Continuous Insurance Enforcement - “the biggest change in motor insurance since the war” - Graeme Trudgill, British Insurance Brokers' Association
A new law in motor insurance, Continuous Insurance Enforcement or CIE, is due to come into effect next Monday [20th June 2011] and has been created to combat the escalating problem of uninsured drivers. From Monday, it will be an offence to keep an uninsured vehicle unless it has been declared ‘off the road’ by completing a Statutory Off Road Notice (SORN).
The CIE system will check the DVLA database against the Motor Insurance Database (MID) and contact uninsured drivers. Uninsured drivers will face a series of penalties unless they buy insurance. Any owner that gets caught, will face a fixed penalty of £100, and could face court prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000. In addition the vehicle could be clamped, seized and/or destroyed.
At the moment it is estimated that uninsured drivers cause 160 deaths a year and cost the industry half a billion pounds – that is over £30 per year for every policyholder. The scheme, however, does have its critics, many of whom do not think it goes far enough in locating uninsured vehicles, but our view is that it is a huge step in the right direction and anything that helps to reduce the cost of insurance for honest law abiding motorists should be welcomed.
Graeme Trudgill, head of corporate affairs at the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA), said that this is the biggest change to motor insurance law since the Second World War.
You may start to notice an advertising campaign, intended to warn the general public of the change in the rules; however, if you would like more information on this, contact your local insurance broker. If you are worried whether your vehicle is listed on the MID database, check it for Free at www.askMID.com.
For information please call Naaman Jalees of Coversure of Rugby on 0800 308 1127
