With Insurance Database Services Limited (IDSL) and MIB both operating in the insurance sector and the similarities and mutual interests held by the respective members, the Boards of IDSL and MIB have agreed to transfer the operations and functions of IDSL and MIB into one legal entity. The transfer of IDSL services into MIB comes into effect on 16 October 2016.

This proposal was agreed by IDSL and MIB members with the appropriate resolutions passed at their respective General Meeting’s on 29 July 2016.

IDSL has been managed by MIB Management Services Limited (MSL), a subsidiary of MIB, since 2011. The transfer removes the need to operate two separate independent companies, therefore reducing the administrative burden and dispensing with the need for the management agreement between IDSL and MIB MSL. 

The main assets of IDSL comprise two databases: the Claims & Underwriting Exchange (CUE) which includes home, motor and personal injury claims data, and the Motor Insurers’ Anti-Fraud and Theft Register (MIAFTR) which contains details of all motor vehicles that insurance companies have categorised as being written-off or stolen. Users of the CUE and MIAFTR services will not see any operational changes as a direct result of the transfer.

Ashton West OBE, MIB’s Chief Executive, said: “Bringing the management of the CUE and MIAFTR services under the umbrella of a single, not-for- profit organisation will increase efficiencies in the industry’s use of these.

“MIB has a track record of managing a variety of insurance-related databases, such as the Motor Insurance Database. We recognise the ongoing need for a co-ordinated vision supported by an efficient governance structure in the development and implementation of insurance industry initiatives and databases.”

MIB operates and maintains the Motor Insurance Database (MID) to enable the UK to comply with the Fourth EU Motor Insurance Directive. The MID contains insurance policy details of all insured UK vehicles and is accessed by various bodies and individuals for different purposes. MIB also provides management services and outsourcing facilities to other insurance bodies, including the Insurance Fraud Bureau and the Employers’ Liability Tracing Office (ELTO). Members of MIB form the majority of users accessing the CUE and MIAFTR databases.