The government has issued clear guidelines over recent weeks to ensure people do not flout the UK’s lockdown measures to tackle the deadly coronavirus pandemic. This includes advising people to only leave their homes for essential trips, such as shopping for food or travelling to work if needed.
Police also have new powers to issue fines of up to £1,000 if people are found to be flouting lockdown guidelines.
And John Neill of Castle Insurance Services has warned that non-essential journeys can give the basis to void claims, in order to make sure people follow these rules.
He told The Northern Echo: “It is difficult to categorically say that any non-essential journeys would be covered as it is dependent on the vehicle being used within the terms of the policy.
“If it’s a non-essential journey and being used outside the terms of the policy then there may be grounds for an insurer to reject a claim.”
Grounds which would lead to dismissed claims would include courier work and food delivery which hasn’t been declared.
Under current UK guidelines, breakers of the stay-at-home policy will be fined on the spot, starting with £60 for first offenders.
The warning comes as motorists have been seen using roads with less regard for the law since lockdown has been in place.
The coronavirus outbreak has led to Britain’s roads becoming much quieter, with car travel plummeting by as much as 73 percent.
This is because of lockdown measures restricting drivers from making their usual journeys.
Some drivers have been taking advantage of the empty roads and driving dangerously
Superintendent Andy Cox, the Met’s head of road and transport policing, said on Monday that some motorists were still travelling at “extreme speeds” in London.
He posted footage on twitter with a driver reaching speeds of 151 mph.
In Greater Manchester, police arrested a Mercedes driver for travelling at more than 100mph on a 40mph road.
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Public Health England have also warned that traffic increasing across the country was a “concerning sign that motorists are beginning to ignore the lockdown.”
According to the Department of Transport, vehicle use surged by 10 percent in 24 hours at the start of the week.
Coronavirus cases in the UK have hit 88,621 as of Tuesday morning.
Lockdown measures are set to remain in place for the foreseeable future as it enter it’s fourth week.
Dominic Raab has said the government doesn’t expect to change it’s policy on lockdown any time soon.
The foreign secretary said the UK’s plan “is working” but that “we are still not past the peak of this virus”.
He said: “We don’t expect to make any changes to the measures currently in place at that point and we won’t until we’re confident, as confident as we realistically can be, that any such changes can be safely made.
“Keep this up, we have come too far, lost too many loved ones and sacrificed too much to ease up.”
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