BIBA success with electronic motor insurance certificate

The British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) is delighted that following years of negotiation between the Department for Transport (DfT) and BIBA, that the legislative changes which enable the electronic delivery of motor insurance certificates to customers are about to become law.

The Department for Transport has confirmed to BIBA that the new regulations will be laid before parliament tomorrow. It is intended for new regulations to be in force on 30th April 2010.

From the end of April, where a customer agrees to electronic delivery with their insurance provider, a certificate can be issued as an email attachment or accessed via a website.

Graeme Trudgill, BIBA Technical and Corporate Affairs Executive, said: "After five years and discussions with numerous ministers, we are delighted to see these proposed changes in legislation".  This really will benefit everyone - a speedier service for clients, a cost saving for the industry and a real benefit for the environment."

Electronic delivery of motor certificates is expected to save the industry in excess of £10m, reduce the environmental burden of 40 million hard copy certificates being printed and posted each year, and ensure that motorists have quicker access via the internet to their certificate if they need it.

Eric Galbraith, BIBA Chief Executive, commented: "This change was top of our motor committee's agenda, BIBA has worked closely with the Department for Transport and their lawyers to go through the many potential problems including concerns over fraud, how to surrender a certificate that is on your computer, how to protect people that don't have computers, in which format they should be delivered or printed, and the potential redistribution of the Motor Insurers' Bureau levy if certain rules are changed."

Graeme Trudgill, added:  "The post strikes really bought home the need for this change. BIBA and its peers have worked to overcome all of the issues and find a way to make this a reality. Changing long standing legislation is never easy and it has required key pieces of law to be changed to achieve electronic certificates."