Motorists Evade Insurance at Their Peril

The credit crunch has led to many UK citizens looking for ways to tighten their purse strings - saving where possible is on all our minds - and those among us who run a car are very much feeling the strain with the escalating price of fuel and the new Vehicle Excise Duty levels rising over the next 12 month. But some unwise drivers have now taken to evading taking out car insurance, warns RIAS.

To begin with, this is illegal in the UK and those found guilty of it could get themselves a criminal record, it also costs other car drivers in excess of £500m each year, according to the Motor Insurers Bureau. This adds on average around £30 per insurance policy, so those who drive without insurance are forcing the insured to subsidize their driving.

“There is no question that driving without insurance is both unlawful and ill-advised,” says RIAS Managing Director Janet Connor. “If you are worried about the cost of insurance, it is worth talking to your insurance provider to check whether there are any savings to be made. At RIAS, for example, we specialise in finding tailored insurance solutions for the over 50s, who can often benefit from cheaper premiums because of low mileage, or because their cars are parked off-road or kept in a garage. We advise customers to ensure they ask about discounts and flexible payment plans when they call us for a quote.”

While steps are being taken by the police nationwide to reduce the numbers of uninsured drivers on British roads, but much can be done by all members of society and that neighbours, friends and family should not look the other way if we know of drivers that are evading car insurance.

Evading Car Insurance - the facts:

* Last year, around 160 deaths and 23,000 injuries road accident’s involved uninsured drivers.

* Claims processed against drivers without insurance can be a lot harder forthe victim to process.

* In 2007, more than 150,000 uninsured motor vehicles were taken by police - that’s one vehicle every three minutes.

* Number plate recognition technology and better link ups between police and insurance companies is facilitating police in the fight against unisured veichles.

1Source: The AA
2Research from the Motor Investigation Bureau, Report: The Road Ahead, Issue 15, 2007

*Call RIAS for a quote on your car insurance to see if we can save you money: 0800 052 5250

All products including http://www.rias.co.uk/home-insurance/overview Rias house insurance can be purchased online.

Janet Connor, Managing Director of RIAS is available for further comment and interview. To arrange an interview with, or photography of, Janet, please call Simon Robinson on 07976 329823 or e-mail srobinson@rias.co.uk.

About RIAS

* RIAS was founded in 1992 and is a specialist provider of insurance products for the over 50s age group

* RIAS negotiates with a panel of insurers to secure competitive, well priced products

* RIAS has over 970,000 customers and employs over 1,200 people across two locations - Bournemouth and Belfast

* In July 2007 RIAS’ home insurance contents and buildings policies received four ’Best Buy’ awards from Which? magazine

* In December 2007 RIAS won the ’Personal Lines Broker of the year" award at the Insurance Times awards

RIAS is part of Fortis (Insurance UK), a leading provider of award-winning personal and commercial lines insurance solutions in the UK and the 2007 British Insurance Awards ’General Insurer of the Year’. The insurer’s successful customer-centric strategy has been founded on aligning its activities to how customers want to buy insurance, combined with delivering high quality products, manufactured at costs better than market norms.

Contact Information

Sadie Shepard

Press Release Manager

Rias

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