One in 15 vehicles on Irish roads uninsured or unregistered in 2025

Mibi believes uninsured numbers could be 'significantly reduced' if a continuous vehicle coverage model was introduced.

About one in every 15 vehicles using Irish roads last year was uninsured, figures from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland (Mibi) show, prompting calls for an enforcement system to be established.

At the end of last year, there was a total of 211,371 uninsured or unregistered vehicles operating in Ireland — representing approximately 6.5% of the vehicle fleet.

This includes a total of 105,429 uninsured private vehicles in 2025, compared with 101,881 in 2024; That is 3,548 more uninsured private vehicles than the year before, a 3.5% increase.

The increase in the level of uninsured vehicles comes despite increased garda activity around uninsured driving during 2025.

A total of 19,673 vehicles were seized for driving without insurance last year. A further 25,009 charges and summons were also issued for that offence over the same period.

Mibi has now called for the introduction of continuous vehicle coverage to help reduce the number of uninsured vehicles on Irish roads.

Continuous vehicle coverage is an enforcement system which moves the detection of uninsured vehicles from being policing led to administration-led.

The Irish Motor Insurance Database was introduced in 2024, allowing Mibi to undertake an analysis of "non-private" motor vehicles.

Some of these are insured on an individualised basis while others use flexible, fleet, or motor trader policies, which allow the policy to be transferred from one vehicle to another within a specific group.

'Policing uninsured drivers'

Under the law, the insurance details for these vehicles are required to be added to the National Fleet Database — a specialised subsection of the Irish Motor Insurance Database.

However, a total of 105,942 of "non-private" vehicles remain either uninsured or are not yet registered.

“Ireland still has a very high level of uninsured vehicles on our roads,” said Mibi chief executive David Fitzgerald.

“This is despite the strong and effective work of An Garda Síochána in policing uninsured driving, and the success the [database] system has had in helping them identify those offenders who are breaking the law.”

Mibi believes uninsured numbers could be "significantly reduced" if a continuous vehicle coverage model was introduced. It said that such a system is already being used in 25 European countries — including Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and many more.

In Britain, the number of uninsured vehicles dropped from approximately 6% to 2.5% following its introduction. 

In Ireland, someone is only penalised currently if they drive a vehicle without valid insurance. According to Mibi, this puts all the pressure on identifying and apprehending the uninsured on An Garda Síochána.

Continuous vehicle coverage would "reduce the pressure on the gardaí and make enforcement against uninsured vehicles an administration-led process first", Mr Fitzgerald said. 

"Under this system, unless the vehicle is formally put off the road, then the vehicle owner must ensure it is insured, rather than requiring the gardaí to catch an uninsured driver in the act."