Government commitment to continuous insurance enforcement following industry lobbying
The government has revealed more of its plans for the introduction of continuous insurance enforcement (CIE), the Motor Insurers' Bureau has said.
This followed a meeting yesterday between the MIB, the ABI and Biba with Jim Fitzpatrick MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department for Transport.
Over the last three years the DfT has been working with the MIB, the ABI, BIBA and the police, to close the net on the estimated 2m drivers who think that they can get away with having no insurance.
"The results so far have been very encouraging. Over 350,000 uninsured vehicles have been seized to date, and claims for accidents involving uninsured drivers have been reduced by 10%," the MIB said.
CIE will make it even harder for the uninsured to hide from the law. The next step towards its introduction will be the formal consultation process this autumn.
At the end of a three month period, the government and the industry will then start to design a programme for full implementation.
A collaborative programme of this size, involving stakeholders including the DVLA, the Police, the MIB, the ABI, and BIBA, is anticipated to take some time.
Nick Starling, Director of General Insurance and Health at the ABI said: “The net continues to tighten on uninsured motorists. The insurance industry is determined to tackle this problem and, working with Government, we are making real progress. Reducing the level of uninsured driving will not only make our roads safer, but could reduce the insurance costs for all law-abiding motorists”
Ashton West, MIB chief executive said: “This latest news supports everything we have been doing to reduce the level and impact of uninsured driving, and we look forward to CIE making the critical step change in the fight against this totally unacceptable crime”.
Graeme Trudgill, technical and corporate affairs executive at BIBA added: “CIE will be the weapon against uninsured driving. Brokers and Insurers have made huge efforts to get the MID into great shape, and we are more than ready to see it implemented as soon as possible”.
