Making a claim via the MIB Untraced Driver’s Scheme

In a claim against an untraced driver, we cannot issue court proceedings as the responsible driver won’t have been identified. At the end of negotiations with the MIB, they may issue a Formal Award. This is the final amount of compensation the MIB believe you are entitled to claim for any losses & injuries you may have suffered.

If you decide not to accept the Formal Award, there is the possibility of submitting an appeal, where an independent arbitrator is appointed to assess your claim. When deciding whether to proceed with an appeal, you should carefully consider the merits of your claim as there can be costs consequences if the arbitrator does not increase the formal award made by the MIB.

The MIB will assess the value of injuries and losses in the same way as any court or compensating insurer.

The MIB will use your initial claim submission form, witness statement taken by the enquiry agent, medical reports and experts’ reports, relevant documentation to support your financial losses and medical records to assess the value of your claim. It is therefore crucial that the amount of your injuries and losses is consistent throughout all the evidence.

The MIB will consider causation including any occupation, low velocity impact or fraud concerns in the same way as the court or a compensating insurer.

The MIB will investigate in the same way as a compensating insurer.

We recommend that you obtain any CCTV and dashcam footage as soon as possible after the accident. If you have not already done so, you should report the accident to the police and co-operate with any subsequent police investigation or enquiries.

The MIB can make split liability offers if they believe a Claimant has contributed to liability.

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

The MIB will not consider a claim for property damage if it was caused by an unidentified vehicle, unless you have sustained a “significant personal injury”.

The expression “significant personal injury” is defined as bodily injury resulting in:

a) Death, or
b) 2 nights or more of hospital in-patient treatment, or
c) 3 sessions or more of hospital out-patient treatment.

The MIB will not make an award for insurable losses in an untraced claim. If you have the benefit of an insurance policy, such as fully comprehensive motor insurance you should fully utilise this policy.

The MIB will not award “subrogated” claims in untraced matters. This includes your insurer’s outlay and may include your employer’s entitlement to recover sick pay.

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 not to pursue it.
• The MIB will send a request for our full medical records. They will consider the medical history and look for any GP or hospital attendance after the accident.
• The MIB will arrange for you to be examined by an independent medical expert. The MIB will use their chosen medical agency and will refer all your medical records to the expert for review.
• If applicable, the MIB can also offer private treatment and may instruct a medical agency to co-ordinate any treatment needs you may have.
• The MIB will instruct an enquiry agent, to arrange a remote appointment to take a statement from you. The MIB can also ask the enquiry agent to take statements from any witnesses to the accident or relevant parties.
• The MIB will ask for vehicle damage evidence usually in the form of engineering evidence from you and/or your insurers.
• Even if you do not pursue a claim for vehicle damage through your insurer, the MIB will still confirm with them that you reported the accident. If your insurers are not involved in your vehicle damage claim, the MIB will expect you to provide vehicle damage evidence, therefore, we would recommend that you take photographs showing the damage to your vehicle and obtain estimates/invoices for the costs of repairing the damage.
• The MIB may consider requests for interim payments at their discretion. The MIB will only considered making an interim payment if they have completed their enquiries and have accepted that the untraced motorist was at fault for the accident.
• The MIB may obtain locus reports (accident reports) if needed and any further expert reports they deem necessary.

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

The claim must be submitted to the MIB within three years of the accident. It is in your best interest to submit the claim to the MIB as soon as possible, as delays can cause problems when gathering evidence to support your claim.

If you have the other vehicle’s registration number, enquiries can be made to establish if that vehicle is insured. Your claim will be directed to the insurer if the other driver can be identified. If the vehicle is insured but the other driver cannot be identified, the claim will proceed under the MIB Untraced Drivers Scheme.

Within 14 days of the accident, the MIB expects you to report the accident to the police. You must have a good reason for not reporting the accident to the police within this 14-day time frame, failure to do so may result in your claim being rejected by the MIB. The MIB understands that the police cannot always investigate these matters, and they do not necessarily need a full police report. However, the MIB will need evidence that the accident was reported to the police.

The MIB also expect you to report the accident to your insurer. If you are aware of any CCTV, dashcam footage, or witnesses, the MIB would expect you to tell the police and your insurer so they may attempt to retrieve this evidence.

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

An accident where the other driver cannot be identified.
An accident due to foreign objects on the road and the driver cannot be identified.