APIL Guide to MIB Claims (Uninsured and Untraced Drivers)

About the Authors Foreword to the First Edition Preface Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) Table of Cases Table of Statutes Table of Statutory Instruments Liability for Uninsured Drivers who cause Road Traffic Accidents - the Motor Insurers Bureau Part 1 - Uninsured Driving and the MIB Uninsured driving - is there much going on? The MIB levy The sums paid out by the MIB Compensation - why is it needed? Liability for compensation for uninsured driving The MIB's history The activities of the MIB Part 2 - The MIB's Perspective MIB - an overview Values The Uninsured Driver's Liability The Passenger's Liability Introduction Joint enterprise Negligence of the passenger The Owner's Liability Introduction The owner who is a passenger The owner who asks the driver to make the journey The owner who has abandoned control The owner's liability where no one owns up to being the driver The Insurer's Liability under a Contract of Insurance The need for compulsory insurance The required terms of the policy Liability which an RTA policy is not required to coverLiability to employees Property damage over £1,000,000 Comprehensive cover Trailers and goods hired Personal property The exclusion of claims by employees Bodies excluded from the requirement for RTA insurance The insurance certificate The insurer's contractual liability Issuing proceedings against the insurer The insurer's solvency Definition of a motor vehicle The definition of 'use or arising from the use' The private land defence: the definition of 'road or other public place' and Francovich damages The criminal offence of 'no insurance' Battery with a car The excess under the policy The Insurer's Liability under the Road Traffic Act 1988, s 151 49 Section 151 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 Section 151 applies only if the insurer can avoid contractual liability The Motor Insurance Database of insurance certificates The liability covered by s 151 Damages, interest and costs All drivers are covered Drivers with no driving licence are covered Type of use - inside or outside the terms of the RTA policy Section 151 covers shared journey costs The insurers right of indemnity from the blameworthy insured Excluded liability: passengers with guilty knowledge of theft The s 151 notice requirement Cancellation: s 152 Non-disclosure The MIB's Liability under the 2015 and the 1999 Uninsured Drivers'Agreements IntroductionThe 1999 Agreement The 2015 Agreement The history of the uninsured drivers' agreements Article 75 agents Pre-action protocols Judicial review of the 1999 Agreement The amended guidance notes to the 1999 Agreement European law, the 1999 Agreement and Francovich damages The new Uninsured Drivers' Agreement 2015 Privity of contract CFAs and the MIB's approach The 1999 and 2015 Uninsured Drivers' Agreements in summary MIB involvement in any legal claim Comparison between the 1999 and the 2015 Agreements Interpretation of the Agreements and definitions Computation of timeThe 1999 Agreement The 2015 Agreement Claimant's agents and MIB agentsThe 1999 Agreement The 2015 Agreement Child claimants and claimants not of full capacityThe 1999 Agreement The 2015 Agreement Coming into forceThe 1999 Agreement The 2015 Agreement MIB's obligation to satisfy compensation claimsThe 1999 Agreement The 2015 Agreement What liability is covered? RTA Liability MIB's standard defences to claimsDefence 1 - the off road vehicle defence Defence 2 - the not RTA use defence Defence 3 - the off road accident defence Defence 4 - the driver cannot recover Defence 5 - owners who do not have to take out insurance - excluded vehiclesCrown vehicles Local council, police and NHS vehicles Stolen police cars Other exempt vehicles - the NHS Defence 6 - the guilty knowledge defence: the passenger exceptionHistorical development of the guilty knowledge exception Fatal accidents Guilty knowledge of the car being used in furtherance of a crime Guilty knowledge of lack of insurance of the driver Guilty knowledge of the car being stolen Constructive knowledge Drink and drugs - more constructive knowledge Defence 7 - the indemnity defenceRecovery under a contract of insurance or s 151(8) of an indemnity from the insured or any other person Defence 8 - conditions precedent to recovery from the MIBThe application form - a precondition Other procedural conditions precedent to the MIB's liability Service of proceedings Method of service of notices Notice of issue of relevant proceedings RTA notice Discontinue and reissue Service of documents to accompany notice of issue Notice of service of proceedings Notice of other steps in the action Providing other information Notice of intention to apply for judgment Complying with s 154 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 Suing other potential defendants Consenting to the MIB's application to join the action Interim payments by the MIB Damages and MIB deductions: the CICA, subrogated and assigned claims Limitations on the MIB's liability for property damage Deduction of sums received from Policyholders Protection Board and the CICA Reasoned replies and notifications of decisions by the MIB Arbitration and reference of disputes to the Secretary of State Assignment of judgment and undertakings Apportionment of damages recovered by the MIB from the defendant Defence 9 - this is an untraced driver's case Practical Guidance on the Uninsured Drivers' Agreements 1999 and 2015 Failure to comply with European Law The Amended Guidance Notes to the 1999 Agreement Joining the MIB as a defendant The motor insurance database A summary of the practical steps to be taken from accident to satisfactionFirst interview checklist(a) The basic questions (b) Additional questions where the client is a passenger in an uninsured vehicle Post-meeting checklist Pre-issue checklist Issuing proceedings Post-issue checklist MIB contact information The Green Card System - Accidents Involving Overseas Vehicles History Membership Charges The functions of national Green Card Bureaux Information The Green Card Internal Regulations Local agents Accidents suffered abroad Applicability The claim handler The governing law What if the motorist was uninsured or cannot be traced? The Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2003 Introduction A clean version of the much amended 2003 Agreement Inherent unfairness under the Untraced Drivers' Agreement? History Comparison with the old Agreements The Untraced Agreements in breach of EC Directives and Francovich claims The Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2003Duration (clause 3) Unidentified drivers (clause 4) False name given Interpretation and definitions Time limits and notices Agents, solicitors etc Capacity, children and protected parties The application form (clauses 4 and 11) The MIB's liability (clause 4) Use of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place; RTA compulsory insurance requirement Limitation (clause 4(3)(a))Injury claims limitation period Property damage claims limitation period where just the driver is unidentified and the vehicle identified Property damage claims where the vehicle and the driver are untraced and unidentified (clause 5(1) and (3)) Significant injuries Latent damage (clause 4(3)(b)) Reporting to the police - pre-condition (clause 4) Cooperation with police - pre-condition (clause 4(3)(e)) Exceptions relating to bodies exempted from the requirement to insure (clause 5(1)(b)) Guilty knowledge of passenger exceptionsThe EC Directives Presumptions of knowledge (clause 5(2)) Constructive knowledge and passengers who have taken drink and drugs (clause 5(4)(b)) Uninsured driver victims cannot recover for damage to their own car (clause 5(1)(f)) Interviewing the victim The investigation (clause 7) and forcing the MIB so to do The Evidence Causation (clause 7(6)) CompensationProperty damage cap Deduction for compensation received from other sources (clause 6) Payment from the CICA The MIB Report and the award (clauses 7(2) and 26) Notification of decision (clause 16) Enforcement (clause 32) Deliberate acts and CICA awards Interest (clause 9) Costs (clause 10) Further assistance (clause 11) Suing third parties (clauses 11 and 12) Settlements (clause 13) Acceptance of decision and awards (clause 17) Appeals and Arbitrations (clauses 18 and 19) Second investigation by MIB and delay of arbitration Third investigation by the MIB Arbitration procedure Preliminary decision on paper Oral hearings and final decisions Costs of the arbitrationArbitration of disputes over the Untraced Drivers' Agreement (clause 28) Appendix 1 The Uninsured Drivers' Agreement 1999 with Guidance Notes The Uninsured Drivers' Agreement 1999 The Guidance Notes to the Uninsured Drivers' Agreement 1999 Appendix 2 The Uninsured Drivers' Agreement 2015 and Guidance Notes The MIB Uninsured Agreement Notes for Guidance: MIB Uninsured Agreement (2015) Appendix 3 The Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2003 and Supplementary Untraced Drivers' Agreements The Untraced Drivers' Agreement Department of Transport Motor Insurers' Bureau (Compensation of Victims of Untraced Drivers) 1st Supplementary Untraced Drivers' Agreement 30 December 2008 2nd Supplementary Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2011 3rd Supplementary Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2013 4th Supplementary Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2015 5th Supplementary Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2015 The Untraced Drivers' Agreement 2003 (Incorporating Supplementary Agreements) Appendix 4 MIB Guidance and Forms MIB booklet: Making a claim - A brief guide Guide to making a motor insurers' bureau claim (2015) Application form Appendix 5 MIB Conditional Assignment Form Appendix 6 Particulars of Claim Appendix 7 MIB Articles of Association Appendix 8 Road Traffic Act 1988, Part VI Third-Party Liabilities Appendix 9 The Motor Vehicles (Third Party Risks) (Amendment) Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/2266) Appendix 10 The European Communities (Rights Against Insurers) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/3061) Appendix 11 Motor Insurance Directives Council Directive (72/166/EEC) Second Council Directive (84/5/EEC) Third Council Directive (90/232/EEC) Fourth Council Directive (2000/26/EC) Fifth Council Directive (2005/14/EC) Sixth Council Directive (2009/103/EC) Appendix 12 Andrews v MIB Award Ruling on costs Index