Keep insurance documentation in the car

According to Insurancewide.com, the insurance comparison website, drivers are risking an unnecessary fine if they do not have a copy of their insurance certificate in the car.

Within 10 days of purchasing car insurance, an insurer is required to submit insurance details to the Motor Insurance Database. However, this didn’t happen with one Direct Line customer following a system error.

A spokesperson for Insurancewide.com remarked if the insurer is behind in reporting a new policy owner’s details to the Motor Insurance Database then the driver could mistakenly be considered uninsured and possibly be fined. This can be avoided by keeping proof of insurance in the car.

The Motor Insurance Database is pushing for insurers to inform the Motor Insurance Bureau of 95% of all changes to motor insurance within 14 days. However, from January 2008, this will be reduced to 7 days.

The Motor Insurance Bureau said insurers attain 97.5% within 14 days and 80% within 48 hours. As a result, the organisation maintains that as many as 100,000 uninsured vehicles have been taken off the road.

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