Following on from the replatforming of the Motor Insurance Database (MID) to Navigate in April 2024, we’re planning to move MIAFTR, another key MIB data service, to the same cloud-based platform later this year.

The Motor Insurance Anti-Fraud and Theft Register (MIAFTR) is an important database containing c.10million records, helping to monitor vehicles written off for insurance purposes, trace and recover stolen vehicles, and to detect fraud.

First established in 1987 by the insurance industry, it’s an important way of sharing data to better identify and tackle fraud. Insurers primarily use it to notify the DVLA of vehicle write-offs. The public use its data via third party provenance companies to check the history of a vehicle.

MIAFTR is used by the 48 police forces across England and Wales to determine the roadworthiness or stolen status of vehicles during investigations and roadside operations.

PNC markers show that a vehicle has been stolen, but not the details of any write-off categories (A,B,S,N) that have been assigned to a vehicle following an incident.

While stolen vehicle markers only remain available for six years on the PNC, regardless of whether a vehicle has been found, vehicle category markers remain forever on MIAFTR. It's about a vehicle (not an individual) and therefore doesn't fall under GDPR.

Modernising our data services – one step at a time

Last year we moved the Motor Insurance Database (MID) to our new cloud platform Navigate. It was the first significant milestone in our ongoing programme to provide modern data services for insurers, the police and the public to help make our roads safer.

MIAFTR has served the insurance industry and our partners for almost 40 years. But it’s an ageing platform with stability issues and limited functionality for users.

Getting engaged

To help forces prepare for the move of MIAFTR to Navigate, our engagement team has hosted five dedicated workshops. Representatives from 36 of the 48 forces have attended one of the workshops.

Supported by the MIB’s Law Enforcement Liaison Officers, we shared the process improvements they can expect to see after the migration, and helped forces with the legal acceptance process. We also showcased how MIAFTR data can help with police enforcement activities and, as a result, we’ve added a further 141 police users to the system.

Police users will be fully supported during testing later this summer. MIAFTR data is provisionally planned to be available in the Navigate platform from Q4 this year.

If you’d like further information, please contact engagement@mib.org.uk.