This may not be the most exciting topic but It’s important to check your car has a valid insurance policy using askMID. If you’ve never checked your car insurance on askMID before, or you just want some help understanding what it all means, keep reading because we’ve got this.
What is askMID?
The Motor Insurance Database (MID) a.k.a the central record of all insured vehicles in the UK, so kind of a big important deal. The MID is used by the police and DVLA to make sure that all vehicles on the road are insured at all times. The police use askMID for their Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) to catch uninsured drivers on the road and It’s also used by people like you who just want to be sure their insurance is valid.
Continuous insurance enforcement
It’s important to show up on askMID because of a law that came into play in 2011 called ‘continuous insurance enforcement’. This means unless you’ve registered your vehicle as off the road, it’s a legal requirement to have a valid insurance policy.
There are things you may do that invalidate your car insurance even if it shows up on askMID. You can check out our handy guide on what invalidates car insurance if you’re unsure.
MID check
You can check your insurance policy is valid using the MID database yourself, it’s completely free and it will tell you straight away if your insurance is valid. Just follow these simple steps if you want to check it out:
- Go to https://ownvehicle.askmid.com/
- Enter your vehicle registration number
- Tick the box and confirm that you’ve read the Data Protection Declaration
- Click ‘Check this vehicle’
Why isn’t my insurance showing up on askMID?
If you’ve only recently bought insurance and it’s not showing up, there’s no need to panic. Sometimes new insurance policies are only added once per week and it may not be up to date with your insurance policy just yet.
However, let’s just take a step back… If your insurance policy isn’t showing up on the MID, the first thing to do is check for errors with your insurance details. We’re all guilty of a typo from time to time, so it could be as simple as using the letter ‘O’ instead of zero.
If you think you’re insured but your insurance policy isn’t showing up on the MID, it’s a good idea to get in touch with your insurance provider. They will be able to send your details to the MID.
What happens if your vehicle doesn’t show up on askMID?
If you don’t have a valid insurance policy, you’ll get a red box that says ‘no, the vehicle is showing as uninsured’.
If your vehicle is shown as not being insured on the MID, it’s possible you may be pulled over by the police. If this happens and you do have valid insurance, you’ll just need to show them your insurance policy documents to prove it but remember that it’s your responsibility to prove you have it, not theirs to prove you don’t.
How long does it take for askMID to update?
The Motor Insurance Database (MID) is generally updated every 48 hours. However it can take up to 7 days to update.
Can you check if someone else has valid insurance?
The askMID service can also be really helpful if you’ve been in an accident and want to check if the third party involved has valid insurance.
Just like if you were searching your own registration, the process is private and the third party won’t be made aware of your search. The process is slightly different if you’re checking third party insurance after an accident, don’t worry, we’ve got those steps down for you here:
- Go to https://www.askmid.com/askmidenquiry.aspx
- Fill out your contact information and registration number
- Fill out the third party registration number
- Fill out information about your involvement in the incident and the incident date
- Confirm the terms of use
- Pay a £5 fee
Can you check MOT and tax on askMID?
Nope, the MID database can only be used to check car insurance. If you want to check if your car has a valid MOT, you can check using the government website here. If you want to check if your car is taxed, you can check using this government site.
Does temporary car insurance show up on askMID?
Yes. But it can take up to a week for the cover to show on the Motor Insurance Database. There should already be an annual insurance policy on the car if it’s a learner driver policy or if you’re sharing a friend or family member’s car. If your temporary insurance isn’t showing up yet on the MID, make sure you’ve got your insurance policy documents handy so you could prove you’ve got insurance if you got pulled over to save any possible issues.
If you’ve found this article helpful but lost with all the car insurance wording, you may want to check out our car insurance jargon buster and get up to speed with all the other confusing insurance terms.
Make sure you’re insured
Don’t get caught out, with temporary insurance you can get insured and be on the road in minutes. Get cover on your own car or borrow someone else’s from 1 hour up to 60 days.