What Is The Motor Insurance Database?

The Motor Insurance Database, sometimes abbreviated to the MID, is a central database that holds the information of every insured vehicle in the UK.

It is usually updated by the insurance company, insurance broker and authorised insurance representatives when you take out a vehicle related insurance policy with them, but it can also be updated by policyholders, such as motorists and motor traders. Insurers must abide by the Department for Transport requirement of the timely and accurate supply of data to the Motor Insurance Database. In fact, it is a legal requirement that motor insurers provide information to the MID, which then stays in the database for seven years.

Even if you have insurance in place, if your vehicle isn’t registered as being insured on the Motor Insurance Database, you may receive an Insurance Advisory Letter, and if you are pulled over by the police your car may be seized.

You can check if your vehicle is listed on the MID for free, and you can check what personal information is held about you by submitting a Subject Access Request to the MIB Customer Service Manager, though this will incur an administration charge. If you find out your vehicle isn’t listed on the MID then you must contact your insurer immediately, and the same applies if any of the details on the MID aren’t correct.

If you have been involved in accident, you can check if the third party’s vehicle is insured using the askMID website, though again, there is an administration charge for this too. 

As a motor trader who may have a Trade Car insurance policy that covers multiple vehicles, your Motor Trade insurance broker may allow/provide you access to the Motor Insurance Database so you can update it yourself, adding and removing any vehicles that you buy and sell. As soon as the policy has been taken out, you must add your vehicles and trade plates to the Motor Insurance Database.

Different insurance companies may have different methods of how they want you to update your details. For all of our Motor Trade insurance customers, we have pulled together a series of short videos to help guide you through what you need to do to update your MID listing.

What Vehicles Do I Need to Add to the Motor Insurance Database?

• All vehicles that are permanently registered to you, whether leased or owned.
• Temporary vehicles such as short term hire or courtesy vehicles.
• Customers’ vehicles in your possession for 14 days or more.
• Any other vehicles regularly covered under your Motor Trade insurance policy.

You don’t need to add untaxed stock vehicles (which are driven on trade plates) but the MIB prefer that you do.

What Information Do I Need To Provide?

• Policy number
• Vehicle Registration Mark
• The date the vehicle was first insured on the policy
• The date which the vehicle ceased to be covered under the policy

If you have any questions, or want to find out how you can update your MID listings yourself, call our specialist Motor Trade team on 0800 221 8077, and they’ll help get you started.