Car Insurance: Police stop uninsured
Car insurance warning over law change
Tuesday, 30 Oct 2007 11:19
Drivers are risking being pulled over by the police because of changes to car insurance registration.
The changes to the Motor Insurance Database (MID) – where insurers register customers' insurance details – mean motorists who are late renewing policies could be stopped by the police under suspicion of driving without cover.
"Police use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology which instantly cross-checks registration numbers against the MID," said John Close, insurer relations director at AA Insurance.
"If a checked vehicle is not on the database the equipment alerts police who can then stop it. If the driver can’t prove that he or she is covered, the car could be confiscated."
The rule changes mean insurance companies now have seven days to register uninsured drivers, instead of the previous 14 days.
Drivers are being urged to move as early as possible, and buy new insurance or renew a policy before existing cover expires.
Automatic renewal of car insurance is also an option.
Around one in 20 drivers avoids paying insurance costing the insurance industry £500 million a year – which is passed on to law-abiding drivers to the tune of £30 per policy per year.
Since July 2005 nearly 100,000 cars have been seized by police using the MID for insurance or license infringements.