i wouldnt think the o/p has much of a chance of dodging this, he committed the offence, regardless of the unfortunate circumstance ultimately its up to the driver to check hes covered and theres a minimum penalty for driving with no insurance.
he cant deny he did it he can only plead on the circumstance and hope for leniency.
obviously im no expert but having been banned 8 times, paid thousands in fines and done many hours community service for motoring offences in my misspent youth i do have lots of personal experience