MID

MID Team

We have a dedicated MID Team to help policyholders who deal with the MID. If you have any concerns or queries relating to the MID or taxing your vehicle online please contact a member of the dedicated MID Team using the contact details below. If you are a Highway Broker, please click here and log in to access MID information relevant to you.

MID Team Leader
Ann Pannell

MID Support Team
Sian Oates
Val Tomlin
Tony Thomas
Dan Scriven

There are several ways to contact us:
Telephone: 0871 265 8076
Calls may cost up to 10p a minute from UK landlines plus network extras, mobile charges may vary
Fax: 01277 359181
Email: MIDOperations@lv.com

Below you will find information concerning what the MID is for and why it has been established

MID The Facts

• Every vehicle in the UK must be listed on the MID (Motor Insurance Database).
• There are compliance deadlines with fines for both insurers and policyholders if these are not met.
• The MID’s objective is to combat uninsured driving.
• Police use the information on the MID to check vehicles are insured.
• To purchase road tax for a vehicle online the vehicle needs to be listed on the MID.

MID Explained

MIB - Motor Insurance Bureau
The MIB deal with victims of uninsured driving. Insurers are obliged by the virtue of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to be members of the MIB and contribute towards its funding. They oversee the running of the MID on behalf of the government.

What is the MID?
The Motor Insurance Database (MID) is a record of every vehicle that is insured in the UK. This data is used for several purposes.

The Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB), Police, authorised solicitors, the relevant insurer and the DVLA can access the data on the MID, under strictly controlled circumstances. Broadly speaking:

• The police use the MID to determine at the roadside whether a vehicle is insured;
• Solicitors, insurers and others can access the MID to trace third party insurers in the event of an accident;
• The MID is used to provide insurance information for DVLA’s online vehicle licensing service.

What are the compliance targets?
The Department For Transport (DFT) have set specific targets for getting data on to the MID.

If these targets are not met, there are sanctions in place and the insurers will be fined by the MIB / DFT. 

Why is this in force?

There are several reasons:

4th EU Directive on Motor Insurance
The 4th EU Directive states that each member country must be able to trace the insurer of a vehicle by the registration plate of that vehicle. The UK achieved compliance of this directive by implementing the MID. The 4th Directive was introduced to make it easier for those injured in accidents (including your clients) whilst visiting another EU state to receive compensation by:

• Requiring there to be an Information Centre which can identify the insurer of the other party from the registration plate;
• Allowing the injured party a direct right of action against the insurer;
• Requiring the insurer to nominate a representative in the injured party’s own country who has sufficient powers to settle the claim;
• Ensuring that there is a compensation body to pay the claim in the event that the insurer cannot be identified or is unreasonably slow in settling a claim.

Combating Uninsured Driving in the UK
The insurance industry recognised that uninsured driving was increasing the cost of insurance. The Government recognised the associated costs of uninsured driving and the impact that accidents involving uninsured drivers was having on hospitals, the Benefits Agency and on society in general and that these problems had to be tackled.

This led to the commissioning of a report by Professor Greenaway into uninsured driving in the UK. The recommendations in this report and the subsequent activity in the market have led to many operational and other changes by insurers, including the removal of days of grace and the move by many to auto lapsing of renewals.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) commissioned a further report by PA Consulting, which gave an industry view on the original recommendations in the Greenaway report. This review, “Delivering a more up-to-date MID”, has been widely welcomed by the industry and Government as a major step forward in the industry playing its part in helping to combat uninsured driving.

The police utilise the MID to determine whether a vehicle is insured. In fact they are the single largest user of the database with thousands of searches every day. The Police even have access via the Police National Computer whilst in their cars. They can check insurance details without even stopping vehicles.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)
The roll out of ANPR technology will continue throughout 2010. This new technology allows the police to check vehicles passing the ANPR camera for insurance, using MID data. This will become one of the most useful tools in combating uninsured driving.

Electronic Vehicle Licensing
The DVLA has moved to online purchase of vehicle license duty or road tax as it is commonly known. To ensure that this runs smoothly it is necessary for DVLA to know that vehicles are insured. The MID is being used for this purpose.

Future Use of MID
The Road Safety Bill 2005 will create a new offence of keeping a vehicle without adequate insurance. It will also allow the Government to appoint an agency to manage statutory enforcement from the record. This means that simply keeping a car without insurance will become an offence in the same way that keeping a car without road license fund duty is an offence. This will lead to automatic fines, exactly the same as the road fund licence fines.

Anti-Fraud initiatives will also use MID data. The ABI in conjunction with Polaris are creating an industry led database to combat serious organised fraud. This will link several databases, including MID, to identify and track serious fraud.