Hi everyone, I’m 75 yrs old and had my first mini stroke about 5 weeks ago. Luckily there have been no lasting physical side effects, so do I legally need to contact my car insurance company and tell them what has happened straight away? The reason for the question is that I am a full-time carer for my partner who has Parkinsons. I need my car and I’m just worried that it may stir up a hornet’s nest that may result in an extension of the legal 4 week driving ban after a TIA,
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@Bluzman Hi & welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear you’ve had a TIA and good to hear you’re doing ok.
When I had my stroke i rang my insurance company & they weren’t interested but I think that will depend on your insurance company.
I’ve put a link in below from the Stroke Association Publications - Driving After Stroke. Have a read through. It does say in there that you should inform your insurance company.
All I would say is if you should have told them and don’t then have an accident you may find your insurance is null & void.
Best wishes
Ann
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Hi and welcome to our forum, glad to hear that your recovery is going well. I would definitely inform your insurance company about your TIA, I worked for a insurance broker before my stroke and would always advise that you inform them of any changes in your circumstances. I would hate you to have an accident, only to find that you’re not covered as they didn’t know about your TIA.
Regards Sue
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Welcome to the forum @Bluzman
You could read the T&Cs of your policy.
they will pretty likely say that the policy is only valid if you have kept them informed of named events - pretty likely any form of neurological events is on that list.
Driving without valid insurance is definitely a criminal act 
If what you have had is a stroke where symptoms at this stage are not particularly noticeable there could be changes compensations decompensations etc following on from the event.
You should check the DVLA website for the road traffic act - I believe the advice is that you can drive after a month provided nobody in your medical team raises a concern
There is a guide for medical staff on the DVLA website. It’s likely that if you are in the clear medically to drive the insurance company or have no interest
While you may stir-up a hornet’s nest as you put it now consequences for something discovered later will I would likely to be bigger later
Ciao
Simon
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Thank you all for your advice and suggestions. I really do appreciate it. I’m insured with SAGA and after looking at my documents it appears that they don’t require me to notify them of the TIA. In hindsight, I should have checked there first before posting my question, but it’s good to know the forum is here should I need it in the future. This whole thing is very new to me and it’s a real wake up call to someone like me who thought that strokes always happened to ‘other people’. Wrong!
Kind regrds to you all,
Eric
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Good luck Eric 
Even if they don’t require it there is half a arguement that it may save you trouble downline - but I understand your original hornets nest fear
The TIA is by definition temporary. If you get further symptoms - watch out about the 3 to 5 month point - then it was perhaps a quiet stroke. I say quiet because there is such thing as a silent stroke, of which apparently I had several prior to the noisy one :-)!
Pop by any time you’ll always be welcome
Ciao
Simon
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Thanks Simon, I’ve never heard of a quiet stroke. The idea of a stroke creeping up like a silent ninja to wreak havoc on the body is quite worrying. Hopefully I’ll manage to avoid him 
Take care. Eric
PS have you got snow yet up there?
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