When you buy car insurance, a record is added to the Motor Insurance Database (MID). You can use the MID to check if your car is insured - as well as which insurance company you are insured by.

How to check your car insurance using AskMID

To check your car insurance, search for your car's number plate on AskMID, the Motor Insurance Database (MID) website.

The MID will tell you if your car is insured. You can also use AskMID to find out who your car insurance is with, along with a few other details of your policy.

The police also use the MID to check if a vehicle is insured. It can take a while for your policy to show up in the search. But don't worry. If this happens, your policy is still valid. More on that in a mo 👇

Checking your car insurance is free. Just go to AskMID, and type in your car's registration number.

Your insurance is still legal, even if it doesn't show up on the MID

It can sometimes take a little while for your details to show up on the MID.

The police's Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) database can also sometimes be slow to update. Sometimes new policies are only added once per week (and unfortunately there's nothing we can do to speed it up!).

If you're buying short-term car insurance, there's a chance your policy won't be added to the MID in time.

Because of this, we send your policy details to the MID as quickly as we can. But the MID can be slow to update, whoever you buy your insurance with.

Some of our customers have been pulled over by the police because of this - but don’t worry, as long as you are insured and can provide your policy docs, you have nothing to worry about.

What to do if you're pulled over

If you're pulled over, and your insurance isn't listed on the MID, don't panic. It is not a legal requirement to show up on the MID. From the moment you buy your Cuvva policy, your insurance is valid. Your policy documents are your proof of cover - so just show them to the police officer.

You can find your policy documents in the app. Tap on the "Profile" button in the top left and then tap on your vehicle. You'll see a list of all the policies you've bought.

You'll also get an email copy of your policy documents as soon as you buy it.

Only look up your car

There are strict rules about which cars you can look up on MID. You are only allowed to look up the details if:

• You own the car yourself
• You are the registered keeper or driver of the car
• You or your employer insure the car
• You are an insurance agent and working on behalf of your client
• So don’t just enter any old reg plate!

However, if you’ve been in an accident with another car or want to buy a used car, you can request the information from MID.

Just check the Other Vehicle Look Up Service. It costs £4.50 per enquiry.

You only need to show your policy docs to prove you're insured

What to do if you're not insured

You must have car insurance to drive. If you're not insured, you have two options:

• Get insured! Check out our temporary insurance, with policies from 1 hour to 28 days
• If your vehicle is being kept off the road, you need to SORN it. SORN stands for “statutory off-road notice”. You have to keep it on private property 100% of the time, and it is illegal to be on a public road (even if it's parked)

Whatever you're after, you can get a quote in minutes.