A change in the government car insurance regulations which is due to come into force shortly concerns cars which are off the road for any reason, even on a temporary basis. Unless these cars are declared SORN (Statutory Off Road Notification), they must now be insured. You can’t cancel your insurance because you don’t intend to use the vehicle during the winter months, as people often do at the moment for caravans and classic cars, or because you won’t need it for a while.
The change in the law will also affect your classic car if it’s taxed but not insured. If you have a vehicle that was manufactured before 01 January 1973 that has a ‘nil value’ tax disc, it is still considered by DVLA as taxed. So, you should make a SORN if it is uninsured and keep it off the road.
Vehicles which have been kept off-road since before SORN came into force on 31 January 1998 are exempt from this law unless they are brought back into use. If you want to bring the vehicle back into use, you will need to tax and insure it.
You can check on whether your car appears on the motor insurance register by clicking on this link and typing your registration number in: www.askmid.co.uk
If a vehicle does not have insurance, the registered keeper of it could:
receive a fixed penalty of £100
have their vehicle wheel-clamped, impounded, or destroyed
face a court prosecution, with a possible maximum penalty of £1000
If you would like to make a SORN declaration, click here.
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