I was pleasantly surprised to read that the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) has recently announced changes to the Untraced Driver Agreement 2003.
In the recent past a claimant making a claim under this agreement would have been subject to a £300 excess on any property damage claim, however this has since been abolished as a result of the Fifth European Motor Insurance Directive.
An example of the £300 deduction would perhaps be a motorcyclist whose leathers had been damaged in a road traffic collision in 2008 with an identified vehicle in which the claimant had replaced the said leathers at a cost of perhaps £400. Until recently, potentially only £100 of the £400 would have been reimbursed by the MIB as the deductible excess would apply to this claim.
The changes abolishing the £300 excess are to affect any accidents that occurred on or after 15th April 2011, however, the Department of Transport has also made a formal arrangement with the MIB to allow retrospective review of any accidents occurring between the dates of 11th June 2007 – 14th April 2011.
Reflecting on my example set out above involving the motorcyclist claimant in 2008, the MIB will now be in a position to undertake a review of the claim and potentially reimburse the £300 policy excess previously deducted.
I understand that any claims which are to be considered for review by the MIB are to be identified by 30th November 2012 through the following contact details:
Motor Insurers’ Bureau
Linford Wood House
6-12 Capita Drive
Linford Wood
Milton Keynes
MK14 6XT
T: 01908 830 001
In these times of austerity I would suggest that this is positive news for claimant motorists who have had cause to invoke the Untraced Driver Agreement 2003.
My final thought is that I believe that the MIB could receive many queries regarding this issue and so it may be wise to act quickly in contacting them.
By Barry Sutton
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