Uninsured drivers and the Motor Insurers' Bureau

I was recently involved in a collision with a driver who pulled out from a parking place into my path with no warning or signal and I struck him with the front of my car on the side of his at close to 30mph. There were numerous witnesses to the incident including an AA man who say the impact was unavoidable on my part. The driver claimed he wanted to settle privately to protect his no claims but gave me a mobile phone number he doesn't answer or isn't his. It now turns out he was not insured. I am comprehensively insured and while my insurer will replace the vehicle, my young daughter and my wife suffered whiplash injuries and my broker tells me that my insurance cover does not cover personal injury or other "uninsured losses". I heard there is some government scheme for getting payment out of uninsured drivers. What is it, how do I access it, and can I do it myself or do I need to pay for expensive legal advice?

There should in principle be no problem with your claim.  The industry scheme to which you refer is operated by the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB) who are funded out of premiums paid by all motorists to compensate the victims of uninsured motorists.

They will not pay the first £300.00 of any vehicle related damage but otherwise they will deal with the claim like any other insurer. 

You will normally achieve a better result through a specialist road traffic accident solicitor in dealing with the MiB and you will not risk incurring legal fees in injury cases as if you do not have legal expenses insurance the MIB will provide this free of charge where the claimant has been injured.

As passengers, the claims of your wife and daughter will succeed in any event. 

We will be happy to arrange for an expert motor accident solicitor to assist them in pursuing their claim.

In your case, if you are not injured and have no legal expenses insurance under your house contents insurance, your motor policy or through a bank account or credit card, you should consider taking out Crashguard Hindsight cover which limits you exposure to legal fees to £75 even after the accident has happened and also offers the benefit of a year's family-wide crashguard protection - including quality legal expenses cover, roadside legal advice at the accident scene and an instant insurance check on the other driver for the following 12 months.

Please call us on 0800 066 99 10 if you require further details.

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