The information you have to supply to the Information Centre

 

As we explained earlier, we are keen to help policyholders meet their obligations, so we have made it as simple as possible for you to send the information to the Information Centre. The notes below explain what options you have, how they work in practice, and what you have to do to set them up.

 

The absolute minimum information you must tell the Information Centre is the Vehicle Registration Marks (VRM – i.e. the licence plate) for each of the vehicles which you consider is on cover under the insurance which we supply. You also need to say when the vehicle started being on cover and when it finished being on cover.

 

Additional information will assist those using the database for enquiries to verify that the information supplied is correct, so it is also recommended that you supply details about the vehicle – for example, its make and model.

 

Which changes you have to notify

 

The law will require you to notify all changes to your fleet of vehicles, except those which are transient (so-called “passing vehicles”). Transient in this context means those vehicles which you borrow, rent or use for only a few days (less than one week).

 

You must tell the Information Centre about any vehicle which is on cover for longer than this, even if you don’t own it.

 

If you have Trade Plates, these should also be notified to the Information Centre database, in the same way as normal vehicle registrations.

 

If you have Plant (trailers, construction equipment) which is for road use but does not have its own vehicle registration mark, you need not supply details of this equipment, although you can if you wish.

 

If you have vehicles which are Foreign Registered (for example, with Republic of Ireland plates) you do not have to supply these, as they should be registered in their own country. We are investigating how we may be able to assist policyholders with large numbers of foreign registered vehicles send their information to both the UK and other EU systems.

 

If you are a Motor Trader and carry stock or look after customer cars, you do not have to tell the Information Centre database about these vehicles. You must send details of cars you normally use (such as demonstrators, works vehicles etc.).

How you can send the information

 

You can send the information in one of five ways:

 

1.       You can connect to our web site and simply update a list of vehicles on line.

2.       You can download an Excel spreadsheet from our web site, maintain a list of vehicles in the spreadsheet and send it to us as and when it changes.

3.       You can arrange with us to provide the information over the phone (or by fax or post) for us to enter in to the system on your behalf

4.       If you already maintain your list of vehicles in a Fleet Management system, you can contact your software supplier and arrange for them to extract it and send it to us

5.       You can ask your broker to send it on your behalf

 

The table below is intended to help you decide which method may best suit you.

 

Method	1 Web site	2 Excel	3 By phone	4 Extract	5 Broker
Do you have Internet access?	Required	Required	Not required	Required	Not Required
Do you have a fleet management system?	Not required	Not required	Not required	Required	Not Required
Is your broker able to help?	Not  required	Not  required	Not  required	Not  required	Required
Will your broker undertake the work for free?	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	Recommended
Permanent Internet connection available?	Recommended	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

 

In general terms, the methods above can also be ranked in ease of use, as follows (easiest first):

 

What it might cost

 

The cost of providing data to the Information Centre database has to be borne by you. In many cases, this will be simply the cost of entering the data in to whatever system of transmission you choose.

 

Indicative costs are shown in the table below

 

Method	One-off charge	Labour cost	Other costs
1 Web site	Familiarisation and training costs	Approximately 3 minutes per vehicle change	Internet connection costs while connected
2 Excel	Familiarisation and training costs	Approximately 1 minute per vehicle change	Internet connection costs while connected
3 By phone	We will charge you £100 to set up this service	Approximately 1 minute per vehicle change	We will charge you 50p per vehicle amendment
4 Extract	Cost of amending the system	None	None
5 Broker	May make a charge – varies	None	None

 

These costs assume the rate of change is small and each change is made as it occurs. We cannot estimate your labour costs since these depend on particular circumstances.

 

For training and familiarisation, we recommend that you allow for at least two operators to cover for period of absences and allocate half a day to practice data entry and transmission.

 

How we will support you

 

We have devised a process for helping you set your organisation up to collect and transmit the data to the Information Centre via us. This process is described below.

 

Step 1.              Together with your Insurer, we will create an information sheet for each of policyholder we are supporting. This contains the basic information that we hold about you.

Step 2.              We will then contact you, probably by telephone, if we need to fill in further details. This relates, for example, to whether you have a fleet management system and who supplies it

Step 3.              If necessary, we will produce from the information we have gathered a document which proposes the way in which you can set up the internal data collection and transmission methods

Step 4.              This will be sent to you; when you receive it, you should act upon its recommendations

Step 5.              If you require more detailed help to decide how to progress, you can contact us for further assistance.

Step 6.              If your needs are complex, we will be able to provide you with a consultant to visit and talk to you – this may be charged to you

Step 7.              When you have decided what to do, we ask you to write to us (using a standard form) to let us know what approach you have decided on

Step 8.              We will then set up whatever arrangements are needed at our end, and will send you exact details (of web sites, user id’s, telephone numbers etc.).

Step 9.              We will provide detailed instruction manuals for your use. If you need training, this can be supplied but may be charged for

Step 10.          We will also let you know the date from which we expect you to start sending details; the MID system will be live from September 2002 but we would like to collect data well before then to ensure that the process is running smoothly

Step 11.          Once the data has started being collected, we will advise you of any issues with it as it progresses

 

 

What happens next?

If you have any questions, you should address them to Motor Data Solutions using the following contact details:

 

Email: amre@motordatasolutions.co.uk

 

Telephone: 0870 12 13 408

 

By post:

 

Motor Data Solutions Ltd

Customer Support Centre

Redland

Bristol BS6 6YE

 

If you need to contact your broker, please pass them a copy of this note at the same time, and ask them to contact us, using the above details. Similarly, if your software supplier needs further information, please ask them to email us for our Fleet Management System Interface Pack.