Category: Motor · Reviewed by Matt Bartlett, Director · Founder · Last reviewed 2026-06-05
The MIB Uninsured Drivers Agreement is the standing agreement between the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and the Secretary of State for Transport under which the MIB compensates victims of road traffic accidents caused by identified but uninsured drivers in Great Britain, subject to defined exclusions and excesses.
Category: Motor Also known as: UDA, MIB UDA, Uninsured Drivers Agreement First codified: First agreement 1946; current version dated 3 July 2015, in force for accidents on or after 1 August 2015 (as amended) Related legislation: Road Traffic Act 1988 section 145; Sixth Motor Insurance Directive 2009/103/EC article 10 Apex Wiki link: /wiki/mib-uninsured-drivers-agreement/
The MIB Uninsured Drivers Agreement (UDA) is a standing contractual agreement between the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) and the Secretary of State for Transport. It obliges the MIB to satisfy unsatisfied judgments obtained against identified but uninsured motorists in respect of liabilities falling within the compulsory third-party motor insurance regime [1].
The current version of the agreement is dated 3 July 2015 and applies to accidents occurring on or after 1 August 2015. It has been subject to amendment, including by a supplementary agreement of 22 March 2017 and further changes reflecting case law on the geographic and use-related scope of compulsory cover [1] [2].
The UDA operates alongside the Untraced Drivers Agreement, which deals with cases where the tortfeasor cannot be identified. The two agreements together implement the UK’s obligations under Article 10 of the Sixth Motor Insurance Directive 2009/103/EC to provide a body to compensate victims of uninsured drivers [3].
A victim of an accident caused by an uninsured driver brings proceedings in the normal way against the tortfeasor; if the resulting judgment is not satisfied within seven days, the MIB is required to satisfy it, subject to the agreement’s notice provisions, exclusions and excesses [1]. The principal exclusion is property damage where the victim’s loss is suffered as a passenger in a vehicle they knew, or ought to have known, was being used uninsured.
The UDA is a contract, not a statute. Its enforceability arises from the contractual undertaking given by the MIB to the Secretary of State and from the rule that members of the MIB are bound by the obligations imposed by the MIB’s articles. The MIB’s right to be joined as a defendant in proceedings against an uninsured driver is recognised by long-standing practice and by case law: Gurtner v Circuit [1968] 2 QB 587 confirmed that the MIB could be joined as a party so that its substantive obligation could be tested in the same proceedings [4].
The UDA implements the UK’s obligations under Article 10 of the consolidated Sixth Motor Insurance Directive 2009/103/EC, which requires member states to ensure that compensation is available for personal injury and property damage caused by vehicles for which insurance has not been obtained [3]. The minimum monetary limits — unlimited for personal injury and £1.2 million for property damage — are set in domestic law by the Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/726) [5].
The UDA’s exclusions reflect the directive’s limited permitted exclusions, in particular:
The compatibility of certain exclusions in earlier MIB agreements with EU law has been tested in Delaney v Secretary of State for Transport [2015] EWCA Civ 172, where the Court of Appeal held that an exclusion based on the claimant’s involvement in criminal activity was incompatible with the directive and that the Secretary of State, rather than the MIB, must compensate [6].
Disputes about UDA claims fall within the scope of the agreement itself (which provides for arbitration of disputes about whether a claim falls within the agreement) and, in some cases, within the Financial Ombudsman Service jurisdiction where the MIB is treated as a regulated body for complaint purposes.
The UDA process is structured around the underlying tort claim. The victim sues the uninsured tortfeasor in the normal way; the MIB is joined as a defendant under Gurtner v Circuit principles [4]. The MIB is entitled to defend the claim on the same basis as the tortfeasor could defend.
The MIB requires the claimant to give notice of the claim within specified time limits and to comply with conditions including:
Once judgment is obtained, the MIB pays the judgment debt subject to the agreement’s exclusions. The principal exclusions and limits are:
For brokers, the existence of the UDA is what makes the small number of accidents involving uninsured drivers in Great Britain (estimated by the MIB at around one in 12 of all motor claims) tolerable to victims; it is also why every UK motor insurer pays a per-policy MIB levy, which is built into every premium.
The UDA has been replaced and revised several times since 1946:
Subsequent amendments have addressed the Vnuk private-land issue (now displaced in UK domestic law by the Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Act 2022 [8]) and other points of EU-derived interpretation.
The UDA operates only in Great Britain. In Northern Ireland the equivalent agreement is administered by the MIB on behalf of the Department for Infrastructure under the Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. Equivalent bodies in other EEA states discharge similar obligations under the Sixth Motor Insurance Directive [3].
An illustrative example: a cyclist is struck by a car at a junction. The car driver is identified at the scene. Subsequent investigation reveals that the driver had cancelled his motor insurance policy two weeks before the accident and was driving uninsured. The cyclist suffers a fractured leg, loses six months of earnings, and incurs £750 of damage to the bicycle.
The cyclist’s solicitors issue proceedings against the driver and join the MIB. The MIB is given notice within 14 days of issue and acknowledges the claim. The driver does not respond; default judgment is entered for £42,000 (personal injury and quantified loss of earnings) plus £750 (property damage to the bicycle).
The MIB satisfies the £42,000 personal injury element in full and pays £450 of the property damage claim (£750 less the £300 property damage excess) [1] [5]. The MIB then pursues the driver for recovery under the UDA’s subrogation provisions. Figures are illustrative only.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-05. Next review: 2026-12-05.
Apex Insurance Brokers Limited. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, FRN 724952. Registered in England and Wales, Companies House 07014570. This entry provides general information about UK insurance concepts and is not regulated advice. Consult your insurance broker on your specific position.
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