Accident with (probably) uninsured driver

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A friend of mine has been involved in an accident with an uninsured driver, I say probably because he drove off without stopping and was then arrested by the Police

To cut a very long story short - my mate was driving along a main road, the other guy pulled out of a side junction and my mate drove into the back of him. The other guy didn't stop and drove off. It appears that either the Police were actively looking for him or it was by complete chance there were 3 patrol cars in the area who found him and stopped him.

The other guy has been arrested. My mate attended A&E with various minor injuries. His car is a write-off.

Assuming the other guy isn't insured, what should my mate do? Claim through his own insurance? Go to the MIB? Does the fact that the other guy was arrested make any difference? Does the fact that the other guy drove off without stopping make any difference?

Thanks in advance

[vikingaero]

Claim through his own insurance. But also do some basic checks first. Run the car reg through ASKMID. If the car is insured but the driver isn't then the insurance on the vehicle may cover your losses. Is the guy arrested a local scally with 90 kids and only benefits to his name? Or does he own his own business/house?

[Pip1968]

Surely even if he was not insured wont the insurance/MIB find against you or at least settle on a 50/50 basis as you hit him in the rear?? Or is full settlement of your losses and maintenance of your NCB not your intention??

From your description I assume that it was the crook's fault.

Pip

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Minor update

Apparently the car was on Trade Plates, reported as stolen by the Dealer (but only when the Police contacted them strangely ,) My mate has been informed by his insurers that his costs will be recoverable in full including injuries. So I guess the only downside is that he'll get stung for higher premiums come renewal time

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Pip1968 said:

Surely even if he was not insured wont the insurance/MIB find against you or at least settle on a 50/50 basis as you hit him in the rear?? Or is full settlement of your losses and maintenance of your NCB not your intention??

From your description I assume that it was the crook's fault.

Pip

Sorry missed this.

Yes, my initial assumption was that hitting him in the rear would have caused problems for my mate. It transpires that it wasn't in the rear. Knbhead pulled into the N/S/F of my mate's car, caught the wing and then (not sure about this bit) the back end of knobhead's car swiped the side of my mate's car. My mate's car ended up in the opposite lane facing the kerb whilst knobhead drove off.

Further update. Apparently knobhead was seen by little old lady walking her dog who phoned the Police to report an RTC and Police subsequently joined the dots.

[Aretnap]

Countdown said:

Claim through his own insurance? Go to the MIB?

It's not relevant anymore, but for completeness if you have comprehensive cover then you can't claim from the MIB, at least not for damage to your own car. The MIB is basically an insurer of last resort so it will only pay for damage which isn't covered under any other policy - including your own.

[QBee]

Aretnap said:

Countdown said:

Claim through his own insurance? Go to the MIB?

It's not relevant anymore, but for completeness if you have comprehensive cover then you can't claim from the MIB, at least not for damage to your own car. The MIB is basically an insurer of last resort so it will only pay for damage which isn't covered under any other policy - including your own.

Useful to know.

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Aretnap said:

Countdown said:

Claim through his own insurance? Go to the MIB?

It's not relevant anymore, but for completeness if you have comprehensive cover then you can't claim from the MIB, at least not for damage to your own car. The MIB is basically an insurer of last resort so it will only pay for damage which isn't covered under any other policy - including your own.

Does that not effectively mean that the only people to benefit from MIB would be those people who have TPF&T insurance?

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Countdown said:

Aretnap said:

Countdown said:

Claim through his own insurance? Go to the MIB?

It's not relevant anymore, but for completeness if you have comprehensive cover then you can't claim from the MIB, at least not for damage to your own car. The MIB is basically an insurer of last resort so it will only pay for damage which isn't covered under any other policy - including your own.

Does that not effectively mean that the only people to benefit from MIB would be those people who have TPF&T insurance?

No, pedestrians and comp policyholders / passengers can claim for injuries and stuff not covered by their own policy.

[Aretnap]

TwigtheWonderkid said:

No, pedestrians and comp policyholders / passengers can claim for injuries and stuff not covered by their own policy.

To be fair I missed the fact that the OP's mate had been injured. Of course had the other driver been uninsured he would have been able to claim from the MIB for his injuries - just not for his car if he have comp cover.

Injury claims are actually the main reason why the MIB exists. Its primary purpose is to ensure that people who are seriously injured by uninsured drivers aren't left destitute if they're unable to work - not to ensure that they keep their no claims bonuses. Come to think of it that's true of third party insurance in general - if the worst results of car accidents were damaged vehicles it's doubtful whether insurance would be compulsory at all.