The Motor Insurer's Database

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What is the Motor Insurer’s Database?

The Motor Insurer’s Database (MID) was set up by the UK insurance industry and it is the centralised database of motor insurance policy information for all insured vehicles in the UK. The Motor Insurer’s Bureau (MIB) manages it and all insurers who underwrite motor insurance for vehicles on UK roads are obliged to be members of the MIB and to submit the policy details of ALL vehicles to the MID.

If a claim is made on someone’s policy the insurer will use the MID to check the vehicles’ insurance cover and Policyholder’s details.

The police are the biggest users of the MIB, making over two million enquiries every month. In the majority of cases they will be checking whether a vehicle is insured or not, often using the Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system where cameras are linked to the MID and it can flag up whether a vehicle is insured or not instantaneously.

According to police figures, around 140,000 vehicles are seized every year for not having insurance and approximately 30% are subsequently sold or destroyed. Trials have proved that an individual officer can make 10 times more arrests using ANPR than was previously possible.

The MID has allowed Government to introduce Electronic Vehicle Licensing (EVL), so we can renew or change our road tax via the Internet.