In a crash with an uninsured driver? What happens next?

No one wants to have a crash – in fact, for many of us it’s probably one of our greatest fears. But even worse than that is if you get out of your car to exchange insurance details with the other driver, only to find out they’re uninsured.

While it’s against the law to drive without any insurance, some people still try to get away with it and you could be unlucky enough to be hit by one of these drivers. But what happens then? Will it affect your insurance policy? Read on to find out the full details.

The Motor Insurers' Bureau

Insurance companies have clubbed together to form the Motor Insurers Bureau. They all pay into it and it covers the costs of crashes involving uninsured drivers. It’s funded through your insurance premiums and they can pay for any repairs you may need to your car, as long as the crash wasn’t your fault.

If you’re in a crash that was your fault – like if you drove into someone else – the cost for any repairs will come out of your insurance – whether the other driver was insured or not.

Claiming through your insurance

Making a claim through the MIB can take around 18 months so if you can’t afford to cover the costs of the repairs in the meantime, it might just be worth claiming from your insurance policy, as long as you’ve got comprehensive cover. However, this could mean that you’d lose your no-claims bonus, you’d have to pay your excess and the cost of your insurance premiums might go up when you renew your policy, so you’ll have to weigh up if this is worth it.

If you can afford to cover the costs of any repairs to your car in the meantime, it might be better to claim through the MIB – that way, your no-claims bonus and your insurance premiums won’t be affected. Some insurance policies offer extra protection so you won’t lose out if you have to make a claim after a crash with an uninsured driver – it’s worth checking if your policy offers this.

You won’t be able to make a claim through the MIB if the crash took place on a private road or a car park – so if you were hit when you’d just finished the Tesco shopping, your insurance policy would have to cover this. You’d have to pay the excess though, so if you’ve voluntarily set this high to reduce your monthly premiums, you might have quite a hefty payout.

When it comes to renewing your insurance policy, if you’ve made a claim because of a crash with an uninsured driver, it might be worth ringing up your insurer. They could be willing to renegotiate the renewal price when they know they details of your accident – and that you weren’t to blame.