Information services provider Experian has built and will manage the first online computer database of insured drivers. The new database was built on behalf of the Motor Insurers Information Centre in order to reduce the rising costs of uninsured driving in Britain, estimated at around £400m a year.

The database will be directly linked to the Police National Computer (PNC) where it can be accessed by the police when conducting vehicle checks at the roadside. They will be able to find out the policyholder's name, address, name of insurer, other named drivers and the class of use, such as whether a vehicle is insured as a taxi or private use. The policy records are automatically updated daily through online links between Experian and insurers.

The database comprises some 22.5m policy records collected from more than 50 insurers.

Richard Fiddis, Experian's chief operating officer, said: “This will become a major deterrent in the war against uninsured driving in Britain and is a testimony to the way the private and public sector can work together.”