The Motor Insurance Database is a frontline weapon in the
fight against car insurance fraud.
The MID was created by the
Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) in the first quarter of 2000.
After development and testing, it went live in September 2001.
It is a database of every privately insured
vehicle in the country. In total, there are about 29 million
vehicles, of which 23 million are privately owned. The rest
are fleet and motor trade vehicles.
The data held includes personal client and client address
information, vehicle information and cover details.
The database was created to tackle the problem
of uninsured driving. The MIIC, a wholly owned subsidiary
of the MIB, says that the UK has one of the worst records
in Europe for uninsured driving, with one in every 20 cars
either uninsured or under-insured. It is estimated that this
adds between £15 and £30 to every motorist's premium.
The Motor Insurers' Information Centre maintains
the database and has now completed phase one of its development:
to capture all the details of the individually insured vehicles.
Phase two, was completed during the first quarter
of 2003, will capture the details of those vehicles not included
in phase one - the fleet and motor trade vehicles.
This will also go a long way to meeting the
Fourth EU Motor Insurance Directive, which aims to assist
drivers who have accidents in EU states.
All members of the MIB update the database on
either a daily or weekly basis. This keeps the information
in the database up to date and allows insurers to check any
vehicle's insurance details instantly.
The police also access it directly, either from
trafffic cars onboard computers, the roadside using handheld
computers, or from police stations.
This means the police can check whether or not
a driver is insured almost immediately.
It is also an aid to insured drivers: if they
are not carrying their insurance details with them, they no
longer have to report to a police station within seven days
of being stopped.
Visit the cheap
car insurance directory for a full list of UK online car
insurance providers
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