Men in Black or the Motor Insurer's Bureau - fighting the bad guys!
While the special effects might not be quite so exciting, our MIB are also engaged in a battle. Theirs, however is not against celluloid aliens but the all too real uninsured drivers who might as well live on another planet.
Human and financial cost
The MIB deals with over 30,000 claims every year from victims involved in accidents with uninsured and hit and run drivers.
Uninsured and untraced drivers kill 160 people and injure 23,000 every year.
Uninsured driving costs over £500m every year and adds pounds to every honest motorist's insurance premium.
Catching and crushing
Drivers without insurance face losing the vehicle, a £200 fixed penalty, £150 collection charge, £20 per day storage and six points on their licence.
No vehicle is released until proof of insurance is produced and if that’s not forthcoming, then the vehicle is likely to follow hundreds of thousands to the crusher.
Since 2006 more than 400,000 uninsured vehicles have been seized, almost half of which have been crushed.
Continuous Insurance Enforcement
Further crackdowns such as the introduction of Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) in 2011, along
with greater public awareness have helped reduce the number of claims involving uninsured vehicles by almost 13% in the last two years.
CIE means your vehicle must be insured, even if it’s not currently in use.
You can only take your vehicle off the road and cancel your insurance by returning your tax disc to DVLA. Even if you’ve a vehicle that is still taxed but not insured, you could face a penalty. This includes motorbikes, motor homes and other vehicles that people sometimes leave uninsured for part of the year.
That means it's vital that the Motor Insurance Database (MID) holds your correct registration number because if it's held incorrectly, you're at risk of having your vehicle seized by the police. If you choose to insure with Saga, we'll make sure the MID is updated properly for you, but you can check that your correct details are shown on the MID at any time.
No opt out
Established in 1946 to compensate the victims of negligent uninsured and untraced motorists, the MIB manages the Motor Insurance Database which is used by the police to trace uninsured vehicles.
Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, every insurer underwriting compulsory motor insurance must be a member of MIB and to contribute to its funding.
It’s message is quite simple; drivers without valid insurance have no right to be on the road. It is illegal.