Road Traffic Accidents

You may claim compensation if you are:

1. A Driver - Who has been involved in a RTA at no fault of your own

2. A Motorcyclist

3. A Passenger in any vehicle that has been involved in a RTA and for which you have suffered injury. As a passenger you have no control over the vehicle and therefore you will always recover damages for any injury sustained. If your friend/partner/family member is the driver and at fault ,if they are faced with any claim from a third party you should claim for your injury as it will make no difference to the Friends/partners/family members insurance premium as that is already spent as a result of the third party claim.

Do not believe that by not claiming you will be saving the drivers insurance or reducing their insurance renewal premium as that will not be the case as once a claim has been made the no claims bonus (unless protected) will be lost.

4. Cyclists

5. Public Transports

6. Pedestrian

7. Untraced /Uninsured Motorists

If you have been involved in an accident with an untraced or uninsured driver there is still a way you can obtain compensation but the process is more complex than claiming against an insurer. The Motor Insurers Bureau (or MIB) a body set up to compensate victims of accidents involving uninsured or untraced motorist and that is partly funded by government and all insurers.

The initial role of the MIB was to compensate innocent parties of road traffic accidents for personal injury claims although now they also deal with property damage claims as well.

Effectively the MIB are the “insurer of last resort” and stand in the shoes of an insurer where no insurance exists

With the recent large increases in insurance premiums across the board it is envisaged that there may be up to 2 million uninsured or incorrectly insured drivers on the road by 2012.

If you have been involved in an accident with an uninsured driver record all witness details and third party registration number and report the matter to the police straight away. If possible take a photograph of the vehicle involved and the driver .Use your mobile phone camera as that will date and time the photographs precisely.

If you cannot record the registration number of the offending vehicle make checks for witnesses or CCTV cameras as that could be crucial.

You must report the matter to the Police with as much information as possible.

There are 2 sections of the MIB scheme.

Uninsured Drivers Agreement (which involves accidents were drivers have no valid insurance)

Untraced Drivers Agreement (which deals with hit and run cases).

These claims can become complicated so it is always best to seek expert advice and that is where SAM can help you bring the relevant claim under the correct MIB scheme.