What do I do if I am hit by an uninsured or untraced driver?

Being hit by someone with no insurance is one of the few motoring situations where doing nothing is genuinely costly, because the route to compensation is a separate system with its own rules and its own deadlines. The MIB has existed since 1946 and is funded by a levy included in every motor premium in the country — which means it is not a charity or a last resort, but a scheme you have already paid into.

Safety

Step by step

1. Deal with the scene first, exactly as for any collision.Make it safe, check whether anyone is hurt, and take the registration, the make and colour, and photographs of everything including final positions. If the other driver stays, take their name and address even if they refuse to give insurance details.
2. Call the police, and get an incident reference.Call at the time if the driver leaves, appears uninsured, or is behaving unreasonably. If details were not exchanged at the scene, you must report it as soon as reasonably practicable and in any case within 24 hours. The reference number is what both your insurer and the MIB will ask for.
3. Find witnesses before you leave.In an uninsured or untraced case, an independent witness is worth more than in any other kind of claim, because the other side may never give an account at all. A name and phone number takes thirty seconds and cannot be obtained afterwards.
4. Check whether the vehicle was actually insured.Do not take the driver's word either way. The police check the Motor Insurance Database automatically. Your insurer will check it too. A driver who cannot produce details at the scene is not necessarily uninsured — and one who confidently claims to be insured is not necessarily telling the truth.
5. Tell your own insurer regardless of whether you intend to claim.This is a policy obligation and it is also a practical step: if you hold comprehensive cover, claiming on your own policy may be the fastest route to getting the car repaired, with your insurer then pursuing recovery. The MIB expects you to have told your insurer before a claim comes to them.
6. Understand the two MIB agreements.The Uninsured Drivers' Agreement applies where the driver is identified but had no valid insurance. The Untraced Drivers' Agreement applies where the driver cannot be identified at all — a hit and run, or false details given. They have different procedures and different conditions, which is why the police report and the identification evidence matter so much.
7. Know who can claim and for what.The MIB says it supports drivers, passengers, pedestrians, property owners and other road users. Claims can cover personal injury and, in defined circumstances, property damage. It also handles claims involving foreign vehicles and vehicles used in terrorism.
8. Mind the time limits.The MIB states three years from the date of the accident for personal injury claims, and for property damage six years in England and Wales and five years in Scotland. A child has until three years after their eighteenth birthday. Check the current position on the MIB's own site, because these are the deadlines that end a claim outright.
9. Claim directly rather than through a fee-charging firm if you can.The MIB says you can manage your own claim, have a family member help, or appoint a solicitor. Claims management companies charge a percentage for making the same submission. Decide with that in mind, particularly on a straightforward property damage claim.
10. Understand what this does to your own policy.If your insurer pays out and cannot recover from anyone, the claim is recorded as a fault claim even though you were not to blame, and it can affect your no-claims discount. Some policies protect the discount specifically in uninsured-driver cases where the other vehicle is identified — check yours.

Tips

• Photograph the registration first and everything else second. In an untraced case, the plate is the only thing that turns an untraced claim into an uninsured one, and the two are handled differently.
• Note the time and exact location, including which direction each vehicle was travelling. If the vehicle is never traced, that detail is what supports the account.
• Ask your insurer specifically whether your policy protects the no-claims discount where the other driver is uninsured. Some do, and it is not something they volunteer.

Common mistakes

• Not reporting to the police because the damage looked minor — Where details were not exchanged, reporting within 24 hours is a legal duty, and the police reference is central to an MIB claim. Without it, both routes get much harder.
• Accepting cash at the scene from an uninsured driver — It resolves nothing if hidden damage or injury appears later, and it removes the evidence and the details you would need to pursue it properly.
• Assuming you have no route because the driver had no insurance — The Motor Insurers' Bureau exists precisely for this and is funded by a levy on every motor policy in the country, including yours.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask