How to know if a car has insurance
There are different ways to get this information. We explain which
Although every car is required to have at least one third-party policy to drive, the truth is that driving without insurance is a more common practice than it seems. According to the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), there are currently 2.65 million uninsured vehicles on Spanish roads. But how do you know if a car has insurance? In what situations can it be useful to know this information? We explain it in this guide.
Also how to find the best insurance to support you in these situations . If you need it now, enter our car insurance comparator and access exclusive offers for our users.
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How to know if a car has compulsory insurance in the DGT
There are several ways to find out if a car has insurance; one of them is to resort to the website of the General Directorate of Traffic . There we can request various reports on vehicles in Spain, depending on the information we need to collect about a vehicle:
- Reduced report : first date of registration and possible problems that prevent the transfer of the vehicle or its circulation.
- Technical data report : data such as power, fuel, ITV history and results in the EuroNCAP tests.
- Report of loads : if there are disposition limitations; that is, reasons why the vehicle cannot be transferred.
- Report vehicles in my name : the owner can request information on vehicles they own (and are registered).
- Report unregistered vehicles : if there is an unregistered vehicle.
- COMPLETE REPORT : it is the one you have to request to know if a car has insurance. And it is that the validity of the compulsory insurance is one of the data that this report will provide you. To request it, you will have to provide information to identify the vehicle: the license plate, the chassis number or the vehicle identification number. A complete report will provide you with more information that is equally relevant, such as the data of the owner, the charges or encumbrances, the validity of the ITV (with an exhaustive history of all the inspections that have passed), the history of cancellations and more.
How to request the full report
If you need a complete report to find out if a car has insurance, you have three ways to request it . You just have to choose the one that is most comfortable and fits you best.
1. Go to a specialized agency : among the multiple procedures and services offered by an agency is requesting for you the complete report of a vehicle to the DGT. You must provide the mandate of the signed application and attach a copy of your NIF so that they can carry out this procedure. You can find agencies that carry out this process online and that guarantee a minimum waiting time. Also, for very competitive prices.
2. At the Electronic Headquarters of the DGT: if you manage yourself well with online procedures, you can request the report yourself from home, from work or from wherever you are . Of course, you will need a digital signature, electronic DNI or Cl@ve , to carry out any other online administrative procedure. In this case, you should follow these steps:
- Pay the corresponding traffic fee (fee type 4.1) to get the full report. Currently, this amounts to 8.67 euros. To acquire these rates, you can go to the electronic headquarters of the DGT and download form 791 or to the Provincial Traffic Headquarters.
- Choose the type of report you need . Here you must use the digital signature or the Cl@ve program to gain access. Remember that when it comes to how to tell if a car has insurance, you'll need a full report.
- At this point, you must provide that essential information to be able to identify the vehicle , be it the license plate, the frame number or the NIVE (the vehicle identification number).
- In order for the DGT to provide you with the report, it is essential to indicate why you need it . And it is that only specific causes are collected: purchase of the vehicle, verification of technical data, certificate for other administrations, accident or abandonment on public roads.
- Indicating the number of the rate that you have already paid, you will be able to download your complete report and find out if a car has insurance. This number (12 digits) appears on the last page of the fee purchase receipt, along with the date of purchase and its cost.
3. At the Provincial Traffic Headquarters : you can request this report in person, at the Provincial Traffic Headquarters . Of course, you must request an appointment by calling 060 or through the electronic headquarters of the DGT. Once inside the web you must select, within the section of procedures of the DGT, the previous appointment in Headquarters. You must request an appointment for “Office procedures” and specify for which specific area you need the appointment.
With your appointment, you can appear in person at the headquarters and request your full report in person, following these steps : 1) Fill out the corresponding application. 2) Indicate the reason why you request the report. 3) Pay the fees. You can do it at the headquarters itself or online.
How to know if a car has insurance thanks to FIVA
Another way to find out if a car has insurance is to use the Information File of Insured Vehicles (FIVA) . This is a large database managed by the Insurance Compensation Consortium that contains information on all the vehicles in our territory that are insured (that have at least one compulsory Civil Liability insurance , the minimum required to be able to circulate ).
This means that, if the car with which you had the accident (and which has fled) did not have one, you will not find it here. In any case, the purpose of this file is twofold:
- Provide information “so that the people involved in a traffic accident can find out, as soon as possible, the insurance company that covers the civil liability of each of the vehicles involved in the accident”.
- Keep track of contracting insurance : if every owner complies with his obligation to subscribe to insurance that covers the civil liability of the driver. To collaborate in achieving this objective, Consorcio and DGT exchange this data, housed in automated files.
Who can access FIVA
FIVA data can be consulted through a virtual office. However, anyone cannot access them . This consultation, in fact, is restricted to certain organizations and entities:
- Insurance companies : but only those that meet certain requirements, set out in the Annex to the Resolution of February 27, 2001, of the General Directorate of Insurance and Pension Funds, on the provision of information by insurance companies of data relating to vehicles insured by them to the Ministry of Economy.
- Health centers and medical emergency services : those that have signed an agreement with the Insurance Compensation Consortium. If the reason is to provide assistance to traffic injuries, the insurance companies can also consult the file at this point (submitting the relevant request).
A consultation with FIVA can help you solve this question: how to know if a car has insurance . Thus, if you have had a collision with another vehicle you will be able to obtain official information about it. But remember that you can only do it on a personal basis if you have been involved in an accident. The FIVA cannot be consulted in person, if it is not providing a part of damages .
How to request this data from FIVA?
In short, if you are the injured party in a traffic accident and you do not know how to know if a car has insurance, you can go to FIVA to request this information or the insurer can do it for you.
The private user, by himself, only has one way to obtain this information: submit the form of Inquiry of insurance of vehicles with Spanish registration (available on the website of the Consortium), duly completed and attach a copy of the part of damages or of the friendly declaration of the accident . There are different means to request the consultation:
- By fax : You must send both the consultation model and the damage report to the number 913395514.
- By email : you must send the documentation to the following address: [email protected].
- By ordinary mail : you can send the documentation by postal mail by sending it to the Production Department, Paseo de la Castellana 32, 29046, Madrid.
- In person : presenting the required documentation yourself at one of the delegations of the Insurance Compensation Consortium or at its Headquarters: Paseo de la Castellana, 32 (Madrid).
Other ways: go to the other driver to find out if the car is insured
If you need to know if a car is insured (even the one you drive, if it is a company vehicle) the easiest thing, whenever possible, is to go to its owner or to the person who is supposedly the owner of the insurance.
If they provide you with the contact information of the insurer and the policy number , you can solve the question of how to know if a car is insured in a single call. You can also check what type of insurance the vehicle has and its validity and find out about the conditions of the policies.
In any case, your insurance company can do this for you . As we have seen, insurance companies are allowed to request data about a vehicle collected in the FIVA from the Consortium. And it is one of the many procedures that the insurer can carry out in the management of your policy, if you suffer an accident with the insured car. In addition, you will have their advice at every step, to know how to act.
Why do I need to know if a car has insurance?
That said, it is worth asking: why and when do we need to know if a car has insurance? A hit-and-run accident is precisely one of the scenarios in which it may be necessary to access this information. If we have the license plate, it will be possible to find out. This will help us identify both the owner of the car and the policyholder, if he has it.
At other times, it may be the owner of a car who needs to get an answer to this question: how do I know if my car has insurance? For example, you might have inherited a car but don't know the insurance information. Or have lost or forgotten information about your own insurance. In these and other situations it is very useful to know the answer to the question that concerns us.