Motor Insurance Database (MID)
Key Facts
The insurance industry created the Motor Insurance Database (MID) in 2001, run by the Motor Insurers Information Centre.
- This database enables the police to carry out spot checks on motorists providing an indication as to whether they are insured. The police access the database approx 25,000 times a day, which equates to once every 3 seconds (source MIB).
- 1.25m motorists in the UK are driving uninsured (approx. 1 in 20 drivers) (source ABI).
- There were 266,750 convictions for driving without insurance in 2001 (source ABI).
- 1.8m motorists in the UK are driving with no road fund vehicle license.
- The cost of accidents involving uninsured drivers adds an estimated additional £30 each year to the insurance premiums of honest and responsible motorists (source MIB).
- The Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) was set up to provide a means to compensate the victims of uninsured or untraceable motorists. All insurers contribute to its funding through a levy included in motor insurance premiums.
- Approximately £500m was paid out in compensation for death and bodily injury in 2003 (split between MIB and insurance companies). With claims inflation running at more than double that of Retail Price Inflation index, that number is set to rise still further.
Figures from the Association of British Insurers suggest that uninsured drivers:
- Have as many as 20% more accidents.
- Are 10 times more likely to have been convicted of drink driving.
- Are 6 times more likely to have been convicted of driving a non-roadworthy vehicle.
- Are 3 times more likely to have been convicted of driving without due care and attention.
