Jan 7, 2021
In the UK, it’s possible to insure a car without having a valid MOT but like most things with car insurance, it’s a little more complicated than simply insuring the car without the valid MOT certificate.
The first thing we want to note is that you cannot legally drive your car without a valid MOT, and here are the exemptions to this:
● You’re driving your car to a pre-booked MOT test, should you get stopped on your journey you are required to give proof of your test appointment.
● You are driving your car to have the necessary repairs carried out for your MOT test.
If your car is less than 3 years old, you do not have to have an MOT test until the 3rd anniversary of its registration date, in Northern Ireland your first MOT will be after 4 years. From there, you will need to take your car for an MOT test every 12 months. Drivers can now check the MOT status and history of their vehicle on the Gov.uk site.
You must insure your car to drive it to its MOT test
Your car needs to be insured whenever you’re driving it, even if you are just taking it to an MOT and back. It’s illegal to drive without insurance, even when you’re driving an uninsured car to a pre-booked MOT appointment and if you get stopped, you can face a fine.
If the person who drove your car got into an accident, both they and you as the ‘registered keeper’ of the vehicle would be in trouble. It’s up to the driver to keep the car roadworthy. Make sure the car is fit to drive and double-check that the car’s MOT is valid.
How to insure your car to get it to the MOT test If you now find yourself needing insurance to get your car to the MOT test you have a few options:
● Buy a full car insurance policy - This should still be valid without an MOT providing your car is in a roadworthy condition.
● Temporary car insurance - You are able to buy temporary policies, however, some will not cover you to drive to your MOT test. If you don’t want to spend a lot of money just to get your car checked, you can search for short-term cover.
● Tow instead of insuring your car - If you don’t wish to get your car insured, you could always ask your mechanic to tow the car to their shop, it may be expensive but sometimes this may be the better option as you won’t need any insurance to do this.
If you need to find a local garage in your area to carry out repairs, use MyCarNeedsA.com, we can save you both time and money by finding reputable garages. Get your quotes!
