20-05-2016

We all know that it's against the law to drive a vehicle on UK roads without at least third party insurance, but what happens if you forget to update the cover on a company vehicle and one of your employees gets pulled over by the police?

Who is Liable for Insurance: The Employee or Employer?

Sometimes you can get pulled over by the police when driving for a minor offence, such as a faulty indicator light, and end up getting into much more serious trouble.

According to a study, 1/3 of all people who drive as part of their job are uninsured (Source: Keith Michaels Plc) So, whether you're the registered owner of the vehicle or your employee is, it is always worth ensuring it is covered before anyone drives it. This is because both employer and employee can be prosecuted if your insurance cover is not up-to-date.

If an employee is prosecuted, they can claim the defence of ignorance. In order to avoid repercussions, they must adequately prove that they did not know or have any reason to believe the company vehicle they were driving was not covered by an insurance policy.

The court will then analyse the situation and decide upon the balance of probabilities of this being the case.

Penalties for Driving Without Insurance

The police can give a fixed penalty of up to £300 and 6 penalty points to anyone caught driving a vehicle without insurance. And if the case goes to court, this fine can become unlimited and you may even be disqualified from driving.

The police are also within their rights to seize and destroy the vehicle in extreme cases.

A company is also liable to fines as it is seen as in control of or managing the use of the vehicle, however it is unlikely any penalty points will be handed out to an organisation or the person in charge of arranging its insurance.

What Insurance Should Employees Driving Company Cars Have?

Some business insurance policies will cover employees if they have an accident while driving company and personally owned vehicles. However, in most cases, specific fleet, HGV or van insurance will be required. Don't risk the chance of you or your staff being penalised. Get compare quotes and get insured today with our help!