The motor insurance database (MID) is a national UK register of insured motor vehicles, the database is used by bodies such as the police to monitor the status of a vehicles insurance status. Failure to keep a vehicles information accurate can lead to severe penalties for owners, such as a £5,000 fine or even the seizure of the vehicle in question.
Crucially, it is up to the policyholder to make sure that all changes are kept up to date, for example, if a car is sold or the owner applies for a statutory off road notice (SORN), otherwise they could face criminal prosecution.
In most cases, should the police have an enquiry about a vehicle’s status, they will ask the registered owner to supply policy details. Failure to do so can lead to a warning in the form of an insurance advisory letter (IAL) asking the owner to ensure they put an appropriate policy in place; following that the owner can receive a fixed penalty of £100, which ultimately may lead to either the vehicle being clamped or seized, or even a court prosecution.
It always remains the responsibility of the vehicle owner – whether that be an individual or someone in the motor trade – to ensure that the details passed to the MID are accurate. For example, all vehicles must be insured, even if they are not currently being used, unless the owner or registered keeper has applied for a SORN document.
It is not sufficient to store an unused and uninsured vehicle in a garage or off the road without the relevant paperwork and notification. It is a government requirement for all companies supplying motor vehicle cover to be a member of the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) and submit details of each policy to the central database.
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The state of cover is monitored by the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) mandate, which works in conjunction with the DVLA and other bodies to ensure all vehicles on the roads are insured.
The penalties outlined above are in addition to those which the police have, such as additional fines or removal of the car, van or bikes in question. Any individual worried about the cover on a vehicle can perform a simple online check to ensure the details are correctly registered.