The insurance industry expects to recoup its £20m investment in a
national database designed to crack down on uninsured drivers
within two years.
The Motor Insurance Database, unveiled today, will allow police to
carry out instant roadside checks of drivers' insurance details
through a link to the Police National Computer (PNC).
The database, which will initially hold details of 22 million
policies, could significantly reduce the £400m spent by insurers
each year processing claims involving uninsured drivers.
Insurers believe that just a small fall in the number of uninsured
drivers on the road could more than cover the cost of the new
database.
"If we can achieve a 2% improvement, the system will pay for
itself," said Donald Martin of the Motor Insurers' Information
Centre. "I would expect to cover our costs within a couple of
years."
The insurance industry funded Motor Insurance Information Centre
hired Experian to develop the database after putting the project
out to open tender three years ago. Fifty insurance companies and
10 insurance brokers will feed details of motor policies into the
database.
Experian plans to add details of five million fleet and company car
policies to the system over the next few months. Eventually the
database will hold 60 million records, allowing insurers to check
insurance details dating back up to three years.
The system, which is connected to the PNC through a dedicated
secure link, will replace the current manual inspection process,
which relies on drivers producing their documentation at a police
station.