The general rule is that it is compulsory for a user of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place to be insured against liability for injury, death, or property damage up to £250,000, which was caused by the use of that vehicle. The vast majority of drivers make sure that they have insurance before driving their vehicles on the road. However, some individuals do not respect the law, do not want to pay an insurance premium, and drive their vehicles on the road without insurance. This could cause a real problem if that uninsured driver injures someone in an accident. It would probably be pointless to sue the driver for compensation for any injuries, as it is unlikely that he could afford to pay compensation. There are also cases involving ‘hit and run’ drivers. These drivers may or may not have insurance but they do not want to face the consequences of causing an accident and so flee the scene without trace. Where is the victim of an uninsured or untraced driver to go?
This is where the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, also known as the MIB, steps in. The MIB is a private company which enters into agreements with the government to compensate the victims of uninsured and untraced drivers. The law provides for every insurer who underwrites compulsory motor insurance to be a member of the MIB and to contribute towards its funding. The insurers will pay their contribution to the MIB pot by using some of the premiums that they are paid by law-abiding motorists who make sure that they have insurance. The aim of the MIB is to ensure that victims are compensated fairly without undue delay. When the MIB was first established over 60 years ago, it paid out a total of just £11,500 in compensation. Recent total payouts by the MIB per year are more in the order of a third of a billion pounds.
If you have been injured by an uninsured or untraced driver, contact one of the solicitors in our directory, who should be able to advise you on what you can do. You may even be able to claim compensation if you were travelling in a vehicle driven by an uninsured driver, so long as you did not know and could not be expected to know that the vehicle was being driven without insurance.