Pedal is a system with 20 unique features, each of which can add value to your overall driving experience. Metric by metric, Pedal is syncing you with your vehicle like you’ve never seen before. Among the features is on that offers a crucial reminder as to when your insurance policy is due for renewal. We simply call the feature, “Insurance Reminders.”

Car insurance is a commodity that no driver can do without, and we mean that in the legal sense as well as in common sense. Since 1930 and the introduction of the Road Traffic Act, car insurance became a compulsory item; every driver had to be insured for their liability in an incident for any injury or even death caused.

Back then, it was all a very new concept, but nowadays of course it is commonplace and there are something like 340 general insurers in the UK according to the Association of British Insurers. Many of them we now through comparison websites to get the best deal and have the option to pay monthly or in a single annual premium.

But what happens if we lose track of time and forget to renew the policy on time? Then we would be driving without insurance. This is where Pedal steps in to help.

Pedal - Insurance Reminders

How Does It Work

Once the system knows your current insurance information, it will hold a reminder of the date that renewal is due within your “Renewal Date” section of the dashboard. All you have to do is login to your Pedal account and within the dashboard display you’ll see the section there for all your important renewals, which includes:

• Road Tax
• MOT
• Insurance
• Cam belt

Once the system is synced up to your smartphone, you will also receive notifications in advance of when due dates are approaching, giving you time to make the arrangements to renew your coverage.

Why is the Pedal Insurance Reminders Feature So Useful?

It’s a simple feature, but it ensures that you continuously have a critical bit of information at your fingertip all the time. The main value of this feature is in how it helps you avoid the potential consequences of missing or otherwise being late for renewing your car insurance. As you are likely aware and as we mentioned above, it has long been the law in the UK for all drivers to carry proper insurance to cover their liability. To be without it even for part of a day is committing an offence and risking some pretty serious punitive measures from the authorities. We’ll explore those possible consequences in more detail further below, but here in summary is what can happen to you if you are discovered driving without insurance:

• An unpleasant appointment in the Magistrates Court
• You must prove that you had valid insurance
• If you can’t prove it:

• Fixed penalty of £300
• 6 points on your driving licence at least
• Potential for 8 points depending on case details
• Potential for unlimited fines
• Authorities have discretion to disqualify you from driving
• An offence marked in your driving record for 4 years

As you can see, it’s no slap on the wrist. In fact, the courts take an extremely dim view on driving uninsured, even when there no accidents or personal liability claims made against you. The mere idea that you could have caused an accident without being insured for the liability is all they need.

Interestingly, driving without insurance is one of the few crimes where the defendant is expected to prove their innocence. Acting on existing information to prosecute, the court considers you guilty unless you can produce valid paperwork that refutes their claim completely.

Therefore, it’s easy to see that a tidy application that is able to warn you in advance more than once that your car insurance renewal date is coming up soon is a very useful tool indeed.

What Kinds of Car Insurance Do You Need?

Drivers in the UK are fortunate to not just have a choice in insurance providers, but also in the types of insurance that they can purchase. The three main types are:

• Third party only
• Third party fire and theft
• Comprehensive

There are many additional forms of cover, too. For example, if you lease or buy the car on finance, as many people do nowadays, then you might have something called gap coverage within your policy. Gap coverage is such that in the event of your leased or rented car being written off, the difference between how much you have left to pay and how much your car is worth (residual value) is paid for you.

People buy different insurance depending on their exact needs. You buy third party only when you drive an old car that’s barely worth more than the annual premium of comprehensive insurance. You buy fully comp. insurance when you have a lot more to lose from an accident and need the additional cover. There are only rules on what kind of insurance you must have if you are leasing or buying the car on finance. In these two situations, the leasing company or finance company may insist that you take out comprehensive insurance and nothing less.

The Dangers of Driving with No Insurance

Pedal helps you keep your insurance renewal dates, among other things, well documented and in good order. It will remind you when important renewal dates are coming, thus giving you the peace of mind to just get on with your life and not worry about missing an important deadline. No more will you have to scribble things on wall and desk calendars or hold on to useless bits of paper that you may or may not remember to check the dates on before it’s too late.

But what’s the harm in missing a half day, or even a fully day or two? What really are the odds that you are going to have an accident or a claim in that time? It can’t be a matter of any real urgency or seriousness.

The Law and Car Insurance

As we touched on above, law enforcement and the judicial system take an extremely dim view on people driving without insurance. They’d take an even worse view if you seemed to either not understand or not care about the consequences of your actions should you be caught driving without insurance.

You will have to prove yourself innocent. As we said above, this is one of the few curious legal situations in which you will be assumed to be guilty according to whatever information was brought to the court’s attention. After that, it’s up to you produce the documents that prove you did have valid insurance at the time in question. If you fail to do so, then things will only get worse for you.

Fines starting at £300, but stretching to infinity. In law at least, there’s nothing to stop the court from imposing a crippling fine upon you if they saw fit. If you indeed had only been without insurance for a day and you expressed sufficient remorse and had proven action to rectify the situation immediately, they will likely be more lenient. For those more serious offenders who have really missed the boat on their insurance renewal (definitely not users of Pedal, then), the penalties get very steep.

Blemish on your driving record lasting 4 years. The driving violation code for driving without insurance is known as IN10. This will be featured on your driving record for the next 4 years. What’s more, you’d have to declare it on any insurance application you made for the following 5 years, and that would undoubtedly make future premiums cost more for you.

Use Pedal and Never Miss Your Car Insurance Renewal

Pedal will help you to ensure you never miss an important renewal date, be it for insurance, MOT, or an important service. Pedal is helping drivers everywhere to keep their cars in better order. Sign up for the service today, login and see the fantastic features of Pedal for yourself.