Driving without car insurance is illegal in the UK and those who are caught face heavy penalties. It's also not acceptable to simply have any type of insurance policy, you must be insured for the particular car you're driving on a public road, although some products will cover someone for a wide range of vehicles. Skipping the requirement is also unnecessary as a wide British market means car insurance policies are simple to arrange and priced competitively.

The police can even seize your vehicle if they discover you're driving without insurance, and following any court hearing you can end up with fines and points on your licence. In the long run, you could be completely disqualified from driving and even face a prison sentence if you continually flout the law. This has serious consequences, and it's worth mentioning that many employers require people to have a full clean driving licence before they will consider them for a job. Any kind of criminal record may also affect your employment chances in future.

The Law

The laws were brought into being by the Road Traffic Act of 1930, which made it compulsory for the driver of a car on a public road to be insured against possible liability regarding the potential death or injury of a third party. As such, the type of car insurance known as third party only is the minimum legal requirement. This will only pay out against claims and damage to a third party in an accident which was your fault.

A quick search using a car insurance comparison website can help you to compare different policies and see how cheap some of them can be. You can try mixing and matching different features on the products to alter prices, and could be surprised by how little car insurance cover can cost. Most car insurance companies provide you with the option of either paying up front for a year or spreading your premium over a year before it comes up for renewal, effectively making the payments more manageable.

Extras

Many firms do not just offer insurance with their cover, but also a breakdown service thrown in as well. You can also control the cost of your car insurance by modifying what is known as the voluntary excess, which is a fee you agree to pay initially in the event of any claim before the insurance company starts to pay out. So, if you had a voluntary excess of ?00, and have an accident which incurred ?00 pounds in damage, you would first pay ?00 yourself before the insurance company paid the rest of the bill. Pushing up your voluntary excess can reduce your premium further, although it's important to bear in mind what you can actually afford in the event of an accident.

With the police and courts taking a particularly dim view of uninsured drivers, getting a car insurance policy is essential and need not break the bank either. The wide variety of policies out there also means those who are caught attract little sympathy - whatever their excuse for not having cover in place.

Russell Marlow is a London based freelance writer who writes about financial products including car insurance