After a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, Heritage Car Insurance is warning drivers that they could see huge changes to motor insurance law, which will improve the way victims can claim compensation in a wider range of circumstances.

This review was prompted by a ruling by the European courts in 2014, which resulted in the Vnuk judgment, a case which has now sparked a review of the current motor insurance law and will have an impact in the UK regardless of the EU status.

The UK government is currently consulting on the potential amendments and Heritage is encouraging people to have their say before March 2017 and take the Government survey.

The Vnuk judgment has generated some potentially costly consequences and challenges to motor insurance. Mr Vnuk, a farm worker, was knocked from his ladder by a trailer attached to a tractor that took place on private land. When he tried to claim for damages against the insurer of the tractor, he lost the case due to the wording of the current Directive.

So, what does this mean for a driver and their insurance policy? Mark Wilkinson, Managing Partner at Heritage Car Insurance, comments: “The main benefit of making changes to the motor insurance laws will be to support victims who suffer damages on private land and other circumstances that are not currently protected, but this may have consequences.”

What does this mean for you?

More victims of accidents will have a straightforward route to compensation.

More people would need to buy an insurance policy.

There could be a price increase to annual premiums to cover the increase in potential claims from your insurance provider and the MIB (Motor Insurance Bureau).

If you own a vehicle, which is on SORN (Statuary Off-Road Notification), then currently this removes the need for road tax and motor insurance. However this scheme could have to change in light of the new options the Government is facing.

If the Government considers a wider range of vehicles then a decision must be made about what penalties would be imposed if there was a failure to comply. The penalties may vary depending on the vehicles from conventional car drivers and also these vehicles may need to be registered on the MID (Motor Insurance Database).

What this means for UK motor insurance

The Government is now reviewing the law governing motor insurance. The intention is to provide means of compensation for victims of accidents that aren’t necessarily on roads or public areas. UK motor insurance will be affected. There are two main options that the Government will decide between – either the comprehensive option or the amended directive option. Further information can be read about this here.

What can you do?

Your opinion counts. If you would like to find out more head to the Government website and have your say. The consultation period began in December 2016 and will end on March 31^st 2017. Your responses need to be posted before the closing date. There is an online survey for you to complete here.

More information from www.heritagecarinsurance.co.uk ENDS.