# Mythbusting - MOT and insurance



## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

The recent thread about building licences wandered well off topic and into the area of car MOT's and insurance where some widely believed but completely false comments were posted, including a supposed quote from the road traffic act which I have to assume was deliberately doctored on the think money website linked to as it most certainly does not accurately reflect the facts.

For reference I've lifted this from the earlier thread.



Love Karma said:


> All I said was that by not having a current ITV or MOT whilst driving would render your insurance null and void/invalid, and that is all said. Nothing more. Which is FACT.
> 
> " Without a current MOT, your car insurance would become invalid. Not having a valid MOT certificate is illegal under Section 47 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and you run the risk of facing a £1,000 fine and a charge of six to eight penalty points on your licence by driving without one.
> 
> ...


The _true_ FACT of the matter is that having no current MOT *does NOT invalidate your insurance nor does it carry points on a licence.*

Rather than link to 3rd party or further removed sources I offer the official government web site where penalties for offences are tabulated. Yes the *potential* fine for not having an MOT is £1000 but that's pretty much a standard across the board _maximum_ tariff for a range of relatively minor offences which in the real world nominally attract a fixed penalty of what I believe is now £100. There is NO loss of points.

Insurance companies can write what they like into their policies but they cannot usurp the law which says that to cancel a policy they must write to the insured at their last notified address giving notice of their intent including the precise date and time the cover will cease allowing a reasonable period for the customer to receive the notification and arrange alternative cover. Typically that will be 7 or 14 days. 

Companies are specifically barred from unilaterally withdrawing cover without due notice and particularly retrospectively following an accident or claim and that's even if the cover has been taken out fraudulently or with false information.

All this means that once a policy has been issued then unless or until cancelled in accordance with due process the company remain liable for all 3rd party claims and their recourse is to take their customer to court to recover their losses.

As a footnote it's also widely believed, and not helped by insurance companies inserting clauses which are contrary to law and unenforceable, that if travelling abroad then after the number of days of foreign driving 'granted' by the company somehow the cover becomes null and void. This is totally wrong as EU law provides that all motor policies written it the EU MUST remain in force for the minimum 3rd party insurance required in the country in which the car is being driven for their entire duration.

That means that after however many days it happens to be if you have made no other arrangements for your cover to be extended to the same level you enjoy in UK then it falls to the afore said minimum. *At no point in the term of a policy are you uninsured*

This is all contained in the EU Directive on motor insurance and is quite properly designed to ensure that as far as practicably possible no driver is placed in the position of unwittingly driving without the minimum required insurance cover and therefore it's perfectly reasonable to assume that the same attaches to ITV's and insurance in Spain.

Finally on the matter of an insurance claim being denied simply due a missing MOT it's not that simple, for an insurer to do that they would have to prove that not only was the vehicle in an unroadworthy condition but also that untrustworthiness caused or significantly contributed to whatever occurred.


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

Well said Mata. 


For those who want to disagree re the insurance coverage throughout the EU:-

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/euro...s/vehicles/insurance/validity/indexamp_en.htm

Just. one thing though. Unless the law has changed, in spain if one is over the alcohol limit they are automatically not insured. In spain that means in the event of a blameworthy accident the innocent party would claim on the government Consortium cover and the guilty party, if they had full comp. cover, would not be paid out


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Doesn't your contract require the car to be roadworthy?

Is a car without a valid inspection considered roadworthy?

If the car isn't roadworthy it's not the insurance company that is withdrawing the insurance it's your failure to comply with the terms of the contract.


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

As set out by the OP, whilst an ITV is a legal requirement, not having one does not invalidate one’s insurance cover

Having an ITV only means that the vehicle was roadworthy ‘at the moment the test was performed.’ Not having one does mean the vehicle is not roadworthy. 

Easy example: you take a vehicle to be tested, on which the ITV has expired. It then passes the test. It was roadworthy before the Certificate was issued.

It is the responsibly of the driver to ensure that the vehicle is roadworthy when it is being used.

Driving a non roadworthy vehicle invalidates one’s insurance. That is agreed in the policy. If in doubt read your policy.


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## NickZ (Jun 26, 2009)

Juan C said:


> As set out by the OP, whilst an ITV is a legal requirement, not having one does not invalidate one’s insurance cover
> .


That misses the point.

Can you drive a car without a valid MOT? If not the insurance isn't valid. Not because the insurance company has canceled it but because you aren't allowed to drive it on the road.


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

Nick please read what I said and be aware the traffic offence of no ITV is not related to the validity of the insurance. If it were then everyone who was fined for not having an ITV would automatically be fined for driving without insurance. 

Sorry but I don’t think anyone can make that clearer, I can’t !


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## RagnBowman (Jul 23, 2019)

bottom line is regardless of how clever you think you are if you get stopped by Traffico/Guardia etc without a current ITV (if you have proof that you are on your way to the ITV station and have a valid appt thats different) all the "I know the law" attitude will get you nowhere and you'll get what penalty is due and possibly a bit of a slap.....has been known.


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

Rag 

In UK one can drive any distance, but by the shortest route, to an MOT appointment

In Spain that is not so, as far as this official page says:- 

https://www.google.com/search?q=googhle+travslate&ie=&oe=


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## RagnBowman (Jul 23, 2019)

Juan C said:


> Rag
> 
> In UK one can drive any distance, but by the shortest route, to an MOT appointment
> 
> ...


Your link makes no sense,it certainly isn't an "Official Page" but either way if you are driving in Spain without an ITV expect to suffer the consequences regardless. Any amount of "I know the law", will get you nowhere it will just irritate them and you will probably bear the brunch one way or the other.


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

RagnBowman said:


> bottom line is regardless of how clever you think you are if you get stopped by Traffico/Guardia etc without a current ITV (if you have proof that you are on your way to the ITV station and have a valid appt thats different) all the "I know the law" attitude will get you nowhere and you'll get what penalty is due and possibly a bit of a slap.....has been known.


You cannot drive a car without an ITV anywhere, not even to an appointment. 

Any clause in a Spanish policy saying that cover is invalidated by x or y can only apply to your own losses, as I pointed out the EU directive unequivocally barrs invalidating cover for 3rd party risks which at the end of the day is what actualy matters.


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## RagnBowman (Jul 23, 2019)

MataMata said:


> You cannot drive a car without an ITV anywhere, not even to an appointment.


Surely if through no fault of your own your ITV has run out because they had no Appts until a week after it expired you can drive it to the appt? Happened to me a few yrs back, hate to think I was driving illegally


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## MataMata (Nov 30, 2008)

You were and no you can't drive with an expired ITV but I'm curious how an ITV running out can be anything but the owners fault ?

Firstly you don't need an appointment, you can just rock up and wait in line as many do, get there at sparrow fart in the morning and you can actually go through before some of the appointmented cars !

Additionally you can voluntarily take the test up to a month before it's due but the sticker will be dated from the expiry date of the old one so you lose nothing and in fact have an up to 13 month ITV. 

Also if an ITV is going to run out when you not in country to renew it yourself there are any number of people and garages who will do it all for you.


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## Juan C (Sep 4, 2017)

If it is not convenient to be able to wait for the time when the test is due, going away on holiday etc., it can be done at anytime before the due date. Not just a month before. Of course that may mean the next one will be due 12 months after the date of the test.


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## Stevesolar (Dec 21, 2012)

Hi,
Whilst an insurance company might need to provide 3rd party cover in the event of an accident - if the insured is over the drink/drive limit or their car is in a dangerous condition - then I can easily imagine the insurance company suing the insured to cover their costs (as well as cancelling the policy going forward).
Cheers
Steve


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