This Is Guernsey

By Tom Edwards

INSURANCE discs are set to appear on windscreens next year. The Home Department has a report waiting for approval by the Law Officers that could lead to their introduction.

It is hoped that it will make it to the States for debate by early autumn.

Renewing car tax has long been the way of proving people are insured to drive.

A vehicle cannot be taxed unless proof of insurance cover is shown.

But when motor tax is abolished at the end of the year, tax discs will disappear and so will the on-the-spot ability to check cover.

The department’s proposals for insurance discs broadly mirrors how Jersey approached the situation in the mid-1990s.

It is likely the new discs will be included with standard insurance paperwork and will be square as they are in Jersey.

A spokeswoman for the department said it made sense to look at how Jersey had tackled the issue.

‘All the insurers provide the service in Jersey, so hopefully administratively it will be of minimal cost to motorists. We don’t anticipate there will be any knock-on costs,’ she said.

‘The only cost is probably going to be the printed security paper to make the discs and the plastic folders to display them on windscreens. In Jersey, these costs are met by insurers.’