MIB prepares to fine insurers that failed to meet October deadline
The Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) is preparing to levy fines of up to £250,000 on nine insurers that have failed to meet Motor Insurance Database (MID) targets.
Insurers had until the end of October to meet the target of forwarding the insurance details of 95% of their policyholders to the MID within 14 days.
Ashton West, chief executive of the MIB, said eleven insurers had failed to make the grade, two of which are now insolvent.
He would not reveal the names of the non-compliant firms.
West said these firms would "probably" be slammed with a fine. "The size of the fine will be determined by how compliant they are," he said.
Fines can be up to £250,000, with a minimum of £1,000.
But West said that overall insurers had achieved a "great result", with 96.2% of the market uploading the data onto the MID within the timescales set.
At the end of September only 62% of the market had achieved the targets.
Meanwhile, the MIB this week joined forces with police to take uninsured cars off the road.
Transport secretary Alistair Darling launched Operation Liability in Birmingham on Tuesday morning. Using the MID combined with automatic number plate recognition cameras, police targeted hotspots for uninsured cars across the country.
Those cars seized will be held for 14 days until the owners can produce proof of insurance and pay removal and storage fees. Those left unclaimed will be "disposed" of.
West, who patrolled the streets with West Midlands police on Tuesday, said the police operation was the culmination of two years' work.
He told Insurance Times that police had already recovered one vehicle loaded with weapons and a stolen car.
"Motorists are going to feel the full impact of Operation Liability on the road," he said.
