The website askMID enables drivers to check for free if their vehicle is on the Motor Insurance Database (MID).
askMID has joined forces with insurers such as Aviva, Zurich, Allianz and RSA to ensure that their customers details are recorded correctly on the database. Under the new Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) scheme, which will launch in June 2011, keepers of vehicles who have no record of insurance on the MID, will receive a letter notifying them that they do not seem to have a valid car insurance policy.
If anyone who receives a warning letter fails to take action, a series of escalating penalties will be administered which will include a fixed penalty notice, clamping, seizure and disposal of the vehicle and a court prosecution with a fine of up to £1,000.
According to the CIE law, it is now an offence to keep a vehicle that is not insured at all times or declared as off the road to the DVLA . The MID will be systematically checked with DVLA records and keepers of potentially uninsured vehicles will be verified.