Below is an extract from the FBHVC's December Newsletter which includes the full text of an e-mail to the Federation from Ian Davies at the DVLA on the subject.
Bottom line - if a vehicle is taxed (even at the nil rate applicable to pre-1973 vehicles), it must be insured, whether in use or not. The Motor Insurance database of insured vehicles will be compared with the DVLA's database of licensed vehicles. Keepers of vehicles that appear on the latter but not the former will receive letters advising them of the action they need to take. Failure to comply within a reasonable time will incur penalties. This requirement will NOT apply to vehicles that have not been on the road since the beginning of 1988 or those to which a SORN has been made.
CONTINUOUS INSURANCE ENFORCEMENT
Stay insured: new penalties for vehicles without motor insurance
Ian Davies, Communications & Stakeholder Management, Continuous Insurance Enforcement Project 2, Change Delivery Portfolio, DVLA.
A new law is being introduced next year that will require taxed vehicles to be insured at all times, not just when in use on the road.
Background
In July 2004 the Government published a report called ‘Uninsured Driving in the United Kingdom’ that highlighted that the level of uninsured driving was amongst the highest in western Europe. One of the recommendations of the report was to introduce a record-based means of identifying uninsured vehicles. Following a public consultation in 2009 the Government decided to introduce a means of identifying uninsured vehicles by comparing records held on the Motor Insurance Database (MID) with those held by the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
From early 2011 a new law will give the DVLA and the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB), who administer the Motor Insurance Database, more powers to deal with registered keepers of vehicles that are taxed but not insured, through the introduction of Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE).
Continuous Insurance Enforcement
Uninsured vehicles will be identified by comparing the Motor Insurance Database with DVLA’s Vehicle Database. Where a vehicle is taxed, but apparently uninsured, the MIB will issue an ‘Insurance Advisory Letter’ to the registered keeper advising them of the actions they need to take:
• If not insured, insure immediately;
• If they believe they are insured, contact their insurance provider immediately to check that the Motor Insurance Database has been updated with the correct information;
• Make a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) to DVLA so that the vehicle is not included in CIE;
• If they no longer have the vehicle, notify DVLA in writing.
If the keeper fails to undertake one of the above actions and the vehicle remains taxed but not insured, then DVLA will issue the registered keeper with a £100 Fixed Penalty Notice (reduced to £50 if paid within 21 days). Failure to pay the penalty and insure the vehicle could result in court prosecution with a fine of up to £1,000, and the vehicle being wheelclamped or impounded if found on the public road.
CIE does not replace the laws of driving whilst uninsured; that will continue to be enforced by the police.
This new motor insurance law only applies to England, Scotland and Wales (vehicles registered in Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man are excluded from this law as they have their own registration authorities).
For more information on CIE, please visit http://www.direct.gov.uk/stayinsured
When is CIE being introduced?
The exact date cannot yet be given, but will be in early 2011. Announcements will be made in the press before CIE becomes law.
Historic Vehicle Owners
For historic vehicle owners there are a number of important things to remember.
• SORN – if a SORN is made and the tax disc surrendered because the vehicle is not in use, then the vehicle will not be subject to CIE;
• Pre-SORN vehicles – vehicles which have been kept off-road before SORN came into force on 1 February 1998 are exempt from CIE unless they are brought back into use, in which case they would need to be insured or a SORN made;
• Vehicles manufactured before 1 January 1973 – though the vehicle may have a ‘nil value’ tax disc, it is classed as being ‘taxed’ and a SORN should be made if uninsured and not in use;
• askMID – if you want to check your vehicle is recorded as ‘insured’ on the Motor Insurance Database, visit the free service at http://www.askMID.com.
Continuous Insurance Enforcement
Moderators: Ian Grace, Will Grace
Re: Continuous Insurance Enforcement
So I checked out http://www.askMID.com as a potential research resource for the Register.
I entered DO 7820, which is the earliest known surviving Minor, that went to ground several years ago. Lo and behold, it is insured!
However, my old 1974 Midget, though being registered at DVLA is not insured, so must either be on a SORN, have been off the road since 1988 (I sold it in 1983), or the keeper is shortly going to get a love letter from the DVLA!
There are other possibilities here - for example, Data Protection Act notwithstanding, organizers of rallies will be able to confirm if an entered vehicle is insured. Spooky stuff!
I entered DO 7820, which is the earliest known surviving Minor, that went to ground several years ago. Lo and behold, it is insured!
However, my old 1974 Midget, though being registered at DVLA is not insured, so must either be on a SORN, have been off the road since 1988 (I sold it in 1983), or the keeper is shortly going to get a love letter from the DVLA!
There are other possibilities here - for example, Data Protection Act notwithstanding, organizers of rallies will be able to confirm if an entered vehicle is insured. Spooky stuff!
Re: Continuous Insurance Enforcement
Yet more Big Brother actions form the powers that be..........
What they haven't addressed is the fact that a lot of people who drive un-insured now, also don;t have road fund, and may well not even be the registered keeper, so these actions won;t effect that breed of people.... however, the genuine and honest amongst us will be penalised for having 'forgotten' to re-insure the car, when it may well be sat in the garage with no intention of using it on the road anyway....
What they haven't addressed is the fact that a lot of people who drive un-insured now, also don;t have road fund, and may well not even be the registered keeper, so these actions won;t effect that breed of people.... however, the genuine and honest amongst us will be penalised for having 'forgotten' to re-insure the car, when it may well be sat in the garage with no intention of using it on the road anyway....