The unfortunate motorist has a legal right to recover these losses from the other side's insurance company. To do this, they will often need to take legal action. This is where the insurer steps in, acting on their behalf by taking whatever steps are necessary to recover these losses.

Some policies are more restrictive than others, only covering clearly defined RTAs (Road Traffic Accidents), whereas others will cover any claim against an identifiable third party where there are reasonable prospects of success. The more comprehensive policies cover claims throughout the EU, regardless of whether the accident was with a vehicle, and also regardless of whether the accident took place on a public highway.

Case insights

Recovery of policy excess and vehicle hire costs - A comprehensively insured motorist hit by a commercial vehicle was left with 3 types of uninsured losses: €250 for their policy excess, €480 replacement vehicle hire costs and €6.00 for a Vehicle Licensing search. The other side would not provide their insurance details until the policyholder's legal expenses insurers took legal action against them. They then agreed to pay the €736 in settlement of all their uninsured losses.

Personal Injury - Injuries following a car accident severely restricted a policyholder's movement and her ability to carry out her job. Her legal expenses insurers paid for medical reports which described the extent of her injuries and their impact. After lengthy negotiation, solicitors appointed under the ULR policy secured compensation of €140,000 to account for her reduced ability to earn. Legal costs exceeded €5,300.

Claims against a non-motor third party - A dog wandered into the path of a car causing the driver to swerve and hit another vehicle. The driver was left with multiple serious injuries. A claim was made in court against the household insurer of the dog's owner. This was successful with a decree being obtained for damages of €80,000.

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