Not displaying current insurance disc

Lottie75

I have insured my new (secondhand) car but don't have my disc yet. Can I drive while waiting for my disc to arrive. Bank holiday weekend trip planned!!!

Heroditas

Lottie75 wrote: »

I have insured my new (secondhand) car but don't have my disc yet. Can I drive while waiting for my disc to arrive. Bank holiday weekend trip planned!!!

Have you changed your policy?
If so, try and get a printout detailing the policy has been changed and use your old disc. Your insurance is valid so you'd be fine.

L1011

Legally no.

Basically, yes. If you had insurance before, bring that cert with you. If not, and you get stopped, explain the story to the Guard and actively offer to bring the cert to a station as soon as it arrives. It'd take an absolute twat of a Guard to summons you for non-display in this case and there isn't a hope in hell a judge would fine you if they did and you came to court with a valid insurance cert for that day.

Lottie75

This is my first insurance policy so I don't have an old cert!!!

Heroditas

Lottie75 wrote: »

This is my first insurance policy so I don't have an old cert!!!

Can you get something printed out from your online account (if you have one)?

Lottie75

Heroditas wrote: »

Can you get something printed out from your online account (if you have one)?

Don't have one. I do have my policy number. So I could give that to the guards, but could they still give me an on the spot fine for non display?

bazz26

If stopped a Garda will most likely ask you to produce the insurance cert at a Garda station of your choice. Once you are covered it shouldn't be any hassle to call into a Garda station and produce it.

_Kaiser_

Call your insurance company and get them to fax/email you a confirmation of cover statement. Print this out and keep it in the car till the disc arrives.

Lottie75

bazz26 wrote: »

If stopped a Garda will most likely ask you to produce the insurance cert at a Garda station of your choice. Once you are covered it shouldn't be any hassle to call into a Garda station and produce it.

Okay.. Gonna give it a go and drive to my weekend away!! Fingers crossed

Lottie75

Thanks!!!

TheNog

Lottie75 wrote: »

I have insured my new (secondhand) car but don't have my disc yet. Can I drive while waiting for my disc to arrive. Bank holiday weekend trip planned!!!

You are given 10 days grace from the time your insurance cover kicks in to the time you must have a valid insurance disc displayed in your windscreen. If you are stopped before the disc arrives you can explain you have new insurance and will be told to produce the insurance cert within 10 days at a Garda Station of your choice.

freedom of info

Lottie75 wrote: »

I have insured my new (secondhand) car but don't have my disc yet. Can I drive while waiting for my disc to arrive. Bank holiday weekend trip planned!!!

you can if you have a cover note

Lottie75

TheNog wrote: »

You are given 10 days grace from the time your insurance cover kicks in to the time you must have a valid insurance disc displayed in your windscreen. If you are stopped before the disc arrives you can explain you have new insurance and will be told to produce the insurance cert within 10 days at a Garda Station of your choice.

Good to know, Thank you! Don't think I can go now anyhow, as I realised this morning that the tax on the damn car ran out at midnight last night, and I can't renew it til Tuesday now!!! I'm just not meant to have this weekend away!!!

TheNog

Lottie75 wrote: »

Good to know, Thank you! Don't think I can go now anyhow, as I realised this morning that the tax on the damn car ran out at midnight last night, and I can't renew it til Tuesday now!!! I'm just not meant to have this weekend away!!!

You can still go because you are given one months grace to get your motor tax in order.

Enjoy the weekend

oldyouth

MYOB wrote: »

Legally no.

Legally, yes

You are insured to drive it, once it was confirmed by your insurers. You would have 10 days to produce documentation, if requested

Lottie75

TheNog wrote: »

You can still go because you are given one months grace to get your motor tax in order.

Enjoy the weekend

Thank you!! Am having fun!

kasper

slightly off the subject insurance discs in ireland are square

AugustusMaximus

kasper wrote: »

slightly off the subject insurance discs in ireland are square

Harder to get into the holder but at least it means they are perfectly level for Gardai to read them

danempire

I received a fine from gardai for non displaying insurance disc, though I showed him a letter from my insurance company, confirming the coverage, when he stopped me. Now I finally received my disc after 4 months. Should I pay the fine of e60 and avoid the court or is there a chance that judge would strike it out? Thanks for the advice.

slimjimmc

danempire wrote: »

I received a fine from gardai for non displaying insurance disc, though I showed him a letter from my insurance company, confirming the coverage, when he stopped me. Now I finally received my disc after 4 months. Should I pay the fine of e60 and avoid the court or is there a chance that judge would strike it out? Thanks for the advice.

Sounds like you were caught fair and square. Take the hit, learn from it and move on.
BTW. How on earth did it take 4 mths to get a disc? Have you not been pestering your insurer for it?

bazz26

danempire wrote: »

I received a fine from gardai for non displaying insurance disc, though I showed him a letter from my insurance company, confirming the coverage, when he stopped me. Now I finally received my disc after 4 months. Should I pay the fine of e60 and avoid the court or is there a chance that judge would strike it out? Thanks for the advice.

You didn't get a fine for not having insurance, you got a fine for not displaying the insurance disc.

No offense but surely if you are willing to go to court to fight a €60 fine should you not have equally fought with your insurance company to send you the disc in a timely manner to avoid getting the fine in the first place?

wiger toods

slimjimmc wrote: »

Sounds like you were caught fair and square. Take the hit, learn from it and move on.
BTW. How on earth did it take 4 mths to get a disc? Have you not been pestering your insurer for it?

oh it can, believe me. im still waiting for mine, ITS BEEN TWO MONTHS ALREADY!

Dempo1

wiger toods wrote: »

oh it can, believe me. im still waiting for mine, ITS BEEN TWO MONTHS ALREADY!

Just came across this, 4 / 2 months waiting for an insurance disc? this is extraordinary and surely questionable. Are you using a broker or dealing direct with the insurance company? normally discs/certs are issued on payment, if your with a broker, no more than a few days to get the cert and disc.

If you were stopped, even if the current disc was out by a few days, your automatically not displaying current insurance information, 2/4 months delay the gardai could techinically take the car off you.

Bizzare? can you name the broker/insurance company

wiger toods

Dempo1 wrote: »

Just came across this, 4 / 2 months waiting for an insurance disc? this is extraordinary and surely questionable. Are you using a broker or dealing direct with the insurance company? normally discs/certs are issued on payment, if your with a broker, no more than a few days to get the cert and disc.

If you were stopped, even if the current disc was out by a few days, your automatically not displaying current insurance information, 2/4 months delay the gardai could techinically take the car off you.

Bizzare? can you name the broker/insurance company

the broker is munster group and the company is chartis insurance ireland ltd. i think they are based in dublin. ive paid my deposit and a direct debit payment already so far. i really am starting to think i will never get the disc. im on the phone to them every week, and im told it will be with me soon. wonder can i get my money back off them?

Dempo1

wiger toods wrote: »

the broker is munster group and the company is chartis insurance ireland ltd. i think they are based in dublin. ive paid my deposit and a direct debit payment already so far. i really am starting to think i will never get the disc. im on the phone to them every week, and im told it will be with me soon. wonder can i get my money back off them?

This is quite frankly arlarming and outrageous and i am begining to wonder are you covered at all. As a matter of urgency you need to contact the financial regulator whom Munster Insurances claim to be regulated by.

Immediately contact them!

wiger toods

Dempo1 wrote: »

This is quite frankly arlarming and outrageous and i am begining to wonder are you covered at all. As a matter of urgency you need to contact the financial regulator whom Munster Insurances claim to be regulated by.

Immediately contact them!

well im going to have to do something, because the last time i was talking to the broker was the bank holiday weekend in october, they told me the same old story. so fast forward what must be almost two weeks later, and ive still nothing on the windscreen. i do have a cover letter, with my policy number on it, so i must have some sort of cover surely?:D

Dempo1

wiger toods wrote: »

well im going to have to do something, because the last time i was talking to the broker was the bank holiday weekend in october, they told me the same old story. so fast forward what must be almost two weeks later, and ive still nothing on the windscreen. i do have a cover letter, with my policy number on it, so i must have some sort of cover surely?:D

Not necessarily, send me a few bob and i'll submit you a policy number. You run the serious risk of having the car taken off you if you come across a check point, no gard is going to believe its taking this long for a disc. Its up to you but something fishy is going on. Hope your keeping recipts also.

slimjimmc

Dempo1 wrote: »

Just came across this, 4 / 2 months waiting for an insurance disc? this is extraordinary and surely questionable. Are you using a broker or dealing direct with the insurance company? normally discs/certs are issued on payment, if your with a broker, no more than a few days to get the cert and disc.

Indeed, if you're waiting any longer than a week then your being messed around with. It's not on to have to wait any longer for an insurance disc once you're paid up.

Dempo1 wrote: »

If you were stopped, even if the current disc was out by a few days, your automatically not displaying current insurance information,

You are permitted to not display an insurance disc for 10 days from expiry of the policy. SI 227/1986 (read Sect 5.1 of SI 355/1984 for context ).

Dempo1 wrote: »

2/4 months delay the gardai could techinically take the car off you[/B].

Bizzare? can you name the broker/insurance company

According to the Road Traffic Act 1994 Sect 41 the circumstances under which a Gárda has the power to seize the car are:
a) if the thinks you're too young to hold a licence and you can't produce one on demand to prove otherwise
b) if he thinks you're an Irish resident driving a foreign registered car
c) motor tax expired by 2 months (as ammended from the 3 months quoted in the Act)

From what I can see non-display of an insurance disc (or tax disc for that matter) do not appear to be situations under which a Garda can lawfully seize a car. It's daft imo but they don't have that power.

Dempo1 wrote: »

Not necessarily, send me a few bob and i'll submit you a policy number. You run the serious risk of having the car taken off you if you come across a check point, no gard is going to believe its taking this long for a disc. Its up to you but something fishy is going on. Hope your keeping recipts also.

As above they can't seize for non-display of insurance from what I can see.

[edit]
The 2006 RTA added drink driving, no NCT or worthiness cert to the list of seizable offences
[/edit]

wiger toods

well finally got the disc this morning. patience is a virtue after all!:D

Mary Hairy

danempire wrote: »

I received a fine from gardai for non displaying insurance disc, though I showed him a letter from my insurance company, confirming the coverage, when he stopped me. Now I finally received my disc after 4 months. Should I pay the fine of e60 and avoid the court or is there a chance that judge would strike it out? Thanks for the advice.

If you only had arranged the insurance within the previous 10 days you have a good defence. Otherwise,most judges will strike it out if you were insured.

Dempo1

danempire wrote: »

I received a fine from Gardai for non displaying insurance disc, though I showed him a letter from my insurance company, confirming the coverage, when he stopped me. Now I finally received my disc after 4 months. Should I pay the fine of e60 and avoid the court or is there a chance that judge would strike it out? Thanks for the advice.

What in heavens name is going on with 4 month delays for Insurance Disc's, in all my years i have never heard of such a thing? its bizarre. At best a disc should be given on receipt of payment or within a few days by post. These delays are extraordinary and its no wonder a Gard is going to question the presence of Insurance, I am also quite sure a Judge would be less than impressed. I am also curious, other posters mentioned the Gardai can not seize a car for non display of an insurance disc but this begs the question, how are those facing these delays getting tax on cars without proof of insurance? none display of tax for an extended can lead to a care being seized and i am aware Gardai know a tell tale sign of no insurance is no tax! Just curious!

slimjimmc

Dempo1 wrote: »

What in heavens name is going on with 4 month delays for Insurance Disc's, in all my years i have never heard of such a thing? its bizarre. At best a disc should be given on receipt of payment or within a few days by post. These delays are extraordinary and its no wonder a Gard is going to question the presence of Insurance, I am also quite sure a Judge would be less than impressed. I am also curious, other posters mentioned the Gardai can not seize a car for non display of an insurance disc but this begs the question, how are those facing these delays getting tax on cars without proof of insurance? none display of tax for an extended can lead to a care being seized and i am aware Gardai know a tell tale sign of no insurance is no tax! Just curious!

4 months is scandalous alright, both on the insurer/broker in creating the delay and on the customer for allowing the situation run this far.
You only need the insurer's name and the policy number, both of which you can get with a phone call to your insurer or broker. Physical insurance certificate or disc is not required for motor tax purposes.

Dempo1

slimjimmc wrote: »

4 months is scandalous alright, both on the insurer/broker in creating the delay and on the customer for allowing the situation run this far.
You only need the insurer's name and the policy number, both of which you can get with a phone call to your insurer or broker. Physical insurance certificate or disc is not required for motor tax purposes.

Yes i agree but i am flabbergasted any broker or insurance company would cause a 4 month delay, its bizarre and i have never heard of such a thing, Jezzz i would be jumping up and down brokers office desk if this happened to me. I am sure there must be a law requiring and insurance disc display within an agreed time frame, can you imagine the Gard's face, sorry I'm waiting 4 months for my disc?