The government is expected to unveil plans tomorrow to crack down on Britain's 1 million uninsured drivers.
It is estimated that at least 1 million people, or 5% of British motorists, break the law by driving without insurance, and accidents involving these drivers cost more than £500m a year.
As a result, insurers pass the cost on in the form of an additional 6%, or £30, on top of the average motor insurance policy.
People involved in accidents with uninsured drivers usually have to claim on their own policies, which means they lose out on no-claims discounts and are liable for any policy excess - often several hundred pounds.
A range of recommendations on dealing with the problem are expected to come out of an independent review of the problem by David Greenaway, professor of economics at the University of Nottingham. These are likely to include stricter punishment for people caught driving without insurance and stronger enforcement of the law by the police.
Research by the Association of British Insurers has shown uninsured drivers to be more likely to be involved in serious driving offences than insured drivers, 10 times more likely to drink and drive and six times more likely to drive an unroadworthy car.
Ahead of Prof Greenaway's report, a survey of over 1,000 motorists carried out by insurer More Than showed that there was strong support for firmer action against uninsured drivers. Almost a third (30%) of people said they would favour the confiscation of vehicles, and the same amount said uninsured drivers should be subject to a total ban. A fifth said that there should be a large fine, while 16% even favoured imprisonment.
David Pitt, head of motor insurance at More Than, said: "The problem of uninsured drivers has been escalating and is an issue that needs to be tackled. Rather than being seen as another anti-motorist measure, our research shows that this would be a popular move by the government."
More Than would like to see the existing databases of taxed vehicles, a motor insurers' database of insured vehicles and the police national computer linked together in an effort to tackle the problem.
