Rear end shunt accident driver finds he is uninsured: what next?

A family member recently had an accident in which he hit a car from behind. He immediately admitted liability and offered to get the police involved. The third party declined but they exchanged name and address details. On getting home my relative contacted his insurance company only to find out that the policy had not automatically renewed and had expired a month previously. He has now received a letter from the third party's solicitors acknowledging the fact that he was not insured. The police have not yet been involved in this matter at all so far. Please advise what is his liability in this case and what steps he should take now. He is 69 years old and the whole episode is becoming very distressing for him, so a prompt reply would be greatly appreciated.

The solicitors of the other driver will no doubt have established that your relative was uninsured through the Motor Insurer Database but if an agreement can be reached the police may not become involved.

Any victim of negligence in a road traffic accident can make a claim through the Motor Insurers Bureau, who in turn will seek to recover their outlay from the uninsured person who may offer to make payments by instalments.

Unfortunately, there seems little doubt that your relative will be held liable.

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