Personal Injury

This glossary lists all terms common to personal injury. Please click on the relevant letter of the alphabet for an explanation of each term.

C

Comprehensive insurance

Insurance cover that will deal with the repair of your own vehicle after an accident regardless of who is at fault. However, that´s often where the cover ends. If you were injured RAC Personal Injury Care may be able to help you, so please call us to find out how.

Contributory negligence

The responsibility for accidents is not always clear-cut. Sometimes both sides will bear some responsibility and liability will be apportioned 50:50 or in some other split form. In other cases there may be no doubt about liability but damages for injuries are reduced e.g. in a road traffic accident where there is evidence that the wearing of a seat belt would have avoided or reduced injuries.

Courtesy cars/credit hire

Courtesy cars may be available under the terms of a policy if your car is repairable and an approved repairer of your insurer is used, but often the car offered will be unsuitable. To find out how we could provide you with a like-for-like replacement car at no cost to you, contact us now.

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D

Diminution in value

This is an uninsured loss claim that can sometimes be made against a third party where a vehicle has been repaired and there is evidence to show that its value repaired is less than if it had not been damaged. Loss of value does not automatically follow just because of a repair.

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E

Excess

You may opt when you take out insurance cover to pay the first amount of any claim you make eg £250 and have a lower premium as a result. This is called a voluntary excess. Your insurers may impose an excess additionally or instead because of say the driver´s age or type of vehicle. This is a compulsory excess. If there is any excess and you make a claim on your policy it will have to be paid first regardless of who is at fault. If it is a non-fault accident it should be recoverable from the third party/their insurers.

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F

Financial Services Ombudsman

If you have a complaint with an insurer, whether your own or a third party´s, this may in some cases be referred to the Ombudsman. Perhaps there is a dispute over the value of a vehicle or maybe it is about the quality of service received. Before referring it will be necessary to have exhausted the normal complaints procedure including requesting that a director review the decision. For more information telephone 0845 080 1800 or use the website at complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk

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G

General damages

That part of an award of damages that relates purely to an injury and its consequences and which has to be assessed by a court or negotiated as part of a settlement.

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I

Insured losses

Those losses that are covered by the provisions of an insurance policy eg with comprehensive road traffic cover the repair or payment of the insured vehicle.

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L

Legal expenses cover

This may be included as part of the policy or be an option to it or be purchased separately. It will normally deal with the recovery of uninsured losses. You are not obliged to use this cover to pursue a personal injury claim, and you can call us to get independent advice on what to do.

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M

Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB)

The MIB deals with claims where a motorist responsible for an accident is uninsured or untraced and settles them as appropriate. A claim can be made against an uninsured motorist for personal injury and/or for damage to property. It will not pay the first £300 of a property damage claim. The MIB will either satisfy a judgment in an appropriate case or negotiate a settlement without a judgment. It has a separate scheme for dealing with claims against untraced hit and run drivers. If you have a comprehensive insurance policy you cannot use the MIB as an alternative.

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N

Negligence

For accident claims another party must be responsible in law or at least partly so. This may be because they have been negligent and/or in breach of some statutory duty owed to you. Negligence involves breach of a duty of care owed to you by the other party. Loss must have been sustained as a direct result of the breach and it must have been foreseeable that it would occur.

No claims bonus

In road traffic accidents if a claim is made on your insurer your no claims position will be at risk unless and until your insurers recover their outlay from the third party insurers. If and when they do so the bonus will be restored to whatever it was before the accident. Premiums under the policy may be affected if they arise in the meanwhile. No claims does not usually mean no blame but it has to be said that the position will ultimately depend on what your policy says. It is possible to have a protected no claim bonus where one, sometimes two claims in a given period, will not affect the position whoever is at fault.

No win, no fee

A popular method of funding personal injury actions but which may leave even a successful claimant seriously out of pocket. In contrast, with RACs personal injury claims service you do not pay anything to use it, win or lose, and keep 100% of any damages awarded. We, in turn, recover our costs from the other party or their insurer.

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S

Special damages

Other specific, identifiable losses such as the cost of replacing damaged clothing or loss of earnings.

Statutory duty

A duty imposed by statute eg much of the workplace legislation, that imposed on highway authorities under the Highways Act 1980 in respect of the condition of highways or on occupiers of premises to visitors under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957.

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T

Third party (fire and theft) insurance

Insures only against a third party making a claim against you and, if included, the fire and theft of your vehicle. If you were not responsible and do not have legal expenses cover as well you will have to pursue all your claims yourself with the other driver. If you were injured and the accident is either non-fault or there are reasonable prospects of success our personal injury claims will be able to help you.

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U

Uninsured losses

Those losses that are not covered by the policy. In the above example this will be things like the recovery of any excess, loss of earnings and a claim for personal injury.

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W

Write offs

So far as road traffic accidents are concerned insurers will normally assess vehicles as beyond economical repair if the cost of repair is 60% or more of their pre-accident value. This does not mean they cannot be repaired, in some cases with second-hand or pattern parts. Whether you will be able to do this if claiming on your own policy will depend on its terms ie whether your insurer has reserved the right to keep the salvage if it wishes. A rebuilt write-off that is roadworthy may work well but have little or no residual value. If your claim for uninsured losses includes personal injury, please call us to find out how we can help you.

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