Online insurance company swiftcover.com has welcomed the Department for Transport’s official stamp of approval for electronic car insurance certificates, saying the move will bring major time-saving benefits to motorists.

The electronic certificates are emailed directly to the motorist by the insurer as soon as the policy is approved, enabling the driver to print out a copy without having to wait for paperwork to arrive in the post. The car insurance provider points out that drivers can now insure and tax their cars online in a matter of minutes.

Tina Shortle, marketing director for swiftcover.com, says: “We are delighted to see that e-certificates for motor insurance have finally been approved by the Department for Transport as this has been something that swiftcover.com has been pushing for since we began in business.

“Our service is based on making car insurance quicker, simpler and more efficient to organise, which not only saves drivers time, by getting rid of things like call-centres; it also helps save costs.”

The British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), who, along with a number of major insurers, took part in the discussions with the Department for Transport, adds that the move is environmentally friendly, saving 2,280 tonnes of carbon dioxide and up to 9,750 trees annually that would normally be used to create paper insurance certificates.