car accident insurance motor insurers bureau claim

Car Accident Insurance / Motor Insurers Bureau: Compensation For Insured, Uninsured, Untraced Driver Error

Find out why drivers must have in place a valid policy of motor vehicle insurance; the different types of road accident car insurance available; how you claim compensation from a driver at fault via car motor insurance; what a driver at fault can claim from his own insurer and how to claim from the Motor Insurers Bureau when the driver responsible for your RTA is not known or has no valid insurance in place.

Table of Contents

Why must you have car / motor vehicle accident insurance?

Road traffic accidents are not only common, but can cause serious injuries and large expenses to accident victims.

Compensation for vehicle damage and personal injury

The law in the UK ensures you can recover compensation if an RTA was not your fault. You can claim compensation for your personal injury, vehicle damage plus your financial loss and expense.

Law requires valid policy of motor insurance

The law requires everyone in control of a motor vehicle on a public road or highway to have in place a valid policy of motor insurance.

In other words – motor insurance must be available to meet any RTA compensation claims made by “innocent accident victims”.

What If A Vehicle Driver Is Not Insured?
The law requires you to be insured, but many people do not follow the law. If no insurance is available tp pay you compensation – the Motor Insurers Bureau will step in to meet your claim.
See later in this article for more details on the MIB.

Third party liability insurance

The technical name for this motor insurance is third party liability insurance.

The contractual parties to the motor insurance policy are the driver (vehicle owner) and the motor insurance company. Third parties are those that are not part of the contractual arrangement, but for whom the policy holder may have liability to pay compensation to.

As an innocent accident victim you will be considered a third party by a vehicle insurance company.

What is an innocent accident victim?

An accident victim is considered anyone who has suffered injury as a result of a road traffic accident.

If you were in no way at fault for the RTA – you are considered an “innocent accident victim”.

Examples of innocent accident victims include:

The driver of a vehicle injured by another at fault driver

The driver at fault is not an innocent accident victim. Only drivers of other vehicles involved in the accident, but not considered legally at fault.

Passengers in both vehicles

Passengers are typically considered innocent accident victims. This includes passengers in the driver-at-faults’s vehicle as well as passengers in other vehicles involved in the collision.

Passengers Who Cause An Accident May Not Be Innocent
This is very a very rare occurrence – but imagine a passenger grabs the steering wheel and causes the collision.
It is unlikely such a passengers will be an innocent accident victim and will not therefore be entitled to compensation.

Pedestrians, cyclists, horse riders, etc.

An innocent accident victim need not be in a vehicle – they need only be injured by a motor vehicle. Thus, other road users such as pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders can be considered an innocent accident victim.

How Do You Know Who Was Legally At Fault?
We discuss how to prove who is legally at fault in our car accident claim article.
Alternatively, you can use our free legal help service and speak direct to one of our solicitors.

Can you claim compensation from your own car insurer for your own injuries?

“No” – generally you cannot claim on your own motor insurance policy for your own injuries. This applies whether you are considered legally at fault or not for the road accident,

Innocent accident victims claim for their injuries from the driver-at-fault and in turn his/her motor insurer.

No Claim For Personal Injury If You Caused The Accident
The driver who caused the accident is not entitled to claim personal injury compensation from any motor insurer.

Check the terms of your motor insurance

Remember to always check your motor insurance policy as some motor policies might include a contractual provision that allows payment in a limited number of eventualities, such as a fatality.

Claim for your own vehicle damage

If you caused an accident and had in place comprehensive vehicle insurance you could claim from your own insurer for your own vehicle damage, but not your own injuries.

Different countries have different rules

What you can claim from vehicle insurers varies from country to country. For example – some countries in Europe may have laws in place that allow payment for injuries whether you were at fault or not.

motor accident personal injury claim
Motor Accident Personal Injury Claim

What types of car insurance policy can meet personal injury compensation claims?

There are several different types of motor vehicle insurance policy a car driver can have. However, all motor insurance must contain as a minimum third party accident insurance.

Some examples include:

Third party automobile insurance

Third party motor insurance covers the person in control of a motor vehicle against any compensation claims by innocent accident victims. It is the minimum accident insurance policy you can have and normally the cheapest.

Third party fire and theft motor insurance

Third party fire and theft motor vehicle insurance covers a driver against any compensation claims by innocent accident victims and pays for the repair or replacement expenses to your vehicle if it is involved in a fire or is stolen.

Comprehensive vehicle insurance includes accident car insurance

Comprehensive motor vehicle insurance covers you against any compensation claims by innocent accident victims and for the repair or replacement expenses to your car howver it is damaged.

In other words – even the accident was your fault you should recover the repair expense of your vehicle.

Solicitor Tip – Include Legal Cover On Your Policy
When taking out a car insurance policy – consider paying extra for Legal Protection Cover.
Legal cover will meet the legal costs of a solicitor to make a compensation claim on your behalf against another driver. This can include personal injury small claims and vehicle damage only claims

Who do you claim against – the driver at fault or his insurance company?

Generally – you must claim against the driver of the vehicle who was at fault for your injuries. However – lower value claims can include a motor insurer from the outset.

Any claim made against an individual should be passed onto the respective motor vehicle insurance company to deal with.

Motor insurance indemnification

The insurance company will do what is known as indemnify their insured driver against liability caused by driving mistakes.

When Does A Motor Insurer Pay Compensation?
A motor insurer will pay your compensation if you have shown the insured driver was at fault or negligent in causing the road accident that led to your injuries.

Can you still claim if the driver at fault is not insured or cannot be found?

“Yes” – you can still claim compensation when a driver is not inures or cannot be found

Motor Insurers Bureau

When any driver pays for motor insurance, a small portion of the annual premium is given to a body known as the MIB (Motor Insurers Bureau). In this way – the MIB has a pot of money which it can draw on to meet claims for drivers who are not insured.

The MIB will act as though it was the car accident insurer for a driver who was not insured or who is unable to be found.

The MIB uses the words “uninsured” and “untraced” to describe these drivers and examples include:

Driver does not have valid motor insurance

A driver who was driving a motor vehicle illegally without a valid policy of motor insurance in place

This is an example of an “uninsured” driver.

Driver provides wrong contact details

You should exchange details with the driver at fault and injured parties at the accident scene. However, a driver may deliberately or inadvertently give you the wrong contact details and as a result not be found.

This is one example of an “untraced” driver.

Take A Photo Of The Vehicle Registration Number
The Motor Insurers Bureau will expect you to take the vehicle registration, make and model. Should wrong contact details be given – your solicitor will often be able to trace the driver using these details

Hit and Run driver

A hit and run driver is one who did not stop following a road accident and whose details it was impossible for you to get.

The MIB will expect you to have informed the police immediately following the road accident to prove that it happened as you describe.

This is another example of an “untraced” driver.

When Does The MIB Pay You Compensation?
The MIB will pay your compensation if you can prove that the uninsured or untraced driver was responsible for your accident and caused your injuries.

What happens if the motor insurer goes out of business before you start your claim?

Should the driver who caused the accident have a valid policy of motor insurance at the time of your accident, but that insurer goes out of business before you have had the chance to start your claim for compensation – what then?

Once again the Motor Insurers Bureau will step in to act as though it was the insurer of the driver at fault, so you should still receive your compensation.

Answers to FAQ’s about car insurance claims

See our road accident claim Q&A to find questions from site visitors concerning auto accidents and road accident car insurance, with our detailed answers and FAQ.

Summary And Next Steps

This article has described the different types of motor vehicle and accident car insurance, how you can claim compensation through an insurance company and from the Motor Insurers Bureau when a driver was uninsured or untraced.

We recommend you:

See our traffic accident compensation article explaining all the types of motor vehicle compensation you can claim from a driver at fault through road accident car insurance following a RTA.

Take advantage of the free legal help services we provide. You can ask a questions, speak with our solicitors direct or have your car accident claim assessed.