No online insurance database

Motorists can enter invalid insurance details when renewing their vehicle tax online, because the national vehicle file is not linked to a database of vehcle insurers, as required by European law.

Online motor tax renewal has grown rapidly since it was introduced in late 2003.

Dorothea Dowling, former chair of the Motor Insurance Advisory Board, has warned that people could choose to put "any old rubbish as the name of your insurance company and policy number because the Department of the Environment doesn't have a database to check if this data is correct."

Providing such information to visiting EU citizens who are victims of motor accidents was a central requirement for each member state under the terms of the Fourth Motor Insurance Directive, which came into force in 2003.

With manual tax renewals, documents proving NCT certification and valid insurance had to be provided before the vehicle could be taxed. However, with online vehicle taxation, the motorist inputs details of an insurance company and policy number but is not required to provide validation of this data.

A Department of the Environment spokesman said the online vehicle tax registration system is not linked to an insurance database because none exists. He added that spot-checks and Garda checkpoints were used to enforce the requirement to have valid insurance and an NCT certificate.

But Ms Dowling says this misinterprets the requirements under European law: "The Department seems to be placing responsibility for this [database] on the Irish Insurance Federation or the Motor Insurance Bureau.

"It is actually up to the member state, in this case the Department, to ensure that all vehicles are insured and to keep a database of insurance details. Provision of this information to accident victims is a requirement under European law."

Ms Dowling says that rather than solving the problem with technology, the current situation makes it possible for people to supply false information and puts the onus on the gardaí to catch offenders, rather than preventing the crime from being committed in the first place.

"I don't think a lot of people have copped on to this yet. For most people, taxing the car is a yearly cycle and when they find that they don't need the NCT cert, some will say: 'Hold on, why should I bother with this piece of paper?'. By not adopting a straightforward technology solution, online tax renewal could contribute to the problem of uninsured drivers and also a possible lack of compliance with the NCT."

Other countries are adopting to the Directive's requirements and she points to Britain as an example. "There, if you fail to renew your car tax on time, you are sent a fine and it is up to you to defend the matter."

In recent weeks, a second instance of apparent non-compliance with European vehicle insurance legislation has been revealed. In a letter seen by Motors, the Dublin City Council Motor Taxation Office has said, "due to a change of policy" it will only supply insurance details of a vehicle involved in a collision directly to a solicitor.

The move is described by Ms Dowling as "bringing the legal profession back into all motor insurance claims by the back door."

She says the Dublin City Council letter, dated July 2005, is out of step with legislation because "people are supposed to be able to get this information from the State." It is believed Dublin City Council changed its policy in response to data protection concerns. "Definitely this policy is likely to be challenged. It would be ridiculous that everyone in an accident who needs details of the insurer of the culpable vehicle has to incur a solicitor's fee."

Removing solicitors' costs, which add about 46 per cent to the compensation figure, was the cornerstone of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB) which has been in operation since last summer with the goal of speeding up compensation claims.