Cutting out the middleman

Since the coming into force of the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 1930 (TP(RAI)A 1930), those who have suffered loss at the hands of an insured person who becomes bankrupt/insolvent have been able to enforce their rights against the insurer. However, a potential third party claimant is unable to enforce such rights until first establishing liability against the insured. Generally, this would mean issuing proceedings against the insured, which in the case of a dissolved company would also require an application to restore it to the Companies Register under s 1029 of the Companies Act 2006 (CA 2006).

The only current exception to the inability to sue the insurer directly, are claims brought under para 2 of the European Communities (Rights Against Insurers) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/3061). Paragraph 2 applies to most cases arising out of a road traffic accident on a public road in the UK, for which there is a relevant insurance