Two years is too long to wait, says Brightside chairman of broking

Brightside Group has warned that delays to letting insurers access the DVLA database will cause motor premiums to rise.

Access to the database was due to be allowed in early 2014, but last month Insurance Times reported that the start date could be delayed by up to 11 months because of a row over the cost.

Brightside Group chairman of broking Martyn Holman said that two years was too long to wait and that Brightside’s research showed that dishonest motor applications have risen by 40% over the last two years.

Holman said: “With our own statistics showing the serious impact that two years of fraudulent applications can cause to insurance premiums, we cannot allow this industry problem to escalate even further.

“Key to alleviating the problem is insurers being confident that they are insuring the risk they have in front of them, and that it is accurate. The only way that this can be achieved is through brokers validating 100% of insurance applications.”

Holman added that validating every motor application showed that 25% of applicants were turned down for entering incorrect details.