Electronic motor insurance policies
Following a change in the law, insurers are now able to issue motor insurance policies by e-mail. Sounds good, so how else might this benefit directors?
Where is it? Naturally, your personal and company motor vehicles are all properly insured. Having paid the premium you will have received a certificate of insurance through the post - assuming that it managed to survive the perils of the postal system. You must hang onto it tightly because there will probably be something in the small print which says a fee will be incurred if you require a replacement (charges of £50 upwards aren’t uncommon).
New law. Of course, no matter how careful you are, important documents can, and do, get misplaced. But on April 30 2010 the Motor Vehicles (Electronic Communication of Certificates of Insurance) Order 2010 came into force, and it aims to make this problem a thing of the past. It now allows insurers to issue motor insurance certificates by electronic means, e.g. they’re sent out as a pdf file by e-mail. Not only that, but they must continue to make the policy available online at all times, e.g. via a secure link on their website.
The reason. This change has come about following a lengthy campaign by the British Insurance Brokers’ Association. It estimates that 40 million hard copy certificates are issued every year, which costs the industry £10 million in postage and packaging. It remains to be seen if this saving will be passed on to you, but at least you shouldn’t be charged now if you need a further copy.
The benefits. We can see other advantages here too. For example, if you have a company vehicle in another part of the country and you need to get the insurance policy to the driver quickly, e.g. another director or an employee, you can send it to them by e-mail. When they print it off at the other end they will have a valid certificate of insurance.
Tip. We would still recommend that you print a copy of the insurance certificate for your records. But if the police ever need to request sight of it, perhaps following a random spot check on a vehicle, you can permit them to access the electronic version on your insurer’s website.
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