My Licence officially launches

Through My Licence, a data sharing programme, insurers and brokers will be able to get DVLA data on motoring convictions and penalty points when providing motor insurance quotes.

The initiative was developed in partnership with the Association of British Insurers in response to the government's insurance industry access to driver data programme.

The system had an expected launch date of Q2 2014, which the ABI had previously acknowledged.

MIB CEO Ashton West, pictured, said: "We have been working with the DVLA and ABI on this since 2010. With a project of this scale and significance it's important that the delivery meets industry needs and benefits consumers and we're confident that My Licence will do exactly that."

Transport minister Claire Perry said: "MyLicence is good news for motorists and good news for the motor insurance industry. This government is investing in the service which will allow insurers to price much more accurately and should reduce premiums for honest motorists."

Huw Evans, ABI director of policy and deputy director general, added: "My Licence is good news for honest motorists. It will speed up the application process, help insurers, brokers and comparison websites to better identify potential frauds and keep motor insurance premiums as competitively priced as possible."

MyLicence is the first in a series of services that will be delivered via the MIB Hub. The second, which is due to go live next year, will reduce the need for motorists to send and keep hard copy proof of no claims discount.

Speaking at the Post Fraud 2014 event in November, DVLA CEO Oliver Morley said My Licence was being built to handle around 300 million enquiries per year.

"In terms of scalability we will be looking at some stage up to one billion [enquiries] per year," he said.

According to DVLA data, up to 23% of motorists fail to accurately disclose their driving record, including disqualifications; 16% of policyholders under-declare convictions and 7% over-declare.