Nearly one in every three (29 per cent) British motorists says they would be prepared to report an uninsured driver to the authorities, even if they were a friend or family member.

According to the findings, motorists are more likely to report that an acquaintance has no car insurance than they are to report them for other offences.

Nearly nine out of ten (87 per cent) would not get into the car with someone they knew was uninsured and over one in ten think the offence is worse than driving under the influence of drink or drugs, or speeding.

Many motorists said they felt the penalty for driving without car insurance should be higher than the £200 at which it currently stands.

It is obvious that drivers in the UK feel the current fixed penalty for uninsured driving is far too low, with 35 per cent claiming the fine should be increased to at least £1,000 putting it in line with being caught without a TV licence a considerably less serious offence, Frances Browning, a spokesperson for Churchill Insurance said.

The fine needs to rise to become much more of a deterrent for anybody thinking of driving without insurance. A fixed penalty fine of just £200 is less than the cost of the average premium and the balance needs to be redressed to help eradicate uninsured driving, Frances Browning said.

The survey follows earlier research by the company which found that two-thirds of parents were unaware of the recently implemented child car seat laws.