ALMOST half a million UK motorists (473,564) were handed penalty points for driving without insurance (an IN10 endorsement) between 2010 and 2013, according to analysis of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request by Churchill Car Insurance.

Data from the FOI request revealed there are currently 50,544 motorists that hold other driving endorsements alongside an IN10 for driving without insurance.

Analysis reveals that 1,414 motorists still hold a valid licence despite having 12 or more penalty points on it, with at least some of these awarded for uninsured driving in 2013. One driver from Cheshire still holds their licence despite having 36 points.

The average fine issued by the courts for the offence was £322 in 2012, excluding fixed penalties issued by the police. Despite penalties increasing 13 per cent between 2010 and 2012, court fines remain a fraction of the £5,000 maximum penalty.

Churchill’s findings also highlight a lack of national consistency in the level of fines awarded by the court. In 2012, Warwickshire handed out the largest average fines at £385, around 50 per cent higher than the lowest in South Yorkshire, where fines averaged £260.

Being uninsured on the road is described "a danger to other road users and unfair to law-abiding motorists" yet the maximum court fine for driving without insurance is just £5,000, in contrast to a maximum court fine of £2,500 for littering and £1,000 for failure to pay for a TV licence.

Although uninsured drivers could be issued with a fixed penalty of £300, it is unlikely to deter the persistent uninsured driver. Previous research found that motorists would support a higher fine of £900 to deter uninsured drivers.

Steve Barrett, head of car insurance at Churchill, said: “A number of improvements have been made to tackle the issue of uninsured drivers over the past couple of years but there are still a shocking number of irresponsible motorists taking to the roads without mandatory cover.

"Untraced and uninsured drivers cause 130 deaths and over 26,000 injuries every year, so more must be done to stamp out this problem.

“The average motorist prosecuted for driving without insurance is fined only a fraction of the maximum penalty. Higher fines, especially those that exceed the cost of the average motor insurance premium, will undoubtedly help discourage offenders.”

The fixed penalty charge for motorists caught driving uninsured is £300 - up from £200 since August, 2013 - and six penalty points. If the case goes to court, that could rise to a maximum £5,000 fine and be accompanied with a driving disqualification.

The launch of Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) in 2011 made it an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle unless it is declared off the road. While the number of uninsured drivers caught has decreased by 34 per cent since 2011, uninsured driving remains a UK-wide problem.