National pushes for insurance details on regos

The National Party is vowing to make drivers display car insurance details on vehicle registration labels if it gets into power at the September election.

Leader Judith Collins announced the idea as part of National’s plans to encourage more motorists to get car insurance and make it easier to sort out damage claims.

Under the new policy, the name of the insurer would appear on a car’s rego label, as pictured in the mock-up above.

Vehicles that don’t have, as a minimum, third party car insurance will have to display the word “uninsured”, pictured below.

“Thousands of responsible Kiwis end up out of pocket or taking legal action because of the irresponsible actions of uninsured drivers,” Collins says.

“Uninsured drivers cost responsible drivers millions of dollars, National doesn’t believe that's fair.

“Many people think vehicle insurance should be compulsory but that would be expensive and difficult to enforce. We have another idea to make it easier when you’re involved in a crash.”

National also want to link the Motor Vehicle Database with insurer details to help assist in the exchange of insurer details in the event of an accident.

Chris Bishop, National’s transport spokesman, says insurance will not be compulsory, but there would be an annual check on the vehicle’s insurance status.

“By applying a bit of nudge theory, we believe it is highly likely to increase insurance uptake, because who wants to drive around with an ‘uninsured’ vehicle sticker in their window?”