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MIB – New Uninsured Drivers Agreement 2015

News | Tue 14th Jul, 2015

The new Uninsured Drivers Agreement was signed on 3rd July and comes into force on 1st August.  

So what’s new?

  1. It is in plain English and better laid out.
  2. Crown vehicles are excluded whether driven by Crown servants or thieves.
  3. No damages are payable for a loss if the claimant has received compensation or an insurance payout from anyone else other than the CICA.
  4. No damages are paid for bent metal if the car was uninsured at the time and the Claimant knew that.
  5. Passenger claims are barred if the passenger had guilty knowledge that the driver was uninsured or the car was stolen.  Actual or constructive knowledge bars the claim.  This bar only applies to the owner or registered keeper/user of the car – this is a change for the better narrowing the exception.
  6. The MIB are not liable if a S.151 insurer is entitled to claim indemnity from the Claimant under S.151(8) – for causing or permitting an uninsured person to drive.
  7. The maximum damage to cars is £1 million.
  8. The Claimant must fill in the MIB form and answer reasonable requests for further information but no 7 day time limits exist for notification of starting proceedings, they have all been abolished.
  9. When Claimants sue they must join the MIB.
  10. If at the start the Claimant thought an insurer covered the Defendant’s car and served notice on it but later it is found the insurer did not cover the car, S.151 notice to the insurer is enough for the MIB.
  11. The MIB can require the Claimant to sue any prospective Defendant but must provide indemnity on costs.
  12. Any disputes about requests by the MIB can be determined by an arbitrator.

So, what’s not new?

Despite the ECJ decision in VNUK (very nasty for the UK), the MIB have still allowed themselves space to take the silly defences like: “We don’t have to pay because:

  • it was an off road vehicle! or
  • the accident occurred on private land!”

Otherwise the redraft is a good job at first blush.

Andrew Ritchie QC 8 July 2015

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