Police/Car Insurance Certificate
Discussion
entropy said:
Do police still check these things these days?
Would a pdf on a smartphone suffice?
Usually insurance status is on MID so that's how the police can check if a car is insured to drive however if your insurance started at a time out of work hours i.e. 00:00 on Sunday night then the car might not appear as insured on the MID in which case having a certificate to show will help if stopped by police. Would a pdf on a smartphone suffice?
KungFuPanda said:
Why don't you print off a copy of the PDF and keep it in your glovebox to be sure?
Treehuggers will argue it saves trees.KungFuPanda said:
Why don't you print off a copy of the PDF and keep it in your glovebox to be sure?
Surely the best way.O/T but similarly with any phone based important document such as boarding cards, what if your phone breaks/battery runs out just at the crucial time. For the sake of printing a sheet of paper, I would always do so (if possible) as a tech-failure backup.
catso said:
KungFuPanda said:
Why don't you print off a copy of the PDF and keep it in your glovebox to be sure?
Surely the best way.O/T but similarly with any phone based important document such as boarding cards, what if your phone breaks/battery runs out just at the crucial time. For the sake of printing a sheet of paper, I would always do so (if possible) as a tech-failure backup.
I carry two smartphones on me - the old one is used as back up/don't mind losing for boarding passes, e-tickets, etc.
PM me the certificate, I'll print a copy, scan it and email it back to you... 
Boosted LS1 said:
Don't you have 7 days to produce these documents or have the rules changed? I don't carry anything with me and I'm not panicking.
Technically you do, however if there's a database feckup then you stand the risk of the car being seized if there's sufficient grounds to believe it's uninsured.Following on from the above point, what if you had just insured your car on Monday, got a tug from the Police on Wednesday. The MID database hadn't been updated but you could show them your pdf certificate or a print off. The police still say you're uninsured as you could have cancelled said policy and kept the certificate / pdf. They then tow your car away and you have to subsequently have to pay say £450 for towing and release fees.
Once it was proved that you were insured, could you claim those fees back from the Police for wrongly taking your vehicle away? Or could the insurers be to blame for not updating the MID database quickly enough? Surely they would be allowed a reasonable period of time to update?
Once it was proved that you were insured, could you claim those fees back from the Police for wrongly taking your vehicle away? Or could the insurers be to blame for not updating the MID database quickly enough? Surely they would be allowed a reasonable period of time to update?
KungFuPanda said:
Following on from the above point, what if you had just insured your car on Monday, got a tug from the Police on Wednesday. The MID database hadn't been updated but you could show them your pdf certificate or a print off. The police still say you're uninsured as you could have cancelled said policy and kept the certificate / pdf. They then tow your car away and you have to subsequently have to pay say £450 for towing and release fees.
Once it was proved that you were insured, could you claim those fees back from the Police for wrongly taking your vehicle away? Or could the insurers be to blame for not updating the MID database quickly enough? Surely they would be allowed a reasonable period of time to update?
If you had produced to the police officer at the scene a paper copy or a downloaded version of your "relevant" Certificate of Insurance then the seizure of the vehicle would not have been lawful and you would be entitled to a refund of the charges.Once it was proved that you were insured, could you claim those fees back from the Police for wrongly taking your vehicle away? Or could the insurers be to blame for not updating the MID database quickly enough? Surely they would be allowed a reasonable period of time to update?
This is why it is very important to carry either your Certificate in a physical form or a digital copy
carreauchompeur said:
Boosted LS1 said:
Don't you have 7 days to produce these documents or have the rules changed? I don't carry anything with me and I'm not panicking.
Technically you do, however if there's a database feckup then you stand the risk of the car being seized if there's sufficient grounds to believe it's uninsured.KungFuPanda said:
Following on from the above point, what if you had just insured your car on Monday, got a tug from the Police on Wednesday. The MID database hadn't been updated but you could show them your pdf certificate or a print off. The police still say you're uninsured as you could have cancelled said policy and kept the certificate / pdf. They then tow your car away and you have to subsequently have to pay say £450 for towing and release fees.
The police should not be impounding your car based solely on its absence from the MID if you can produce a certificate. The MID is a database, a guide if you like, and not the be all and end all. Producing a valid certificate trumps the vehicle not being on the MID. If the police are suspicious that the certificate produced isn't valid, they have to carry out further enquiries by contacting the insurer concerned. TwigtheWonderkid said:
The police should not be impounding your car based solely on its absence from the MID if you can produce a certificate. The MID is a database, a guide if you like, and not the be all and end all. Producing a valid certificate trumps the vehicle not being on the MID. If the police are suspicious that the certificate produced isn't valid, they have to carry out further enquiries by contacting the insurer concerned.
and it is worth adding to this that if the Insurers incorrectly advise the Police that the vehicle is not insured after you have produced a valid (Relevent) Certificate, that if they subsequently impound the vehicle that the seizure is unlawful and the police would be liable to refund any costs in releasing the vehicle and any consequential lossescarreauchompeur said:
Not being on MID is a good start for reasonable suspicion, inability to answer questions about insurance/ownership of car another starter point...
I think if you can answer questions about the car then the MID aspect should be irrelevant. A reasonable copper should give you a producer. If under those circumstances they seized my car I'd be livid as the onus isn't on me to carry documentation. It's on them to conduct proper enquiries. I can see your point though.TwigtheWonderkid said:
The police should not be impounding your car based solely on its absence from the MID if you can produce a certificate. The MID is a database, a guide if you like, and not the be all and end all. Producing a valid certificate trumps the vehicle not being on the MID. If the police are suspicious that the certificate produced isn't valid, they have to carry out further enquiries by contacting the insurer concerned.
.... and if the insurer isn't contactable at half-past midnight - then what?Gassing Station | Speed, Plod & the Law | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff