• Car insurance is a legal requirement on U.K. roads.car image by red2000 from Fotolia.com
  
  In the United Kingdom, it is against the law to drive a vehicle on public roads without an insurance policy. According to the Road Traffic Act 1988, a person must not use a motor vehicle on the road unless they have at least third party personal injury insurance. A third party insurance policy covers the driver of the vehicle for any costs incurred by other parties in an incident for which said driver is responsible. Third party policies cover the property of the other injured party, the legal fees of the injured party and the driver who's policy it is. They also cover compensation regarding the injury or death of other parties,
  
  

Section 143 (1)(a)

• Section 143(1)(a) of the Road Trafic Act 1988 makes it an offense to drive, or allow another to drive, a vehicle on a public road without at least third party insurance. Such insurance is not required for driving a vehicle on private land.
  
  

Exemptions from the 1988 Act

• Police authorities, fire authorities, educational authorities, health service bodies and security services are exempt from the 1988 act and are not required to be covered.The act also states that: "A person charged with using a motor vehicle in contravention of this section shall not be convicted if he proves---
  (a) that the vehicle did not belong to him and was not in his possession under a contract of hiring or of loan,
  (b) that he was using the vehicle in the course of his employment, and
  (c) that he neither knew nor had reason to believe that there was not in force in relation to the vehicle such a policy of insurance."
  
  

"Producers"

• When a driver takes out an insurance policy she is issued with a cover note that constitutes legal evidence that her vehicle is insured. The authorities may, at times, require the driver to produce this document to prove that the vehicle is insured. If the document can not be produced at the time, a HORT/1 (referred to by all as a "producer") is issued. This is a document that requires the driver to attend a police station of his choice, within seven days of issue in order to produce a valid insurance document and driving license.
  
  

Road Tax

• U.K motorists are required to pay road tax and display a tax sticker on their vehicle to prove that they have done so. To obtain a tax sticker, the vehicle's owner must prove that the vehicle is insured. In this way the tax sticker system helps to ensure that drivers adequately insure their vehicles.