Level playing field for insured & uninsured drivers
The Supreme Court has held that damages for uninsured claims should be consistent with insured claims.
In Moreno (Respondent) v The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (Appellant) [2016] UKSC 52 the court concluded that the compensation to be awarded to Tiffany Moreno, who had been injured abroad by an uninsured driver, should be assessed according to Greek law.
The driver responsible was not insured and Ms Moreno had brought a claim against the Motor Insurers' Bureau (MIB), claiming that her damages should be assessed according to English law.
Ashton West OBE, Chief Executive at MIB says: “The outcome of this case is that the law for damages will now be applied consistently to uninsured and insured cases. There is no doubt that [Ms Moreno] is entitled to damages for her injuries, however, the principle is about using the right law to decide how much to pay.
Solicitor and trainer Nicholas Bevan, who is an expert on EU law, says: “This ruling vindicates the MIB’s decision to challenge the Court of Appeal’s earlier ruling in Jacobs v MIB [2010] EWCA Civ 1208 that Gilbert J rightly considered himself bound by in Moreno v MIB [2015] EWHC 1002 (QB) before granting permission for a leapfrog appeal.
“Arguably this decision was made inevitable by the Court of Justice’s ruling on 21 January in Ergo Insurance SE v PZU Lietuva UAB DK (Cases 359/14, C-475/14). It ruled that this Directive did not contain any independent provision for applicable law.”
Bevan adds that victims injured in some foreign EU / EEA jurisdictions are “likely to recover a lower measure of damages based on the appropriate law of the foreign jurisdiction but there will be instances where a more generous award might be achievable, such as in fatal accident claim in Spain. However, anyone intent on a motoring trip abroad would be well advised to take out supplemental cover”.
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