MIB

In a claim against an untraced driver, we cannot go to court as there is no one to claim against. Once discussions and negotiations are finished, the MIB may issue a formal award.

This is essentially their suggestion you are not entitled to claim or a final financial offer of your claim they are not prepared to increase upon.

If you do not agree to a formal award, there is the possibility of submitting an appeal and an independent arbitrator assesses the matter. Any decision to appeal should be taken very carefully as costs are associated with equalling or not achieving a more favourable outcome than the formal award.

The MIB will assess the value of injuries and losses in the same way as any third-party insurer.

The MIB will use your initial claim submission form, witness statement taken by the enquiry agent, medical reports and expert reports, relevant special damages evidence and medical records to assess general and special damages. It is therefore crucial the account of your injuries and losses is consistent throughout all their evidence. We recommend keeping a log of your injuries and daily struggles so you don’t forget anything.

The MIB will consider causation including any occupation, low-velocity impact or fraud concerns in a similar way to a third-party insurer. The MIB rarely raise fundamental dishonesty however they do often raise fraud and credibility concerns.

The MIB will investigate liability in the same way as a third-party insurer. The MIB are a substitute for the insurer so we treat them the same way as we would any third party.

The MIB will consider all the available liability evidence to establish if the untraced driver is at fault for the incident. Evidence can include accident reports, CCTV, dash cam footage, police reports, witness statements and relevant medical records.

The MIB can make split liability offers if they believe a Claimant to be contributing to the liability, but they do not make Part 36 offers as they are not governed by Part 36 rules.

You are entitled to claim for personal injury, past and future losses as a result of that injury and in some circumstances property damage.

The MIB will not usually award insurable losses in an untraced claim; this includes any policy excess payment. The MIB will also not award “subrogated” claims in untraced matters. This includes your employer’s subrogated loss of earnings or your insurer’s outlay.

During the claims process the MIB will action the following;

• The MIB will try to trace the untraced driver and/or a relevant insurer to deal with the claim. The MIB may instruct tracing agents to do this.
• The MIB will check if you reported the accident to the police and will contact them for a copy of any report and the result of their investigations, even if the police have decided to pursue it or not.
• The MIB will send a request for your full medical records. They will consider the medical history and look for any GP or hospital attendances after the incident.
• The MIB arrange the medical checks for a you. They use their chosen medical agency and refer all medical records to the expert for review.
• If applicable, the MIB can also offer private treatment and instruct case managers.
• The MIB will instruct an enquiry agent, usually from the Cotswold Group or Exam works, to go to your home address and take a witness statement. The MIB can also get the enquiry agent to take a statement from any witnesses to the accident or relevant parties.
• The MIB will ask for vehicle damage evidence in the form of engineering evidence from you and your insurer.
• If you did not follow a claim for vehicle damage through your insurer, the MIB will still confirm with them that you reported the incident. If your insurers were not involved in your vehicle claim the MIB will expect you to provide vehicle damage evidence instead.
• The MIB will consider requests for interim payments and awards at their discretion.
• The MIB will get locus reports (accident reports) if needed and any further expert reports they deem necessary.

The above is not a full list and the MIB will consider which actions are needed on a case-by-case basis.

The claim must be submitted within 3 years of the accident. The MIB will not accept any claim outside of this time without a very good reason and sometimes will raise issues if there was a long period between the accident and its reporting. You should aim to submit a claim as quickly as possible to make sure that the MIB look into their investigations.

If you can get the other vehicle’s registration number, a search will need to be completed to see if the vehicle is insured. If the vehicle is uninsured and the other driver is unidentified with no name or address, the MIB untraced driver’s scheme should be used.

If you can get the other vehicle’s registration number, a search will need to be completed to see if the vehicle is insured. If the vehicle is uninsured and the other driver is unidentified with no name or address, the MIB untraced driver’s scheme should be used.

Within 14 days of the incident, the MIB expects you to have reported the incident to the police. The police must investigate hit-and-run incidents whilst also trying to trace the third party. you must have a good reason to not report an incident to the police within the 14-day time frame and you may be unable to claim if you have not. The MIB understand that the police cannot always investigate these matters and they do not need a full police report but MIB needs evidence it has at least reported the matter.

The MIB would also expect you to report the incident to your insurer. If you are aware of any CCTV, dash cam footage or witnesses, the MIB would expect you to tell the police and your insurers so they may attempt to retrieve it.

An individual (driver, passenger, or pedestrian) can claim through the MIB untraced driver’s scheme if they are involved in;

A “hit and run” accident where the third-party driver is untraceable
An accident due to foreign objects on the road and the driver can’t be found.