Driving without insurance: the penalties

Driving without insurance: the penalties

Legally, what is the risk if you drive without insurance?

Beyond a simple ticket, driving without insurance or "lacking insurance" constitutes a violation of the law which can have several consequences.

The perpetrator is fined 3,750 euros. This fine, once pronounced, can be accompanied by a multitude of penalties such as:

the suspension of the license or its cancellation with a ban on obtaining a new one for an average of three years,
the ban on driving certain types of motorized land vehicles for a maximum period of 5 years,
the possibility of carrying out work of general interest,
the obligation to complete a road safety awareness course at their own expense or the confiscation of the vehicle.
Those who default on insurance may have difficulty finding a new insurer later on, and auto insurance prices may rise.

What about in the event of involvement in an accident?

Road accident in car

For an insured car, it is the insurer's responsibility to cover the owner's civil liability and therefore to pay compensation for victims of an accident.

In the absence of insurance, the settlement is a little more complicated and can cost the person responsible for the accident much more. In this case, the Automobile Guarantee Fund will be responsible for compensating the victims. This does not mean that the perpetrator is responsible for this, since he in turn will have to reimburse the FGA.

Practical questions relating to auto insurance

How much can it cost to purchase an insurance company?

Insurance costs depend on several factors. First, for drivers with less than three years of experience or after three years of insurance default, an additional premium will be applied to the subscription for the next two years. It can range from a maximum of 100% of the basic contribution for third party insurance and 50% in the second year if the insured has not had an accident. This will be canceled in the third year, provided that the insured has not committed any responsible accident.

Then, the car to be insured and its type of use are also decisive. For new high value cars, powerful cars with high speed capacity as well as for cars used daily in a profession, the premiums are much high, as the risks are rated as greater than average.

Finally, the traffic area could also determine the rates in an auto insurance. Large agglomerations are considered to be more exposed to possible accidents.