Author: Richard Hartley, 08 January 2008.
Leading insurance broker Alan Boswell Group is urging motorists and fleet operators to use a new online service to check that their vehicles are properly recorded on the Motor Insurance Database (MID)Last July, the
insurance broker highlighted the plight of private motorists who had been
unfairly accused of being uninsured because their
motor insurers had failed to update the industry's
Motor Insurance Database (MID). In some cases, vehicles had been confiscated by the police despite the fact that the vehicles were being used legally.
The
Motor Insurance Database (MID) contains details of over 34m insured vehicles in the UK. By law,
motor insurers have to put details of all the vehicles they insure onto the MID.
Every day
insurers make approx 250,000 updates to the database but on occasions errors have been made or updates have not been made in a timely fashion. This has caused problems for innocent motorists because the police have the power to remove seemingly uninsured vehicles for the roads.
Free Checks with www.AskMID.com
Nevetheless, the MID has become a very powerful tool in the fight against uninsured driving. And now there is a new tool designed to help motorists and fleet operators check that their vehicle is correctly registered as being insured.
The new service is called
www.AskMID.com and it is free of charge. It will be particularly useful for commercial vehicle and fleet managers who often change or add vehicles to their
commercial motor insurance policies.
Commercial motor insurance policyholders (generally the motor fleet manager, motor trader or company secretary) must notify their
insurance provider by law of any changes to the company motor fleet.
All vehicles insured on a
motor fleet policy should be added to MID unless they are not designed for road use or have been SORN’d. Any changes to vehicles included on the
fleet insurance must be notified to the
insurance provider or entered onto MID directly to avoid any inconvenience at the roadside to drivers. Now, using the Ask MID facility, a fleet manager or commercial vehicle policyholder can check that their vehicle details are correctly registered on the MID.
Tackling Uninsured Driving
Ashton West, the CEO of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau says, “The MID is one database you really want to be on and now with the launch of
www.AskMID.com you can check if you are on MID.”
Ashton goes on to say, “Uninsured driving costs society over £500 million each year. We know that uninsured drivers killed 160 people last year. Every year approximately 23,000 people are involved in accidents with uninsured drivers. MIB is dedicated to tackling uninsured driving and we are working closely with the Police and other enforcement agencies to do just that.”
Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers Limited, Alan Boswell Insurance Services Limited and Alan Boswell & Company Limited are authorised and regulated by the
Financial Services Authority.
