Uninsured and Untraced drivers accident claims
If you are injured in an accident and the driver fails to stop or does not have insurance (because he has no valid policy), you can often still make a claim for compensation if you speak to a personal injury lawyer.
The MIB and Uninsured Drivers
The Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) is a non-profit organisation which is funded by the UK Government and all motor insurance companies to cover victims of motor accidents.
Hit and Run Cases
The MIB runs a specific scheme for victims of 'hit and run' cases.
A compensation claim should only be made to the MIB when there is no other avenue for making a claim. The MIB will expect to see that every step has been taken to identify the driver responsible for the accident. They will expect the incident to have been reported to the police and checks made about the licence plate of the untraced vehicle etc.
All claims brought via the MIB involving accidents on the road should first have been reported to the police. A report for personal injury must be made within 14 days of the accident occurring (5 days if the claim is only for property damage).
The MIB only has to make an award if it believes that the untraced driver (had he been identified) would probably have been held liable by a court to pay damages. For more information on how a court would decide this see our section 'Road Traffic Accidents'.
If the MIB is of the opinion that the untraced driver would have been found liable to pay damages, it will award about the same amount of compensation that a court would have given for the accident claim if the driver had been found and the case brought to court.
Our personal injury solicitors will be happy to assist you in making your claim to the Motor Insurers' Bureau.
Uninsured Drivers
The MIB also operates a specific scheme by which applications can be made from victims of uninsured drivers.
The MIB is the last source of money for compensation when the driver responsible for the accident has no insurance. The MIB will want to see evidence that all reasonable steps have been taken to locate an insurer before it will consider the claim. They will want to know that the following steps have been taken:
- The accident should have been reported to the police. You are entitled to make this complaint as it is criminal offence to refuse to give insurance details following an accident.
- You should have contacted your own insurance company to see if they are able to trace the other party's insurers.
If your enquiries reveal that the driver had no insurance, you can submit a claim to the MIB.
The MIB only has to make an award if it believes that the driver would probably have been held liable by a court to pay damages if he had been insured at the time of the accident. For more information on how a court would decide this see our section 'Road Traffic Accidents'.
If the MIB is of the opinion that the uninsured driver would have been found liable to pay damages, it will award about the same amount of compensation that a court would have given for the accident claim if the driver had been insured and the case brought to court.
If you have been injured by an uninsured driver, or you are unsure whether the driver has insurance, contact our specialist road traffic lawyers who will be able to assist you.
Drivers whose Insurance is invalid
It may be that you have been injured by a driver who is able to produce an insurance certificate but the insurers claim that the insurance is invalid or has been cancelled.
If the claim is a claim that would have been covered if the insurance was valid, then the insurance company will still be liable, but they will then try to recover the costs of the claim form the uninsured driver.
If you wish to speak to one of our specialist personal injury solicitors, please contact us on freephone 0808 155 4870. We have offices in London, Manchester & Birmingham and operate nationally.