents involve other parties, and the damage you might cause in an accident is often not to your own property. As a result, you need to have insurance that at least covers the third party in any accident you might have.

What is Insurance?

An Insurance policy is a type of contract. You take out this contract so that you receive financial protection or reimbursement again financial losses you might incur under certain circumstances. The insurance company charges you for this potential reimbursement based on how likely they feel they are to need to pay out.

What does car insurance cover?

Car Insurance can cover a wide variety of potential risks. How much cover you receive depends upon the level of cover that you purchase. Third Party insurance covers only the other parties in an accident, not you. Third Party, Fire and Theft insurance also covers you in the case of a fire or your car being stolen. Comprehensive Insurance covers both a third party in an accident, and you.

How do I check if I am insured?

It is possible to check if you are insured on a vehicle, or if a vehicle is insured at all. The Motor Insurer’s Database is a near-comprehensive database of which cars are insured, and by whom. The police use the MID to check if cars on the road are legal to drive, and private individuals can do the same.

What happens if I don’t have insurance?

If you don’t have insurance, you can be fined a fixed penalty of £300, and you will be given six points on your driving licence. If you go to court, you could face a greater fine – potentially unlimited. You could also be disqualified from driving.

Do I need insurance to drive someone else’s car?

Yes – you always need to be insured on a car to be able to drive it. You can drive a car you don’t own if you are insured to drive it. This comes either from being listed as a driver on someone else’s insurance, or you insuring yourself temporarily on a car that someone else owns.

Car Insurance from GoShorty

Car insurance is mandatory. However, getting temporary car insurance is easy with GoShorty. You don’t need to insure yourself for longer than you need to. At GoShorty, you can insure yourself to drive a car for between 1 hour and 28 days with short term car insurance. This can be on someone else’s car. With GoShorty, you don’t need to worry about getting insurance – only get the cover you need, and find out how much you could save compared to getting insured over a year.

Get a temporary insurance quote today