Annoyed at paying over the odds for your car insurance? Feeling slightly aggrieved at the fact that your no claims bonus wasn’t as good as you’d expected this year?

Well apparently it really is everybody else’s fault.

We all know that insurance companies blame uninsured drivers for the cost of insurance policies going up for those of us that obey the law. But price comparison website moneysupermarket.com is offering rare evidence of just how many people take to the road without adequate, or any for that matter, insurance cover.

According to a survey by moneysupermarket one in five cars on the road are uninsured.

Meanwhile, of greater concern is the price comparison website’s claims that there has been 33 per cent increase in the number of uninsured drivers on UK roads since last year.

Its survey found a fifth of motorists (20 per cent) admit breaking the law by driving uninsured, compared to 15 per cent in 2008.

Almost one in ten motorists (nine per cent) have disregarded the law and driven their own car without insurance, while eight per cent admit to getting behind the wheel of someone else’s car when not adequately insured.

A further three per cent say they have driven their own car uninsured in between renewing their insurance policy.

The research also reveals certain things many people will have claimed to always have known such as that men are more likely to drive uninsured, with one in four (23 per cent) admitting to doing so compared to 16 per cent of women. And that younger drivers are a liability on UK roads with 37 per cent of twenty-somethings admitting they have driven without cover, compared to just seven per cent of those in their sixties.

Uninsured motorists cost the industry £500 million each year in claims, and cause the cost of premiums to rise by £30 a year on average for more responsible motorists.

Anyone caught driving without insurance can face a £200 on-the-spot fine and six points on their licence. There’s also the possibility of the car being impounded – involving a £150 collection charge and £20 per day charged for storage.

Steve Sweeney, head of motor insurance at moneysupermarket.com, said it was disappointing to see so many Brits have taken to the roads uninsured.

He added: “It’s a worrying thought every fifth car we see isn’t covered, and year on year the research reveals a staggering 33 per cent increase in the number of people driving uninsured. The onset of recession may mean more motorists are unable to afford the cost of their insurance but, if hit by an uninsured vehicle, only motorists with a fully comprehensive policy will be covered by their insurer to pay for the car to be repaired, and even then they may face losing their no claims discount. “