All vehicles will have to be insured even if they are not driven and are kept on private land, according to measures announced by road-safety minister Paul Clark.
The only exceptions will be those with a valid statutory off-road notice (SORN), which exempts them from road tax.
Says Mr Clark said: “Increased police powers already mean more than 400 uninsured vehicles are seized every day. These tough new measures will catch anyone who is keeping an uninsured vehicle.”
Owners will be warned that their vehicle appears to be uninsured, and subject to a £100 fine. If it remains uninsured it may then be seized and destroyed.
Estimates suggest that two million UK drivers – 6.5% – are uninsured, which adds an estimated £30 a year – a total of £400 million – to insurance premiums.
As many as 300,000 offenders a year are convicted for uninsured driving, which carries a maximum fine of £5,000 and 6-8 penalty points.
The Department for Transport says that the new measures are expected to come into force in the next financial year.
