Today I have declared war on the Norwich Union

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DaveK

Banned
Joined
Mar 8, 2008
Messages
496
Location
St Helens
Car
ML270
Yesterday, I was pulled up at a police check point which was part of a nation wide day of action to check on vehicle drivers and their documentation. It was a random check and didn't involve the use of ANPR.
Now my new Merc was swopped over on my insurance on Sat 8th March at mid day.
Imagine my surprise when the policeman tells me that having checked the MIB, the vehicle is shown as being uninsured. My offer to return home with one of them to get my new cert was refused on the grounds that a lot of people once in possession of an ins cert, then cancel the insurance but keep the cert.
By then I am facing the instant seizing of my car. Due to a combination of my having a tentative connection with the police force in question and the fact that my old vehicle came up as bing insured ( the one I replaced the Merc with ) I was allowed on my way.

TEN DAYS to update the MIB computer Norwich Union..TEN DAYS.
You had the extra premium out of my bank account with in 24 hours.
 
TEN DAYS to update the MIB computer Norwich Union..TEN DAYS.
I'm not sure but is Direct-line under wrote by Norwich Union?

When my son bought his car, within hours of ownership a BMW driver decided to drive into the back of his pride and joy.

The police attended the scene and we were amazed to discover they could check on the insurance details. My son had only owned the car for a few hours and had part exchanged his old car for the new one. The insurance details of the new car all related to my son, but the registered keeper was the previous owner :)

Go for it

Regards
John
 
I have been told it is now the responsibility of the insured to check that they are on the MIB data base before using the car in question !
No mention of that in the rain forest of bumph sent out with the Ins cert nor on any motor insurers websites. However, I have heard mention of this condition on several radio phone ins of recent where other drivers, some who had their cars seized whilst being fully and properly insured , have taken part.
 
I'm not sure but is Direct-line under wrote by Norwich Union?

Direct Line is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland. I think it is probably one of the few car insurers not underwritten by Norwich Union.
 
I have access to the MID, and having just checked it, it does state that details of vehicles should be entered to the MID "As soon as possible, preferably the same day, but in any event, within fourteen days."

NU are, like all the insurance companies, monitored upon their perforamcne in this respect, and will be fined as necessary for consistent breaches.

DaveK, you say it didn't involve any ANPR; but your car would have flagged on ANPR anyway, given it wasn't on the MID.

PJ
 
I have been told it is now the responsibility of the insured to check that they are on the MIB data base before using the car in question !

Not strictly true. Yes, this would absolve the insurance company from some of their responsibility, and arguably, it might be a wise thing to do, but it isn't a legal requirement.
 
I would make a very angry phone call to NU if I were you explaining the situation.

Correct me if I am wrong but your post saysthey sent you a new cover note with the details of your M class. I know with my Admiral insurance when you amend details of your policy, the changes are not valid until you receive the new documentation, not at the point of the money changing hands.

By the sounds of things, the fact you have a new cert means your new car should be the car you are insured to drive (as you have the documention), and it should be reflected on the national data base. I haven't heard anything about it being a personal responsibility to check your on that database, as it will be Norich Union who do it.
 
Two days is still to long. You can be stopped and car seized in those two days. It is not a discretionary thing with the police, they have to act if your vehicle isn't on that data base.
It wasn't a cover note I was sent but the full cert of insurance.
It isn't a legal requirement to check you are on the MIB data base but with police ready to seize your car if you're not, then this whole area needs some sort of urgent clarification. For a start off, it would be assuming that every car owner has access to the internet.
 
Whilst I agree, as long as you have evidence that you are covered, the bobbys on the beat will do nothing to you.

being in the trade i get stopped often. I have just got access to the MID site, but before that none of my 40+ cars were on the database...

All of our drivers carry a copy of the insurance certificate and it has never been taken any further.
if you have done the policy on line, just print out the confirmation until the certificate comes through.
 
Two days is still to long. You can be stopped and car seized in those two days. It is not a discretionary thing with the police, they have to act if your vehicle isn't on that data base.
It wasn't a cover note I was sent but the full cert of insurance.
It isn't a legal requirement to check you are on the MIB data base but with police ready to seize your car if you're not, then this whole area needs some sort of urgent clarification. For a start off, it would be assuming that every car owner has access to the internet.
Totally agree and it should not matter where you live, regarding how long it takes. My son's incident happened on a Saturday morning. He took delivery of the car at about 11am. The incident happened in the early afternnon. Just a few hours later.

John
 
You have to remember guys that the MID database is independent and collect info from all over the place... whilst im sure that they are working on reducing this lag, it is the authorities that need to bear this in mind when they stop someone.

I have found them to be perfectly understanding on the couple of occasions I have been stopped.
 
From what I have gleaned over the past couple of months, there are some staggering tales unfolding. People left stranded in Blackpool after car seized who turned up at a police station the following day with documents and told everything fine. collect your car from X . Turn up at car pound to be handed huge bill. Police refuse to intervene saying it is matter between insurers and insured. Now I want to see the evaders caught and dealt with but this every one guilty until they prove otherwise is just not on.

I think you will find in some force areas, GMP. Merseyside, West Yorkshire, that NO debate will be entered in to. Would be nice to see a comment from ACPO re this problem.
 
The MIB databases like all databases is often wrong and never up to date , no bobby will seize your vehicle based on the information on it , they will always confirm via telephone.
 
I would hope so maddog but Radio Merseysides lunch time phone in has produced at least 3 cases over the last 4 months featuring people whose cars were seized wrongfully. I believe that some of them were at night which I suspect means that insurers couldn't be contacted by phone. I rang the Norwich last night at 10.30pm but they had closed at 10 pm.
 
Two days is still to long. You can be stopped and car seized in those two days. It is not a discretionary thing with the police, they have to act if your vehicle isn't on that data base.
It is discretionary, as your case proved - they let you go.

On PistonHeads, where several Police Officers post, they say they will let people go if there's reasonable doubt about the accuracy of the database, even if people don't have the cert with them. There's generally a number they can call though, to check in real time.
 
The MIB databases like all databases is often wrong and never up to date , no bobby will seize your vehicle based on the information on it , they will always confirm via telephone.

That's certainly what happens in N Yorks. Will only seize if they cannot secure sufficient evidence that the car is insured. But if they can't then they will and do seize the car.

Again we can thank the scum out there that drive with no insurance for law abiding people having to face this type of activity and risk. And also the insurance companies who lead you to believe you are insured and can drive while they out the stuff in the post when it's not strictly true, as we found out only this week when the certificate came it was wrong!!

But hey ho - it's all helping slowly but surely get bad cars off the road which has to be a good thing.
 
This is an area that clearly needs corrected, perhaps a real time feed of information from each insurer into this data base would be a way forward.

Clearly there are cases where the system is failing.
 
Again we can thank the scum out there that drive with no insurance for law abiding people having to face this type of activity and risk.
Sorry Pammy, I disagree. My right to lawfully enjoy my own property should not be curtailed just because those who draft the laws are so inept that they couldn't forsee this situation occuring. If I follow your line of reasoning to its logical conclusion then it wouldn't matter very much if we happened to execute a few innocent people in our effort to rid our country of murderers by way of capital punishment either. I don't expect for one minute that you believe that, and neither do I.

There are very sound reasons why, in the past, the Police haven't been allowed to dish out "summary justice" on the streets, and the unjustified seizure of vehicles that are being lawfully used amply demonstrates why it's still wrong for them to have that authority. Just wait until ID cards come in. Left it at home and can't provide it for inspection by a Police Officer when asked? Off to the cells it is with you matey :eek: And don't think that this sort of Orwellian nightmare isn't possible in our green and pleasant land. The general populace thought it wasn't possible in 1930's Germany either.
 
My mate is a bobby and often does ANPR so far of all the cars flagged up as having no insurance every one actually has , in fact due to the delay on updating the database (often at least 2 weeks) , the first question they ask is "Have you recently bought the car or changed your insurers??"
 

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