MID progress a top priority

The comments by Keith Morris on the future use of the Motor Insurance Database are very welcome and I for one would be very happy to see the end of certificates and the emergence of MID as evidence of compulsory motor insurance (Post, 20 September, p1).

At present we are in a state of limbo where some police forces seem to be doing this already, while others operate a mixed approach that depends on who the driver is - or which way his baseball cap points.

Where police operate the former approach we have heard some horror stories of insured vehicles being crushed and we are fortunate that the Direct Line 'blip' of a few weeks ago did not result in a rash of similar incidents.

To the honest driver, a certificate of motor insurance signed by the chief executive officer of the insurance company is his evidence of insurance. The fact that a policeman cannot find this vehicle on MID, or any other database for that matter, is not the driver's problem and he should not be punished (unless the policeman has good reason to believe the car is uninsured).

Having said this, as an industry we have to recognise that the paper certificate has had its day. In the past, insurers have flirted with various types of security paper, but most of these measures have had limited success, mainly due to much of the printing being delegated or outsourced by the insurers. Additionally, most homes now have equipment good enough to reproduce a very authentic looking certificate or cover note.

It is for these reasons and for the benefit of the public generally that our industry must see the development of MID into a safe, accurate device as an absolute priority.

Roy Rodger, Insurance Training and Consultancy, Meols, Wirral.