Car Insurers to check Driver applications against DVLA Database

In a further bid to crack down on the  estimated 2 million uninsured drivers on UK roads, the Government has announced that it will allow Car Insurance Companies to cross check Drivers licensing records on the DVLA database when they apply for car insurance.

UK roads minister Mike Penning told a House of Commons Select commitee set up to investigate the rising costs of motor insurance, that he expected the measures to be in place by the Sumer of 2011.

Mr Penning said that when new drivers take out a car insurance policy, they will be aksed on the proposal form whether they agree to their DVLA data being seen by the insurance company. If they answer no , then the car insurer will have the right to decline the policy application automatically.

The move is expected to stop the practice of customers making false declarations about the length of their driving history, convictions and number of points on their licence. It is believed many members of the public lie about their driving history in order to obtain cheaper car insurance, and in practice are effectively driving ‘with no insurance’  as they failed to disclose material facts when applying for cover!

The Minister for Roads said that the only stumbling block to the full access or integration of the DVLA records with the Insurance companies system would be the costs that would have to be borne by the Car  Insurance Companies, given the recent spate of Government funding cuts.

Information sharing and the new CIE (Continuous Insurance Enforcement) where it will be an offence to own a car that is not insured regardless of whether it is driven or not, are designed to cut out the loopholes used by fraudsters.

Car Insurance Blog welcomes the new rules, however it would seem daft if the costs of the new data acquistion, add to the costs of car insurance premiums, when the select commons meeting was designed to investigate the rising costs of car insurance!