Continuous Insurance Might Be Introduced In Ireland
It appears that Ireland are set to follow the example set in the UK and introduce legislation to make it an offence to own a car that is not insured. The department of Transport are believed to be looking in to introducing a requirement for car owners to have continuous motor insurance in Ireland, whether the vehicle is on the road or not.
Under Irish law, motorists are required to register a vehicle as being off the road and therefore not needing insurance. The UK introduced a law that makes it an offence to own an uninsured car, even if it is kept in a garage and off the road, which is something Ireland might initiate.
If the law was introduced it would be the latest in a series of changes to effect the enforcement of uninsured driving in the country, following the new automatic number plate reading system that is operated by An Garda. This allows uninsured vehicles to be identified by cameras that are installed by marked and unmarked Garda cars.
The insurance industry has reacted saying that the introduction of continuous insurance is something that would be interested in, but have questioned if the information currently held on databases was up to date and accurate enough for the system to come into effect in the near future.
It is estimated that there are approximately 100,000 uninsured vehicles in the State, which totals 5 per cent of all vehicles in the country. In 2010, the Motor Insurers Bureau paid out 59 million euro to just under 3,500 victims of collisions with motorists driving without insurance.
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