Car insurance - I effed up big time

NCHM

Hi all,

My car insurance is out since July. It is easy for me to say, but there was no malice in it. I am a bit upset writing this but to be straight about it, I have MS and I am starting to forgetting things left-right, and center. I didn't think I'd be so bad as to forget something like this so this is a big deal and kick in the bits for me, for other reasons if you get me.

A Garda knocked on my window after I got into the car in a car park and asked me about it. At that moment, I was so convinced that I had the car insured. I gave them the story I got the insurance over a year ago, convinced that it had happened over the Summer. I had paid for it over the phone with a friend of a friend who works as a broker. This is why there was no email with the cert like you would have with the automated systems.

I volunteered to present it at the local Garda station, again convinced that I was insured. I can even remember getting a disc in the post and leaving it on the hall table, but again that was all last year!

The Garda said I sounded genuine, I gave them all my details and I was more than happy to get this cleared up at a station, all because I was convinced that I was okay. I will have no issue getting insurance tomorrow and presenting that but I am really worried about what is going to happen since it was out for a couple of months. I certainly was not trying to dodge by saying I would present the insurance, that is daft.

What confuses me is that I had an NCT the month after it went out and all was well there. I am not suggesting that I am blaming the NCT, more that I'd have checked all that was in order before going to the NCT. Again, I am remembering times a couple of years ago where I did this. I think I got away with it with the Garda because what email I could find happened to be a couple of weeks before the policy ended, with an address change.

Lord, I am at the end of this now and I can imagine the replies I may get to this, I'd just want to know how much bother I am going to be in over this. Insurance went out in July.

mgbgt1978

Whatever about anything else valid Insurance is not a requirement for the NCT.

Doctors room ghost

I’d say you need to speak to a solicitor

MrMusician18

I'm not going to get up l on a high horse and preach to you, everyone makes mistakes, forgets things.

You'll get fine for non display and a summons for not being insured.
You'll get a small fine in court and 5 penalty points, assuming this is the first time this has happened. Get yourself a solicitor when the summons arrives.

Judge might be lenient given the circumstances and waive the fine. Really depends on the day, no one can say here.

NCHM

MrMusician18 wrote: »

I'm not going to get up l on a high horse and preach to you, everyone makes mistakes, forgets things.

You'll get fine for non display and a summons for not being insured.
You'll get a small fine in court and 5 penalty points, assuming this is the first time this has happened. Get yourself a solicitor when the summons arrives.

Judge might be lenient given the circumstances and waive the fine. Really depends on the day, no one can say here.

When I go to the station to present what will be my new policy, the summons will be processed from there? The Garda said there was a 7 or 10 day period to do this but that would have been about a policy which I thought was in date at the time.

Thanks for the replies, I know no one can be concrete here, it is just to get an idea.

mgbgt1978

You will be presenting a policy that doesn't cover you for the date you spoke to this guard. It will be an invalid policy as far as the guards are concerned.
You could try to contact the Guard you met and explain your situation to him, but I don't imagine he was just wandering around a Car Park when he happened to meet you......

NCHM

mgbgt1978 wrote: »

You will be presenting a policy that doesn't cover you for the date you spoke to this guard.

I know that, I would not be trying to cover it with that but I would have thought that I still need to attend a station since they are expecting me, as such.

greasepalm

Put it this way its been a hell of a year for everyone due to covid and might i ask if the ms might affect your driving abilities and might the guards look for a med cert.All the best in getting it sorted out.

99nsr125

Get insurance

Present

Say nothing about the dates

It'll be logged as presented.

Only if he's a robo-cop will he even bother checking dates once it's logged as presented

Smee_Again

99nsr125 wrote: »

Get insurance

Present

Say nothing about the dates

It'll be logged as presented.

Only if he's a robo-cop will he even bother checking dates once it's logged as presented

This. Make them do the work but shoot yourself in the foot by not presenting.

fluke

99nsr125 wrote: »

Get insurance

Present

Say nothing about the dates

It'll be logged as presented.

Only if he's a robo-cop will he even bother checking dates once it's logged as presented

Totally agree on this.

Might also help if you have any Garda connections.

ThreeGreens

NCHM wrote: »

I know that, I would not be trying to cover it with that but I would have thought that I still need to attend a station since they are expecting me, as such.

Perhaps it might help if you compiled your previous 10 years of insurance so that you could show to the guard that you'd always insured your car in the past, without any breaks. Then get a letter from your doctor explaining that the MS can cause issues with remembering things.

Presenting that to the guard along with the new policy and a very contrite attitude might be enough for them to realise it was a genuine error and decide to do nothing more about it. But only if you can talk directly to the guard concerned.

If not, then maybe the advice above is better.

Del2005

ThreeGreens wrote: »

Perhaps it might help if you compiled your previous 10 years of insurance so that you could show to the guard that you'd always insured your car in the past, without any breaks. Then get a letter from your doctor explaining that the MS can cause issues with remembering things.

Presenting that to the guard along with the new policy and a very contrite attitude might be enough for them to realise it was a genuine error and decide to do nothing more about it. But only if you can talk directly to the guard concerned.

If not, then maybe the advice above is better.

The Gaurds can't do anything about it, they let too many friends off before so they've had a lot of discretion removed from them. Once it's in the PULSE system the OPs has to hope that no one notices the new policy is from after the date they where stopped.

Don't ever tell anyone that you forget stuff when dealing with driving, though OP you should probably talk to your doctor about it. This time you forgot to renew your insurance, what happens when you forget something when driving. You also missed your insurance being out even though you claim to have checked everything prior to your NCT

NCHM

Thanks for the replies. The combining documentation route is the one I'd go down. I'd not be inclined to see if the garda figures out the dates. Thanks for the replies.

On the point of driving with the condition, I'm extremely fortunate that my symptoms are mental at this time. 6 monthly checkups assess my fitness to drive etc. All is good there, just the memory is woeful. The list of birthdays of best friends I've forgotten is terrible but I've a good hand dealt when compared with others.

coylemj

99nsr125 wrote: »

Get insurance

Present

Say nothing about the dates

It'll be logged as presented.

Only if he's a robo-cop will he even bother checking dates once it's logged as presented

It's their business to make sure that the cert you produce covers the date you were stopped. Simply presenting a shiny new cert won't cut it.

If what you're suggesting is true, nobody would take out insurance until they got pulled over at a checkpoint.

99nsr125

coylemj wrote: »

It's their business to make sure that the cert you produce covers the date you were stopped. Simply presenting a shiny new cert won't cut it.

If what you're suggesting is true, nobody would take out insurance until they got pulled over at a checkpoint.

Well . . . . I'll let you dedude why I gave that advice