Understanding the National Fleet Database

The National Fleet Database (NFD) is a centralised system that tracks and manages vehicle fleets across Ireland. As a Fleet Owner or Motor Trader, it is essential to understand the requirements and regulations surrounding the NFD.

In this article, John Loughran speaks to Owen Saunders, of Garage Insurance Services, who runs the rule over the system.
The National Fleet Database has been around for a few years now and Fleet Owners and Motor Traders are still coming to grips with its workings.

The purpose of the NFD is to ensure that all vehicles driven on Irish roads are insured at all times, by enabling the enforcement authorities to identify uninsured vehicles or drivers, and thereby reduce the overall level of uninsured driving in Ireland.

Owen, a seasoned, dedicated Broker with over 10 years of experience in developing and executing Motor Trade insurance says that it is important for Fleet Owners and Motor Traders to have a process in place that allows them to upload the required data to the NFD, to ensure that they are compliant with the law, with no risk of conviction or being fined and prevent their vehicles being seized by An Garda Síochána.

Under the regulations Fleet Owners and Motor Traders who do not provide the required information will commit an offence, and will be liable, to a Class E fine of up to €500 on summary conviction in the District Court.

In addition, a policyholder may have their vehicle seized by An Garda Síochána, if the vehicle is believed to be uninsured or the driver may be prosecuted for driving with no insurance.

Fleet Owners and Motor Traders who own or manage vehicles covered by motor insurance policies are required to upload specific information to the NFD including vehicle registration numbers, VIN or serial numbers for all vehicles including trailers covered by the policy, driver information, including date of birth, driver number, and country of origin of the driving license.”

The deeper the dive into the NFD, the more complex its workings become.

Own elaborated: “Currently the NFD only has six spaces for drivers per Insurance policy. If you have an open driving policy, drivers covered by the open driving section of your policy do not need to be named. You only have to have the specific drivers uploaded on the NFD that do not meet the criteria of your open driving. It is important to note that open driving criteria is different on garage policies.”

Owen added: “Motor Trade policyholders, should list all vehicles covered by the policy, including any such vehicles which are either owned by the Motor Trader or available for sale, and any trade plates operated by the Motor Trader.”

Owen confirmed that when a Motor Trader either buys or sells a vehicle there is a grace period of up to 14 days to update the NFD.

However, he strongly recommends updating the NFD as soon as possible, as An Garda Síochána can, and have, stopped policyholders within the 14 day period.

If a motor fleet or motor trade policyholder sells a vehicle and does not remove it from NFD, they may remain responsible for it and by default, so will their insurer.

Owen remarked: “If the new owner has an accident and they have not arranged insurance elsewhere, then it is possible that your insurer may be left responsible for dealing with the claim, or at least sharing responsibility.”

He added: “Therefore, it is vitally important that you keep the records on the NFD accurate and maintain the NFD in a timely manner to avoid any issues.”

If you are a new entrant, either a Fleet Owner or Motor Trader, you need need to register your vehicles on the NFD.

Owen explained the process: “You need obtain an Unique Fleet Identifier (UID) from your broker or insurer and register on the NFD website using your UID and policy number. You can then upload your vehicle and driver data using an Excel template or manually.”

Fleet Owners or Motor Traders can delegate the responsibility of uploading the data to the NFD. “You can delegate this responsibility to your broker or another authorised person. However, the obligation to upload accurate data remains with the Fleet Owner or Motor Trader. Brokers may charge for this extra administration work.”

Keeping the NFD up to date with accurate vehicle and driver details is most important. Owen revealed this is a constant process.

“You should update the NFD whenever there are changes to your fleet or driver details. Fleet Owners and Motor Traders are required to update their data within 14 days of any changes,” Owen confirmed.

He explained that a large number of vehicle registrations can be uploaded at the same time using an Excel sheet that can be downloaded from the NFD website.

He elaborated: “Follow the instructions once you log on to the NFD website. Click the “Help” button and obtain a copy of the Excel template that can be used to bulk add or delete vehicles from your fleet.”

He continued: “You must insert the registration number for all active vehicles in your fleet when you complete the Excel sheet. If you omit any, they will be marked as being off cover if they were uploaded in previous Excel sheets. For example, if you uploaded 100 vehicles on 1st June and then uploaded 90 vehicles on 5th June, the ten missing vehicles will be marked as off cover from 5th June 2022.

He cautioned: “Do not include trade plates in the Excel upload file for registration numbers.”

Owen revealed that Fleet Owners or Motor Traders must inform their broker, or insurer, if a named driver is added or removed from the policy.

This change will then be uploaded to the NFD by the insurer, If a new named driver is added to the policy, the motor fleet or motor trade policyholder will have to add the driver’s date of birth, the driver number and the country of origin of the driving licence within 14 days of the named driver being added to the NFD by the insurer.

In the event the Fleet Owner or Motor Trader changes broker or insurer, the new broker / insurer should be given the UID.

He noted:” If you are splitting your fleet across two or more insurance policies, you will need a UID for each policy. This means that if you move to a new insurer and do not transfer the whole fleet of vehicles to the new insurer, then you will have to get a second UID to cover the vehicles that are insured by the new insurer. This is really important as you will not be able to add vehicles to the NFD for two policies using the same UID.”

Motor Traders need to upload all vehicles in their stock at least weekly to avoid errors, Owen stated.

“The registration numbers of all vehicles covered by the motor trade policy must be uploaded to the NFD, provided that they will remain in your ownership, custody or control for more than 14 days. It is advised that Motor Traders should upload their stock list at least weekly to ensure that the NFD is kept up to date as the stock of vehicles changes.”

Motor Traders do not need to register the make and model of the vehicle, as this information is picked up automatically by the system, which is linked to Cartell.ie.

“The NFD is linked to Cartell and the vehicle details are automatically populated in the NFD using the registration number of each vehicle,” Owen noted

“Cartell.ie is an Irish company that provides comprehensive vehicle data to all sectors of the automotive industry and is a value-added service that is included in the NFD to reduce the amount of data that you enter into the system,” he continued.

Turning his attention to Fleet Owners. Owen confirmed there is no need to upload fleet details to the NFD if the Fleet Owner has an immediate declaration policy.

He confirmed: “If vehicles are on an immediate declaration, then the insurer receives a list of vehicles to be covered by the policy. They add the list of vehicles to the policy and then the insurer uploads the vehicle registrations to the NFD with other policy information.”

He continued: “Fleet owners only have to upload vehicles on annual declaration type policies. They are required to register the date of birth for any named drivers on both immediate declaration and annual declaration policies. This does not apply to ‘open drive’ drivers as their names do not have to be provided to the NFD.”

Conclusion
The National Fleet Database is an essential tool for reducing uninsured driving in Ireland. As a fleet owner or motor trader, it’s crucial to understand the requirements and regulations surrounding the NFD. By uploading accurate data to the NFD, you can ensure compliance with the law and avoid potential fines and penalties. If you have any questions or concerns about the NFD, consult with your broker or insurer for guidance.

About Garage Insurance Services
Garage Insurance Services, as brokers, work with multiple insurance companies, to find the best coverage and pricing for its clients

Insurance helps Fleet Owners and Motor Traders recover from unforeseen events that impact their business financially, helping them get back on their feet so that they can continue to operate.

Although the real-life, tangible benefits of insurance is not always see until you need to make a claim, it plays a major part in protecting the future of your business, preserving assets and jobs.

For more information contact Garage Information Services on 089 221 2950.