{"id":7933,"date":"2026-07-06T12:34:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T12:34:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/drivers-risking-fines-and-penalty-points-over-insurance-mistake\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T12:34:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T12:34:08","slug":"drivers-risking-fines-and-penalty-points-over-insurance-mistake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/drivers-risking-fines-and-penalty-points-over-insurance-mistake\/","title":{"rendered":"Drivers risking fines and penalty points over insurance mistake"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"article-body\">\n<h2 class=\"LeadText_lead-text__wd_PA __className_c37a06\" data-testid=\"leadtext\">Many drivers mistakenly believe they are covered when they are not<\/h2>\n<div class=\"Byline_byline-container__K_Owl\" data-testid=\"byline\"><span class=\"Byline_byline-content-wrapper__Imque\" data-testid=\"byline-content\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"Byline_author-badge-date-wrapper__Q7jj1\">\n<div class=\"Byline_author-and-badge-wrapper__2dsv1\">\n<div class=\"Authors_authors-container__wVWas\" data-testid=\"byline-author\" data-tmdatatrack=\"author\" style=\"--authors-by:&quot;By&quot;\"><span><span><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"AuthorLink_author-link__rg5qj\" data-tmdatatrack=\"author\" data-testid=\"byline-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/authors\/neil-shaw\/\"><strong class=\"Strong_strong__e2x35 __className_c37a06\">Neil Shaw<\/strong><\/a><\/span> Assistant Editor (Money and Lifestyle)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"\" data-testid=\"byline-publishedDate\"><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/div>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"SlideViewerButton_slide-viewer-button__BDJoG\" aria-label=\"Open image viewer\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\" aria-controls=\"image-lightbox\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-embed__0T8WX ImageEmbed_image-lead__Ti3qQ\" data-testid=\"leadimage\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-articleid=\"37393911\">\n<div class=\"ImageEmbed_image-container__2AIQm\">\n<figure class=\"Figure_figure__Uce4f\" style=\"--figure-aspect-ratio:1.5\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"You could end up in trouble with the police\" loading=\"eager\" sizes=\"(max-width: 508px) 508px, (max-width: 615px) 615px, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37393911.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-1172734150.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37393911.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s508\/0_GettyImages-1172734150.jpg 508w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37393911.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615\/0_GettyImages-1172734150.jpg 615w, https:\/\/i2-prod.mirror.co.uk\/article37393911.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s1200f\/0_GettyImages-1172734150.jpg 1200w\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"ImageCaption_caption__j7HRu\" data-testid=\"image-caption\">\n<p aria-label=\"You could end up in trouble with the police\" class=\"ImageCaption_caption-title__ccyQU\" data-testid=\"caption-title\">You could end up in trouble with the police<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<p><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Millions of drivers could face penalty points and a hefty fine for an insurance mistake that can be avoided with a simple two-minute check. Drivers could be unknowingly exposing themselves to vehicle repair bills of thousands of pounds, a \u00a3300 fine if caught with invalid insurance, six penalty points on their licence, and, in the worst cases, vehicle seizure and a criminal charge.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The rules around &#8216;Driving Other Cars&#8217; insurance cover are poorly understood and rarely explained clearly, according to Tom Warsop, motor insurance expert at <a target=\"_blank\" aria-label=\"\" class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/covertime.com\/guides\/insurance-knowledge-gaps\" rel=\"nofollow\" tabindex=\"0\" target=\"_self\">Covertime.com<\/a>. Drivers who assume they are covered may have no valid insurance at all, and those who do have some cover often aren&#8217;t aware it is very limited.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Covertime.com&#8217;s new research found that over three-quarter of UK drivers are wrong or uncertain about whether their annual insurance covers them to drive another person&#8217;s car. In reality, &#8216;Driving Other Cars&#8217; (DOC) cover is not included in many policies, particularly for younger or less experienced drivers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Most motorists were also not aware that DOC cover, where it exists on a comprehensive motor insurance policy, is typically third-party only and does not protect the borrowed vehicle if it is damaged in an accident.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A record 160,000 uninsured vehicles were seized from UK roads last year, the highest figure in 17 years according to the Motor Insurers&#8217; Bureau. Tom said: &#8220;This really isn&#8217;t about catching people out, it is about making sure drivers understand their cover before they borrow a car, because a lot of people simply assume they are protected when they may not be.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;The single most important thing any driver can do before borrowing a car is to check their policy rather than assume. It takes two minutes to check.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;Driving Other Cars cover is not standard on most comprehensive policies, and even where it does exist, it&#8217;s almost always third party only, so it will only pay out for damage to third parties, not for the car you were driving.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">&#8220;The good news is that it&#8217;s easily solved. If you check and find you are not covered, temporary insurance lets you borrow the car with comprehensive cover rather than third party only.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"HeadingThree_heading-three__PBHLs  __className_5ddf26\">What drivers should do before borrowing or lending a car:<\/h3>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">1. Check your policy documents before getting in the car, not after. DOC cover is not standard and varies significantly between insurers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">2. Do not assume comprehensive insurance means you are covered to drive any car. The word comprehensive refers to the level of protection, not the vehicles covered.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">3. If your policy does include DOC cover, check whether it provides third-party protection only. If that is the case, then it will not cover damage to the car you are driving.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">4. If you are lending your car to someone, check whether their insurance covers them to drive it or arrange temporary cover on their behalf.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">5. Consider temporary car insurance as the safest and simplest solution when borrowing or lending a vehicle. A policy can be arranged in minutes, is comprehensive, and means both you and the car owner are properly protected.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/lifestyle\/motoring\/drivers-risking-fines-penalty-points-37393904\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Many drivers mistakenly believe they are covered when they are not Neil Shaw Assistant Editor<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7934,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0_GettyImages-1172734150.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}