When is an Insured Vehicle an Uninsured Vehicle?

Abstract

In Colley v Motor Insurers’ Bureau the Motor Insurers’ Bureau appealled against liability to satisfy a claim for damages for injuries suffered by a passenger in a motor vehicle accident. The driver was uninsured, but at the time of the accident the vehicle in which the victim was travelling was subject to a policy of motor insurance. By operation of national law, and in breach of the Motor Vehicle Insurance Directive (MVID), the insurer was allowed to recant the policy and leave the passenger a victim of an, ostensibly, uninsured vehicle. This note explains why the decision of the Court of Appeal was fundamentally flawed, how the Court continues to apply EU law incorrectly, and broader concerns the case presents for remaining EU law claims in the appeal courts. This is particularly the case for retained EU laws and the cases remaining to be heard under the MVID's application in national courts.