swiftcover celebrates approval of electronic insurance certificates

Online insurance pioneer swiftcover.com has welcomed the long-awaited Department for Transport's official stamp of approval for electronic car insurance certificates, saying the move will bring major time-saving benefits to motorists.

Electronic certificates are e-mailed directly to a motorist by the insurer as soon as the policy is approved, enabling the driver to print out a copy and cut out the frustrating wait for paperwork to arrive in the post, which can often cause drivers delays in tasks such as taxing their vehicles.

swiftcover.com says that drivers can now insure and tax their cars completely online in a matter of minutes, without the need for any printed documentation or time-wasting telephone calls and Post Office queues. After getting their insurance at swiftcover.com, motorists can then tax their vehicle online at taxdisc.direct.gov.uk. *

Tina Shortle, marketing director for swiftcover.com, explains: "We are delighted to see that e-certificates for motor insurance have finally been approved by the Department for Transport as this has been something that swiftcover.com has been pushing for since we began in business.

"Our service is based on making car insurance quicker, simpler and more efficient to organise, which not only saves drivers time, by getting rid of things like call-centres, it also helps save costs. "

The British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA), who, along with major insurers, took part in the discussions with the Department for Transport, says the move is environmentally-friendly, saving 2,280 tonnes of carbon dioxide and up to 9,750 trees annually that would normally be used to create paper insurance certificates.

*To be able to tax a vehicle online, owners need to have their V11 tax reminder, their V5 logbook and car registration number, plus valid insurance and MOT certificate and some form of payment such as a debit or credit card. The online process checks the Motor Insurance Database at askmid.com for valid insurance as well as the VOSA database at motinfo.direct.gov.uk for a valid MOT. Drivers can use both services to check the validity of their own documentation.