Category: Motor · Reviewed by Jake Leat, Associate Director · Last reviewed 2026-06-05
The MIB Untraced 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 in Great Britain caused by drivers who cannot be identified or traced, including hit-and-run accidents.
Category: Motor Also known as: UTDA, MIB UTDA, hit-and-run scheme First codified: First agreement 1969; current version dated 28 February 2017, in force for accidents on or after 1 March 2017 Related legislation: Road Traffic Act 1988 section 145; Sixth Motor Insurance Directive 2009/103/EC article 10 Apex Wiki link: /wiki/mib-untraced-drivers-agreement/
The MIB Untraced Drivers Agreement (UTDA) is a standing contractual agreement between the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and the Secretary of State for Transport under which the MIB compensates victims of road traffic accidents in Great Britain where the responsible driver cannot be identified [1]. The current version of the agreement is dated 28 February 2017 and applies to accidents occurring on or after 1 March 2017 [1].
The agreement operates alongside the Uninsured Drivers Agreement, which deals with accidents in which the tortfeasor is identified but uninsured. The two agreements together implement the UK’s obligations under Article 10 of the Sixth Motor Insurance Directive 2009/103/EC to ensure compensation is available for victims of uninsured or untraced drivers [2].
A victim of an accident caused by an untraced driver applies directly to the MIB; there are no court proceedings against an identified tortfeasor, because none can be brought. The MIB investigates the application and, if satisfied that the claim falls within the agreement, makes a compensation award calculated on tort principles. Awards are subject to defined exclusions, evidential requirements and (for property damage) limits.
The UTDA is the safety-net mechanism for hit-and-run cases, accidents where the responsible vehicle’s registration cannot be read, and incidents where the perpetrator drives off and cannot subsequently be identified despite reasonable investigation.
The UTDA is a contract between the MIB and the Secretary of State for Transport. It is enforceable by the claimant as a third party beneficiary, on the basis of the long-standing practice and recognition by the courts that the MIB will give effect to its undertakings in favour of victims. The relevant principles were considered in Persson v London Country Buses [1974] 1 WLR 569 and in subsequent cases.
The agreement implements the UK’s obligations under Article 10 of the Sixth Motor Insurance Directive 2009/103/EC, which requires member states to ensure compensation for victims of accidents caused by unidentified vehicles [2]. The directive permits member states to exclude or limit property damage compensation in untraced-driver cases, and the 2017 UTDA exercises that permission by imposing evidential conditions and limits on property damage cover not present for personal injury [1].
The minimum monetary limits for personal injury (unlimited) and property damage (£1.2 million per accident in line with the Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations 2000 (SI 2000/726)) apply in principle [3], though the UTDA’s property damage cover is, in practice, narrower than the UDA’s because of evidential conditions reflecting the difficulty of investigating claims where the vehicle is unidentified.
Disputes about UTDA claims are resolved internally by the MIB at first instance and then, if the claimant disputes the MIB’s determination, by an appeal to a single arbitrator agreed by the parties or appointed by the Secretary of State. The arbitrator’s decision is final, subject only to the limited supervisory jurisdiction of the courts under the Arbitration Act 1996.
The 1972 UTDA was the version in force when White v White [2001] UKHL 9 was decided. The principles of that case (concerning the ‘knowing passenger’ exclusion shared with the UDA) continue to inform the interpretation of the present agreement [4].
A claim under the UTDA follows a different process from a UDA claim. There is no civil action against an identified defendant, so the MIB itself is the decision-maker on liability and quantum.
The claimant submits an application to the MIB containing:
The MIB investigates: interviewing witnesses, reviewing CCTV where available, considering the police investigation, obtaining accident reconstruction evidence where the merits warrant. The MIB then either rejects the claim (with reasons) or makes an award calculated on tort principles.
Awards are calculated to put the claimant in the position they would have been in had the tort not been committed, applying the normal Judicial College Guidelines and case law on general damages, special damages, loss of earnings, future losses, care and case management. The MIB may make interim payments where the merits and need are established.
For property damage claims, the 2017 UTDA imposes additional conditions: the unidentified vehicle must have caused physical contact with the claimant’s vehicle (the ‘contact’ requirement reflects the Sixth Motor Insurance Directive’s optional exclusion), and there is a £400 excess in property damage cases [1]. These conditions are why genuine hit-and-run property damage claims (such as a car damaged by an unidentified vehicle in a car park) are often outside the UTDA scope.
The MIB’s decision can be appealed by way of a request for re-examination and ultimately by way of arbitration.
The UTDA has been revised several times since its inception:
Each revision has tightened evidential requirements and refined the property damage rules. The 2017 version reflects post-Brexit policy and post-Vnuk clarifications.
In Northern Ireland an equivalent UTDA is administered by the MIB on behalf of the Department for Infrastructure. Equivalent bodies in other EEA states (e.g. the Fonds de Garantie des Assurances Obligatoires de Dommages in France) operate similar schemes under the Sixth Motor Insurance Directive [2].
The UTDA does not cover accidents where the tortfeasor is identified but uninsured — those fall under the Uninsured Drivers Agreement — nor accidents caused by vehicles within the section 144 RTA 1988 exemptions (such as Crown vehicles).
An illustrative example: a pedestrian is knocked down on a zebra crossing by a car that fails to stop. CCTV captures the impact but the registration plate is not legible. The pedestrian sustains a serious head injury and is hospitalised for three weeks. Police investigation does not identify the driver despite a public appeal.
The pedestrian’s solicitors submit a UTDA application to the MIB within three months of the accident, attaching the police incident reference, CCTV footage, witness statements and medical evidence. The MIB acknowledges the claim and commences investigation.
After 12 months, by which time the prognosis is settled, the MIB makes an award of £85,000 representing general damages of £35,000 (severe head injury, partial recovery), past loss of earnings of £18,000, future loss of earnings on a partial-capacity basis of £24,000, and care and rehabilitation costs of £8,000 [1].
In a contrasting example, a driver returns to a supermarket car park to find their car damaged. There is no note, no CCTV and no witness. The damage is consistent with another vehicle reversing into the car. The driver applies under the UTDA but the application is rejected because the unidentified vehicle has not been shown to have caused physical contact in circumstances that satisfy the agreement’s evidential conditions for property damage [1]. 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.
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