Government urged to speed electronic insurance certificates

AA Insurance has called on national and local authorities to go easy on drivers whose documents may be caught up in the postal strike.

Simon Douglas, director of AA Insurance, says: "Britain's 30 million drivers, local authorities and the police still rely on the post for many motoring matters. The dispute can pose difficulties for drivers who, for example, are trying to renew their insurance or car tax."

However, he points out that paper records only back up information that should already be on national databases such as insurance and road tax.

"Provided customers have renewed their cover or taken out new insurance before their current cover expires, they should have no difficulty even if their insurance documents are delayed in the post as the Motor Insurance Database (MID) will have been updated," he says.

"But people who have left renewal to the last minute could find there is a gap on the database between expiry of their old policy and the database being updated. That would put them at risk of being stopped by police using automatic number place (anpr) equipment which draws its information from the MID."

Technical breaches, such as non display of a tax disc, are just that and the authorities can easily see from electronic records whether the vehicle is taxed or not. However, Douglas says: "Legislative delay in recognising electronic insurance certificates could leave drivers who need to produce new documents vulnerable, such at a post office when buying a new tax disc."

Douglas says he is disappointed at the long delay in getting the necessary amendment to legislation completed, so that electronic insurance certificates are recognised under the Road Traffic Act,* despite the fact that back in November 2007, Jim Fitzpatrick MP announced that he had instructed Departmental lawyers to begin drafting the necessary legislation to allow this programme to go ahead.

He adds: "Consumers are increasingly happy to use computer technology to buy insurance and other financial products and to then have their documents delivered by post is an anachronism. The postal dispute highlights the benefit of electronic deliver which is, in any case, robustly backed up by the Motor Insurance Database, and underlines the urgency needed to amend the legislation."

Douglas also pointed to the environmental benefit of electronic delivery which would save a significant amount of energy currently used to produce, print and deliver paper. He added that AA is ready to issue electronic documents when the legislation allows this to happen, and said that faxed copies of certificates are already be sent, for example to garages to confirm that a newly-purchased car is insured.

The AA has also urged those carrying out motoring enforcement by post, such as for speed, traffic or parking offences which are commonly detected by camera, to build extra time into the process.

To help drivers, the AA has published advice at: theaa.com/motoring_advice/tax-disc-and-car-insurance-advice-royal-mail-industrial-action.html

The AA believes that the current dispute underlines the need for urgency in amending the legislation.