West Midlands PoliceA Lamborghini was towed away by police when the driver was found to have no insuranceNearly 160,000 uninsured cars were seized on the UK's roads last year - the highest number for 17 years.
The cost of cover was one of the main factors for those flouting the law, according to the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), which estimates about 300,000 cars are being driven every day without insurance.
Hot spot areas include Birmingham, which has five out of the top 15 postcodes in the UK for accidents involving uninsured drivers.
In one police operation earlier this month, West Midlands Police took 16 vehicles off the road for being uninsured - including a Lamborghini.
Uninsured driving is estimated to cost the UK economy £1bn every year. The figure includes compensation for victims, emergency services, medical costs and loss of productivity.
The MIB said someone in the UK was affected by uninsured or hit-and-run drivers every 20 minutes, with one person each day suffering life-altering injuries.
Several cars were seized for having no insurance as part of the national operation The Birmingham postcodes which account for the five hot spots are B25, B18, B66, B21 and B35.
Other postcodes in the top 10 included Thurrock's RM19 in Essex, PE1 in Peterborough, M18 in Manchester, Havering's RM1 in London and Belfast's BT17.
Hayley Sutcliffe, from the MIB, said: "It's a diverse area so people coming into the country might not know the laws and the legislation of the Road Traffic Act.
"We need to raise awareness around when people need to have the correct level of cover of insurance."
Hayley Sutcliffe works alongside police as a law enforcement liaison officer for the Motor Insurers' BureauOperation Scalis is run by the MIB in conjunction with police forces across the country to tackle the rising issue of uninsured drivers.
In the past five years, the number of cars taken off the roads has risen by nearly 20%, from 132,435 to 158,594.
It is not just old bangers police pull over.
A Mercedes and BMW were seized and towed away during the recent operation in Birmingham, and a few days later so was the Lamborghini, which the driver was using without insurance.
Police shared dashcam footage they received as part of the campaign, showing the close call a car had on the motorway when using the hard shoulder to pass vehiclesThe organisation said uninsured vehicles and their drivers were more likely to be involved in secondary offences like driving while disqualified or be under the influence of drink and drugs.
Officers also found several empty gas canisters, with mouthpieces on, inside another vehicle when it was stopped.
They also stopped cars with faults including bald tyres, illegally tinted windows and broken seat belts.
Sgt Adrian Brown from West Midlands Police said a lot of people they caught claimed they could not afford insuranceSgt Adrian Brown, of West Midlands Police, said: "A lot of people just own up to it and say 'I couldn't afford it' or 'I haven't passed my driving test'.
"I think the other reason around this criminal aspect is they're trying to hide the identity of the car."
The cost of car insurance has also led to what is known as "fronting", where older members of a family insure a young person's car to reduce premiums, a type of fraud which means vehicles and their drivers are not properly covered.
West Midlands Police carry out weekly operations around the force area to target those breaking the law.
Offenders could receive a fixed penalty of £300 and six penalty points on their licence.
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