Sep 04
2008What You Need To Know: Claiming Against Uninsured Drivers
Filed Under (Personal Finance) on 04-09-2008
Tagged Under : Personal Finance
If you have ever been hit by an uninsured driver then the whole event may have caused you heartache, a headache and even a little wallet ache! Claiming for the damage inflicted on your car is nothing short of a nightmare unless you are one of the very few lucky ones. If you have never been hit by an uninsured driver then you are undoubtedly lucky but you should still know the process because the vast majority of car insurance quotes do not cover you against uninsured drivers at all.
All car insurance companies hate those uninsured drivers because their accidents cost them in the millions of pounds every single year. The damage they inflict is substantial and so it is no wonder that car insurance quotes do not include provision for cover against them a high percentage of the time. The possible cost is too much so you are literally left high and dry if it ever does happen.
You should firstly check your car insurance policy to see whether or not you are covered in the event of an accident involving an uninsured driver. If you are then you are one of the lucky ones that is just required to claim in the regular way via the provider itself. However, if you are not covered under your insurance company then you will have to pursue compensation by yourself.
If you are not covered for it then it could potentially take years to get your money back in the form of compensation, and that does not always cover the full costs. You can claim whether your car is a write off or just in need of repairs. If you have an insurer offering cover against uninsured drivers then you will just have to claim in the normal way so you will get the full cost back within weeks. However, you otherwise have to go through the Motor Insurance Board (MIB) instead.
The MIB was specifically set up to help law abiding drivers to get the compensation they deserved after an accident involving an uninsured driver. The compensation comes after they have taken legal action for you against the driver in question. However, you do have to follow their procedure to the letter to ensure that the time taken to do so is cut.
Firstly, you should double check that the individual is not insured by running a DVLA vehicle check and then lodging a formal complaint with your local police force. It is obviously an offence to drive without insurance but it is also one to refuse to give insurance details in the event of an accident. Even if you cannot claim with them, you should also tell your car insurance company about the accident so they know. This is a requirement of most policies.
Finally you can make the claim! Simply fill in the MIB form, which can be obtained from the website, and email it back or post it. You should tell them everything you know so they can get the case underway sooner rather than later. The sooner the claim, the sooner the matter will be settled.
The process of going through the courts against an uninsured driver can be tedious because it seems to take forever. However, uninsured drivers add approximately 30 pounds to your premium every year as a result of the accidents they cause so make a stand!
