How can I find out if my car is insured?
You can find out if your car is insured by checking the Motor Insurance Database (MID). It gives you a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer straight away - for free.
What documents are needed to check my car insurance?
You’ll need your car registration number to check the MID website. You also need to confirm that the car is either registered, owned, insured by you or your employer, and you are permitted to drive it.
How can I check who my insurance is with?
There are several ways to check who your car insurance is with if you have forgotten.
To find out who your insurer is, you can:
- Look through your paperwork, in case your policy documents are hiding somewhere.
- Check your emails by searching for the words ‘car insurance’ in your inbox
- Check your bank and credit card statements to see if you’ve made any payments to an insurance company
- If you still can’t find any details, you could ask the MID, for a small fee
What happens if my car doesn’t have insurance?
If your car doesn’t have insurance, you have two options: insure it, or declare it ‘off-road’ by making a statutory off road notification (SORN). It’s illegal not to have car insurance without a valid SORN - you must have one or the other.
If you don’t have car insurance and you’ve not registered a SORN, you could face a fine of at least £100, up to £1,000. Plus you could get six points on your driving licence, or be disqualified from driving. The police may even seize your car and destroy it. If you were in an accident, you’d have to pay for any costs out of your own pocket.
So if you’re not using your car, you can declare it off-road on the Government’s website, through the post, or by calling the DVLA at 0300 123 4321. You’ll need your logbook or a DVLA tax letter to hand. If you’ve lost your logbook, you can request a new one for £25.
After your car is SORN, you won’t need to pay for car insurance, vehicle tax or an MOT. But you will need to keep it on your drive or in your garage, not on the street. If you’re caught driving a car that has been declared SORN, you will face a fine of up to £2,500. The only exception is if you’re driving to an MOT appointment
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Disclaimer: All information and links are correct at the time of publishing.
Adele Kitchen
Personal Finance Writer
Adele is a personal finance writer with more than 10 years in the finance industry behind her. She writes clear and engaging guides on all things loans for Ocean, as well as contributing blogs to help people understand their options when it comes to money.
