The first thing you should do, if you have been involved in a road traffic accident, ‘ideally’ is get the details of the other driver involved. However, this is not always possible. If you have been unable to obtain these details or the offending vehicle was not insured, then you need to report the accident to the Gardai. The Gardai will investigate the accident and will try to track down the offending driver.
After reporting the accident to the Gardai, you should advise the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) of the accident. This can be done online, by way of email or by post.
The MIBI (Motor Insurers’ Bureau of Ireland) was established in 1955 in order to protect the interests of the victims of uninsured or unidentified drivers. The principal role of the MIBI is to compensate victims of road traffic accidents involving uninsured or unidentified drivers. In order to bring a claim against the MIBI you must:
If the accident happened in another EU Member State, and you are unable to identify the appropriate insurer or have been unable to identify the offending vehicle or the insurer is not complying with their statutory obligations, an application can still be made to the MIBI.
If required, our team at Synnott Lawline will provide you with a precedent MIBI claim form with information on how it should be completed. We strongly encourage you to seek legal advice before bringing a claim for compensation against the MIBI.
In cases where no details of the driver responsible for the accident have been obtained, i.e., the driver remains unidentified, the MIBI is not liable to compensate the injured party for damage to their vehicle. The only exception to this rule is where the injured party suffers substantial personal injuries involving an inpatient hospital stay of 5 days or more. Payment in these circumstances will be subject to a €500 excess payable by the injured party.
However, the MIBI has agreed with its member companies, where the injured party holds comprehensive insurance, that the vehicle insurer will deal with the vehicle damage. This agreement guarantees protection of the injured parties no claims bonus. Your insurer will also NOT deduct or charge any excess.
In simple terms, this means that your insurer will pay for the damage to your car and your no claims bonus will remain intact, as long as you hold a valid comprehensive insurance policy.
It is also important to note that if you did not obtain the insurance details of the offending vehicle at the time of the accident, but you do have the registration number, you can complete an enquiry form on the MIBI website and request the details of the relevant insurer. In order to submit this enquiry form, which you will find on the homepage of the MIBI website, you will require the following information:
The MIBI also handle claims involving vehicles registered outside the State. This is known as the Green Card System. It is important that the MIBI be notified of such a claim as soon as possible to allow them to investigate the circumstances of the accident. If you are the victim of a road traffic accident involving a vehicle registered outside the State, then you should ensure to obtain as much information as possible relating to the offending vehicle such as:
The Green Card system guarantees that a victim suffering damage from a road traffic accident, caused by a foreign vehicle (from one of the participating countries) will be compensated in the county where the accident occurred.
The following countries are included in the Green Card System:
In claims involving a vehicle registered outside the State, the MIBI will compensate the injured party for the damage caused to their vehicle. In order for the MIBI to cover this damage, they must be provided with the registration number of the offending vehicle. If you are unable to obtain the registration number of the offending vehicle, and you hold a valid comprehensive policy, you can claim for the damage on your own policy of insurance. Your insurer will then be reimbursed by the MIBI under the Green Card System.
Once all of the relevant information has been passed on to the MIBI and investigations have been completed they will pass the file over to the nominated agent of the foreign insurer. If there is no nominated agent, the MIBI will pass the file to a claims handling service and the claim will proceed through PIAB in the usual way.
