The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) has welcomed the announcement that motorists caught driving without valid insurance will face tougher penalties.

The current fixed penalty for driving without insurance is £200, although this will now rise to £300 under the plans announced by Transport Minister Stephen Hammond MP.

Graeme Trudgill, Executive Director of BIBA, said: “BIBA has long called for tougher penalties for uninsured drivers and we welcome the Government’s commitment to increase the fine for this offence.

“We recently discussed increasing the sanctions for those caught driving without insurance with Stephen Hammond and we’re pleased that he has announced a tougher stance which should act as a deterrent.

“Uninsured driving is a scourge on our roads, costing honest motorists around £30 per policy. Uninsured drivers are also five times more likely to be involved in road collisions, fail to comply with traffic laws, or be engaged in other criminal activity.”

The increase in fine is in addition to ‘Continuous Insurance Enforcement’, which was launched almost two years ago. This law made it an offence to be the registered keeper of a vehicle without insurance – unless it is declared as being off the road.