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Press Release

Policy holders and industry urge the Department for Transport to embrace technology

Immediate release: 17 April 2007

Opinion polls published today on behalf of the BGL Group show strong support from consumers and the insurance industry for allowing customers to download their motor insurance certificates from the internet.

The survey coincides with the launch on 26th March 2007 of the Department for Transport's (DfT) consultation on proposals to allow the electronic delivery of certificates of motor insurance. The consultation will be completed on 18th June 2007.

An online survey carried out by the Budget price comparison site comparethemarket.com, shows that 86 per cent of respondents would prefer to receive their policy documents online enabling them to access and download them more conveniently. This compares to just 14 per cent of respondents who said that they prefer to receive these documents in hard copy in the usual way via the postal service.

Findings from the insurance industry reflect this view with 69 per cent of respondents stating that they believe customers should be given the option to download their motor policy documents.

Tom Cooper, Head of Internet, Budget Group said:

"These findings clearly show that people want to download their insurance certificates when they make their motor insurance purchase. With 50 per cent of people buying their cover online, it is time that this service was made available.

"There is also the environmental aspect that should not be ignored. We currently distribute a large number of insurance certificates and policy documents which equates to a lot of trees. If you consider how much paper the car insurance market uses as a whole, the total effect on the environment must be enormous.

"The industry needs to take these views on board if they are to improve their customer service and tap into peoples' changing needs. Surviving in today's competitive business climate means product differentiation and customer choice has never been as important. We hope the DfT will take note."