Insurance warning for Bay drivers

Western Bay of Plenty road police are warning drivers to get insured. Photo / George Novak

It doesn't matter how much Western Bay drivers fork out for insurance, if they get behind the wheel when they shouldn't be, they'll foot the bill, a Western Bay of Plenty road police boss warns.

The comments follow a 25 per cent jump in car crashes caused by uninsured drivers nationwide.

Head of Western Bay road policing acting Senior Sergeant Mike Owen said disqualified and drunk drivers accounted for a number of "uninsured" drivers.

"Even though you might have insurance on your vehicle, [drunk or disqualified] drivers aren't covered by those policies. They then [become] uninsured drivers."

Drunk and disqualified drivers negated any insurance policy, no matter how comprehensive it was, he said.

"Insurance companies are not going to pay out if that disqualified driver has a crash."

In the year to May, AA Insurance handled $7.7 million in claims involving 3000 uninsured drivers -- $2 million more than the same period last year.

The number of uninsured drivers involved also rose by 700. AA Insurance head of customer relations Suzanne Wolton said the increase was disturbing. "Uninsured drivers can amass big debts if involved in a crash, and this can have life-changing consequences."

An AA driver survey this year revealed the main reasons drivers go uninsured were the cost, a belief the car wasn't worth insuring, or the driver wasn't eligible for cover.

One uninsured driver was facing a $41,000 repair bill after rear-ending an AA customer's car. "The simple fact is that if you don't have insurance, but damage someone else's property and it's your fault, then you're liable to pay for it," Ms Wolton said. "We still have drivers on our books who been paying off their debt since the 1990s. Imagine what they could have purchased with that money."

It's estimated that at least a quarter of a million, or 8.5 per cent, of cars on New Zealand roads are uninsured.

What to do following an accident:

• Check that everybody involved in the collision is okay and call the emergency services if necessary
• Don't try to settle the claim yourself - leave it to your insurer
• Keep a pen and paper in the car for writing down details
• Take a picture of the scene with a camera or your phone
• Make sure you get the other driver's correct registration number, name and contact number or address details
• Contact your insurer and provide as much information as you can
- AA Insurance