Car insurance should be renewed in good time to avoid penalties

With the strong possibility of more postal strikes to come, specialist insurance broker Footman James is warning customers to renew their car insurance in good time to avoid penalty points, fines or having their vehicle impounded and crushed.

Paul Matthews, Footman James’ managing director, said: "Our records show that 16 per cent of motorists leave renewing their insurance until the actual day it is due for renewal. In fact, 60 per cent renew within only four days of their renewal date and nearly three per cent actually renew after their renewal date. There are no days of grace – you’re either insured or you’re not."

He added that occurrences such as postal strike action mean that people who prefer to renew by post could have their paperwork delayed and therefore not processed in time.

As a large insurance broker, Footman James has the daily duty of updating details on the Motor Insurance Database (MID) which was launched to help combat uninsured driving and contains the details of all insured vehicles on the UK’s roads.