BIBA celebrates Vnuk case motor insurance amendment

The British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) has welcome that the European Union Commission intends to put forward the association’s preferred solution to the problem for motor insurance resulting from the ruling on the Vnuk case.

In the recent case of Damijan Vnuk v Zavarovalnica Trigalev (C-162/13) the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), considered the meaning of Article 3(1) of the First Directive on Motor Insurance (72/166/EEC). The implications of the Vnuk ruling mean cars driven solely on private property may need to be insured in future and all motor insurance policies amended
In the case, Mr Vnuk, a farmworker, was knocked off a ladder in a farmyard by a trailer attached to a tractor which was reversing across the yard. Vnuk sought damages against the defendant insurer of the tractor. The Slovenian courts ruled against Mr Vnuk. It said a compulsory insurance policy under Slovenian law for a motor vehicle covered use of the tractor as a means of transport but not damage caused when a tractor was used as a machine or propulsion device.

BIBA’s 2016 manifesto called for a surgical amendment to be made to the Motor Insurance Directive to exclude motor sports and other anomalies from the directive and mitigate the unintended consequences of the judgement and this is the first step in fulfilling this call.

At the 2016 BIBA conference in Manchester BIBA chief executive officer, Steve White said; “BIBA has been working with interested parties in the insurance industry and motor sports sector since the judgement which had the potential to have far reaching implications. If not resolved it brings into the scope of compulsory motor insurance some 43 different types of vehicle that previously didn’t need insurance including those used off the public roads for motor sport.

“BIBA has worked with the Department for Transport, our European federation BIPAR and Commissioner Hill’s office to seek a surgical amendment to the Motor Insurance Directive to redefine the directive to apply to only those vehicles used in traffic. The fact that this is now being put forward in a European Commission roadmap for better regulation is a big win for us and we look forward to the outcome.”

Graeme Trudgill, executive firector at BIBA, concluded; “This has involved a lot of stakeholder co-operation including the ABI, the Motorsport Associations, BIPAR and the MIB and we are extremely pleased to get this far. There is still a lot to do to get this over the finish line, but we will do all we can over the coming months support the progress of this initiative.”