Claims involving uninsured, untraced and foreign drivers
If your claim involves an uninsured, untraced or foreign driver, then we will present your claim to the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB).
The MIB is an organisation that helps to compensate the victims of road traffic accidents with uninsured and untraced motorists and will assist with accidents involving foreign drivers.
At Winston Solicitors, we specialise in MIB claims and have years of experience successfully dealing with these often complex cases.
What claims will the MIB consider?
We can assist with the following types of claims and we know these are the claims that the MIB will consider:
Uninsured or untraced drivers
We will present your claim to the MIB for you and monitor its progress. You will need to complete a special form if your claim involves an untraced driver. Typically, claims involving both uninsured and untraced drivers will be considered for:
- The cost of repairing/replacing your vehicle (comprehensive insurance excluded).
- Hire charges.
- Loss of use.
- Property damage.
- Treatment and/or rehabilitation for personal injury.
- Compensation for personal injury, death or losses arising from this, such as lost earnings.
Any claim will usually be subject to a £400 excess.
Foreign-registered vehicles and drivers
The MIB will deal with your claim via the Green Card scheme. Under this scheme foreign insurers work with their UK handling agents to process your claim following an accident in the UK.
Legal costs
In the case of uninsured driver claims the claims are dealt with on a no win no fee basis.
For untraced driver claims the MIB restricts the contribution it makes to legal costs and because there is no scope for recovery of any legal fees we therefore ask you to enter into an agreement with us at the start of the claim to contribute towards our legal fees should your claim be successful.
If your claim is successful you will receive 75% of the compensation awarded to you by the MIB under the Untraced Driver Scheme. The remaining 25%, inclusive of VAT, goes towards our legal fees.
This fixed cost agreement takes account of the legal cost contribution we will receive from the MIB, if successful. It also takes into account that if the claim is unsuccessful we will not be paid anything at all, as Winston Solicitors deal with all such cases on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.
Key conditions of making a claim through the MIB
- Generally, you will need to make your claim within 3 years of a road traffic accident.
- You must make your claim for vehicle/property damage within three years of the accident date in Scotland and within six years in the rest of the UK.
- You must keep any losses to a minimum (otherwise known as mitigation of losses).
- You are advised to report the incident to the police within 14 days for personal injury or within five days for vehicle/property damage.
In numbers
350,000 'hit and run' accidents in the UK every year
1.2 million uninsured drivers on the road in the UK
Amanda Evans is our MIB specialist adviser. Call today on 0113 320 5000 or email ae@winstonsolicitors.co.uk.
Most people who make a personal injury claim do so reluctantly. Very little is generally known about the process and there have been many negative news stories in the press in recent years. Claims are progressed through the insurers and not directly with the responsible party.
You need professional legal advice to ensure that you receive the maximum amount of compensation due to you. Insurers will attempt to settle your claim at an early stage and often before you have been able to instruct a solicitor. They do this to save legal costs which they otherwise would have to pay and to also secure the lowest settlement award possible.
All claims in England and Wales are subject to certain rules which both solicitors and insurers must follow during the course of a claim. The protocol ensures that both sides act fairly and responsibly and it prevents delay in the progression of the claim.
You generally have three years from the date of the accident to start a claim. However, exceptions can apply, so contact us for tailored advice.
If we do not win your case then we do not have any right to recover our fees from you. If we do win your case the insurers pay a fixed contribution towards the legal costs. You will also make a payment to us out of your compensation.
