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Check car insurance
Need to check the insurance status of your own car, or someone else's? There are a few resources to be aware of to help check car insurance online. Here's how you do it.
- How to check car insurance
- How to check if a car is insured (after an accident)
- Is my car insured? Free DVLA Check.
- Check car insurance status
- Car insurance check GOV
- Check car tax
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How to check car insurance
To simply check if your car is insured, go to the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) and enter your registration number.
To find out when your current car insurance policy ends:
- Check your certificate of insurance, which will include the 'start of cover' and 'end of cover' dates
- Check other policy documents received from your insurer; these should include your policy dates
- Check your renewal reminder, which the insurer should send around three to four weeks before your renewal is due
- Check your bank statements to track your first insurance payment, which probably coincides with the policy start date (this method may be less accurate)
How to check if a car is insured (after an accident)
If there has been a motor vehicle accident, you can pay £10 to find out if the other vehicle is insured using Navigate (also known as askMID).
The date of the accident and the registration details of the other vehicle are required to search on askMID. If the other car's registration is found, Navigate will provide the following insurance details:
- Policy number
- Name of insurer
- The claims contact details to help you progress a claim
Is my car insured? Free DVLA Check.
The DVLA does not offer car insurance checks, but the DVLA works with a non-profit organisation called the Motor Insurance Bureau to provide car insurance information to those who need it.
What is the Motor Insurance Bureau?
The Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) is a non-profit group that helps reduce uninsured driving and provides assistance to innocent victims of traffic accidents caused by uninsured drivers and hit-and-run drivers.
What is the Motor Insurance Database?
The Motor Insurance Database (MIB) is the central record of insurance kept by the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB). It operates in partnership with the insurance industry, police, solicitors and the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA).
The MID is used by police to identify uninsured vehicles under the Continuous Insurance Enforcement (CIE) scheme; by motorists to make sure their vehicle is insured; by accident victims to check insurance details of other parties; by insurers to assist with claims processing.
Check car insurance status
To check your own car's insurance status online, go to the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB).
You are only entitled to the insurance information about a vehicle using this link if you are within the United Kingdom and one or more of the following are true about the car:
- it is either registered/owned/insured by you or your employer
- you are permitted to drive it
- you are an Insurance Broker or Agent and acting on behalf of your client
To check someone else's car's insurance status in the event of an accident, use the Third Party Vehicle Look-up service at askMID, now referred to as Navigate.
Car insurance check GOV
You can't check car insurance on the GOV website, like you can check car tax and MOT. However, you can check your own car insurance status on the non-profit organisation Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB); or someone else's insurance status at the Motor Insurance Database/Navigate.
Check car tax
You can check car tax online on the government's website, here. This link takes you to a page where you can check both the car's current tax and MOT status, as well as when tax is next due and the MOT expires.
MIB was established in 1946 to compensate the victims of negligent uninsured and untraced motorists.
To reduce the level and impact of uninsured driving in the UK • Compensate victims of uninsured and untraced drivers fairly and promptly