What is the CUE database?
CUE stands for the Claims and Underwriting Exchange. It's a national, shared database that records details of incidents reported to insurers — incidents that may or may not have turned into a claim. It was set up in 1994 to cut insurance fraud, and today it holds tens of millions of records covering motor, home, travel and personal-injury insurance.
The simplest way to think about it: when you tell an insurer about an accident, a theft or any other incident — even a minor one you don't claim for — that information is logged centrally. The next insurer you approach can see it. That's why being vague or selective about your history rarely works: the data is already shared.
Who runs CUE, and what's on it?
CUE is owned and managed by the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), the same not-for-profit body that handles claims involving uninsured and untraced drivers. The MIB's job is to keep the data accurate and up to date; the insurers themselves supply the individual records.
For car insurance, a CUE record can include:
- Accidents and collisions you've been involved in, whether or not you claimed
- Thefts and attempted thefts, and fire or weather damage
- Personal-injury claims
- Incidents you reported "for information only" that never became a claim
- Applications that were refused by an insurer — see what to do if you're refused cover
It sits alongside your own details — name, address, date of birth and the vehicles you've insured — so an insurer can match a history to you even if you leave parts of an application blank.
How long does information stay on CUE?
The standard answer is six years from the date a claim is closed. Your broader insurance and incident history on the database can reach back around seven years. After that, entries drop off — unless they're shown to have been recorded incorrectly, in which case they can be removed sooner.
Does CUE record cancellations and refusals?
CUE records claims, reported incidents and refused applications. Where it gets misunderstood is cancellations. A policy voided for misrepresentation is the kind of serious black mark that follows you, whereas a routine cancellation for non-payment isn't always logged on CUE in the same way.
That nuance matters less than people hope, though, because insurers ask you the question directly: "Have you ever had insurance cancelled, voided or refused?" That's a separate disclosure obligation from anything sitting on CUE, and it usually carries no time limit. So whether or not a cancellation shows on the database, you must declare it honestly when asked. Our guide on whether a cancelled policy shows up goes into exactly how insurers find out.
How do insurers use CUE?
Insurers use CUE in two moments. First, when you get a quote: alongside your age, address, vehicle and the answers you give, they may check CUE to price the risk accurately and to spot anything you didn't mention. Second, when you make a claim: they check the claim against your CUE history to make sure the details you gave at application were true.
That second use is the one that catches people out. If you didn't declare a previous claim and it surfaces on CUE when you try to claim, the insurer can reject the new claim — and potentially treat the policy as misrepresented. It's the clearest possible argument for full, honest disclosure: the database is doing the checking either way.
How do you see what CUE holds about you?
You're entitled to see your own record. You make a Subject Access Request (SAR) through the Motor Insurers' Bureau's online form, and the report can take up to a month to arrive. It's a sensible thing to do if your quotes seem unexpectedly high, or if you're not sure what a previous insurer logged.
If you find something wrong, the MIB doesn't change it for you — you contact the insurer that supplied the entry and ask them to correct it. Get any correction confirmed in writing, because it's the insurer's record to amend, not the database's.
What are CUE, MID and MIAFTR?
CUE is one of three industry databases people often mix up. They do very different jobs:
| Database | What it holds | Mainly used to |
|---|---|---|
| CUE (Claims and Underwriting Exchange) | Claims, reported incidents and refused applications across motor, home and travel insurance | Price quotes and verify claims history |
| MID (Motor Insurance Database) | Which vehicles are currently insured, and under which policy | Let police and cameras check insurance, and enforce Continuous Insurance Enforcement |
| MIAFTR | Vehicles recorded as written off, stolen or scrapped | Flag total-loss and stolen vehicles to insurers and buyers |
All three are run or overseen by the Motor Insurers' Bureau. If you've been caught out by the MID specifically — for example a car showing as uninsured — that's a different issue from your claims history on CUE.