Expired driving licence

[BatFastard1]

I’ve also posted in legal .
Hi please can anyone offer any advice .
earlier in the week I was involved in a non fault accident . I am a named driver on my husbands insurance .
We have only recently bought the car which is on hire purchase .
Whilst gathering our documents to send to the insurance company I have noticed that my licence has expired 2 1/2 years ago .
i am so angry at myself for overlooking this .
i understand that I will be not insured and will deal with the fallout , but are the insurance company likely to void my partners insurance altogether because of my stupidity.

If you go on the post office website it tells you which one does it
I went to one and it was really easy, and my license was back in 4 days

@HelpMeGetThrough thankyou for the link I will read through it now .
@CatSat i have done the online code which is showing my licence is expired .
I have made a stupid mistake which is going to cost us thousands .
Thank you everyone for your replies .

That's a bonkers idea, let the insurance companies fight it out.

No, it’s a very standard practice in clear cut cases where there’s no question of blame. The OP says the third party has admitted fault so there’s no “fighting it out” to be done. The third party’s insurer will have a team to deal specifically with this and they’ll bend over backwards to help as this will minimise their exposure. Last time I did this I used an expensive repairer of my choice and the insurance co arranged a hire car directly. I would never use my own insurer in a case like this, I’d notify them only.

I have made a stupid mistake which is going to cost us thousands.

Why on earth do you think that?

The OP says the third party has admitted fault so there’s no “fighting it out” to be done.

I've been in a situation where the third party admitted fault (which you shouldn't do) and their insurance company fought it and tried to get 50/50. It went in for ages.

@Shade17 the car we have bought is on finance . £14,000 still outstanding . I don’t know if the car is written off or repairable . It is in a garage after it was towed away from accident .

As others have said, your photo has expired not your licence. When you apply to renew the photo it specifically says you are still allowed to drive whilst waiting for the replacement card. It may take 3 weeks to get it back.

Isn't this a bit different as you're in the process of active renewal, whereas OP isn't/wasn't?

A quick google says you shouldn't drive on an expired photo card and can receive a £1000 fine. I'm not sure if it invalidates insurance though.

The check code says your licence has expired by the way. I recently had to renew mine. Annoyingly the post office check and send wasn’t working but I sent it next day recorded.

I kept on checking and it updates the check code as soon as cleared by dvla. It was 4 working days so I knew my new valid from/ expiry dates before licence arrived.

Why?

I've had three accidents over my 40 years of driving, none of them were my fault. I dealt directly with the other parties' insurers every time. No problems at all - each time got my own car fixed, got a courtesy car provided, and claimed uninsured losses. It's not rocket science. I just informed my own insurance company of the situation and they were fine with leaving me to it!

@Badbadbunny

I explained above your post why I wouldn't.

I've been in a situation where the third party admitted fault (which you shouldn't do) and their insurance company fought it and tried to get 50/50. It went in for ages.

Then it wasn’t a cut and dried case then. For cases where there’s no argument, my way is much better.

the car we have bought is on finance . £14,000 still outstanding . I don’t know if the car is written off or repairable . It is in a garage after it was towed away from accident

Not sure how that’s relevant, the third party’s insurer will be paying to fix it. Assuming it’s straightforward and 100% the other party’s fault.

No you will be fine. just go on line and do it now. it will ask if your previous pic is ok or will they use passport pic! I actually had an accident while mine was out of date with no repercussions. the out of date bit only come because peoples pic can change so much! the original paper licences did not expire until you were a pensioner

@shade17 the third party has admitted full responsibility I was driving through a green light On a 4 way traffic light system . The driver turned left straight into me admitting he didn’t see me .
Our insurance company are now asking for all named drivers driving history plus pictures of licence front and back , also employment details of both of us .

the third party has admitted full responsibility I was driving through a green light On a 4 way traffic light system . The driver turned left straight into me admitting he didn’t see me .
Our insurance company are now asking for all named drivers driving history plus pictures of licence front and back , also employment details of both of us .

OK - speak to his insurers, ask to speak to their third party claims team. Give them the details, ask if they can deal with it. If they’re admitting full liability then it shouldn’t be a problem. If they say yes, then call your insurance company and tell them that the other insurer is dealing with the claim directly and you are no longer making a claim through your policy, it’s now for their information only.

Thanks everyone for your replies . Reading through the policy and it looks as though the policy is void .
next question is when I speak to them on Monday will they tell me where the car is so I can arrange for it to be collected .

Post deleted

But OP won't be able to claim against the other driver if she was driving illegally and un-insured herself, surely?

I changed my mind about my last post but accidentally pressed "post".

Come clean to the insurers but prioritise updating your driving licence. Your car will still need to be repaired presumably? Once you have all the facts about the situation you can make a plan of what to do.

Surely your licence expires when it reaches the date on the back of the licence usually your 70th birthday
only the picture expires before that

Your policy is not void, stop catastrophising. More than 2 million people in the UK have licenses need renewing because people are crap at paperwork. This is purely a paperwork exercise.

You are confusing it with when people's licenses are cancelled or removed. That's not the same thing - at all!

It will all be sorted in a week or two

Stop catastrophising. Unless you have a medical/age restriction on your licence, it's just that your photo has expired.

You do have to renew your photo every 10 years to ensure it's a true likeness of you and to stop people being able to impersonate you and use your licence. It is a legal requirement to do this and they can fine you, but it doesn't mean your licence is not valid.

Call the DVLA about the online code and get your new photo sorted ASAP, call the insurance company if the timing is tight. You certainly won't be the first person with an expired photo they've dealt with.

Thank you everyone I have a dvla check code which says is invalid . It does have the rest of my driving history which is all good .
new licence was sent for yesterday morning .

Good. You've done what you can to fix things. The rest is out of your hands now so take it step by step.

Does anyone know if I would still be able to make a claim through the other drivers insurance . Our policy will more than likely be cancelled at the end of the week .
I know have committed two serious offences here and I am very lucky not to have caused an accident myself and injured some innocent party .

You are catastrophising. They may not invalidate your insurance and may not cancel the policy.