I have had a big accident involving a car driving on the wrong side of the road. I was knocked off and injured quite badly.
What I didn’t know was that the car had been stolen. After running me down, it was found abandoned a few miles away. The police have been great and tried to help as much as they can, but I am left not knowing whether I will be compensated. The insurer for the car isn’t paying a penny as they say the car was stolen. Do I have a claim?
Answer
Yes, you do – either against the car insurer or the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB).
The MIB takes care of untraced driver claims. If the thief ran away and was not traced, then your claim is against the MIB. Make sure you submit a claim within three years of the accident date, else it is statute barred. However, you might want to get a solicitor involved and work out if the thief/driver can be traced. Your solicitor will need to get the full police report, not just a basic one. You want all of the relevant evidence in this case, including forensics.
The reason I say this is that under the Road Traffic Act 1988, if the driver is identified, you should sue them directly. If you do sue them and win (which you will, as it is negligent to drive on the wrong side of the road and mow down a biker), then the insurer for the car needs to pay you, not the MIB, hence why the police evidence is so important.
If the thief has left his DNA all over the airbag of the car, he will have a hard time trying to argue that he wasn’t the driver in court. The insurer of the car must, by law, meet any judgement you get against the thief. This judgement will be for losses and injury claim. They won’t be happy about this, and they will be responsible for your solicitors’ legal costs too; all of this means they will try and get their money back from the thief directly. If he has any assets, you can bet they will be taken by the insurer in court proceedings.
Act fast, as I know from experience that police forces take months to release information. I suspect the MIB will be working with you to achieve this outcome, as it means they are not meeting your claim.
Don’t forget, the MIB is the ‘insurer of last resort’, so if there is someone to pay your claim ahead of them, then they will take a beat seat.
Crime really doesn’t pay and I hope you have a quick recovery.
Gavin Grewal
Fast Bikes Mag – January 2024
