Who Pays for What After a UK Non-Fault Accident

Who pays

At-fault insurer (or MIB if uninsured/untraced)

When paid

On settlement of the property-damage claim

Authority

British Westinghouse v Underground Electric Rys [1912] AC 673; Coles v Hetherton [2013] EWCA Civ 1704

Where your car is repairable, the at-fault insurer pays the reasonable cost of repair. Where the engineer declares it a total loss, they pay the pre-accident market value (PAV) - typically anchored to CAP, Glass's or Parkers guides plus reasonable adjustment for mileage, condition and specification. The measure of damages is restitutio in integrum (British Westinghouse), refined for motor claims in Coles v Hetherton. If you keep the salvage (Cat S or Cat N retention), the salvage value is deducted from the cheque. PAV is not what you paid, what you owe on finance, or what the dealer is asking on the forecourt - it is what a willing buyer would pay for an equivalent vehicle on the day before the crash.

Who pays

At-fault insurer

When paid

On settlement, paid directly to the credit-hire company

Authority

Dimond v Lovell [2002] 1 AC 384; Lagden v O'Connor [2003] UKHL 64

If you genuinely need a car while yours is off the road and you cannot afford to hire one up-front, credit hire allows a Credit Hire Organisation to provide a like-for-like vehicle and pursue the at-fault insurer for the charges. The leading authorities are Dimond v Lovell, which confirmed the hirer's recoverable rate is the Basic Hire Rate (BHR) for impecunious-uncapable claimants, and Lagden v O'Connor, which held that an impecunious claimant - one with no realistic means of hiring on a credit-card or cash basis - recovers the full credit-hire rate including the additional service element. Need, period of hire, and rate must each be evidenced.

Who pays

At-fault insurer

When paid

On settlement; daily-logged from recovery to release

Authority

Bee v Jenson [2007] EWCA Civ 923; mitigation duty per The Liesbosch [1933] AC 449

When a non-fault vehicle is recovered to a secure compound, daily storage is recoverable while the engineer inspects, the insurer authorises, and the salvage or repair instruction is issued. Charges must be daily-logged with in/out dates, a compound rate and proof of release. The claimant has a Liesbosch duty to mitigate - meaning storage cannot run unreasonably long. Once the at-fault insurer has accepted liability and offered collection, continuing to incur storage at their cost is unlikely to be recovered. Practical cap: roughly 14-31 days unless engineer delay is documented.

Who pays

At-fault insurer (police-protocol rate on motorways)

When paid

On settlement; or via the National Recovery Standards police pricing schedule

Authority

Road Traffic Act 1988 s.165A; ATF / National Recovery Standards (Home Office)

If the vehicle cannot be driven, recovery from the scene to a place of safety is a recoverable head of loss. On motorways and trunk roads the National Highways Vehicle Recovery (NHVR) framework or the local police-instructed operator applies fixed Home Office statutory rates under the National Recovery Standards. Off-network, you may use any reputable recovery operator at a reasonable commercial rate. Keep the recovery invoice, scene location, and the destination compound on the same audit trail. Second-leg recovery (compound to repairer) is also recoverable where reasonably necessary.

Who pays

At-fault insurer

When paid

On settlement, against an itemised invoice

Authority

General damages principle (British Westinghouse); CPR PD 35

An independent engineer's inspection is the single most important evidential document in a property-damage claim: it sets repair-versus-write-off, pre-accident market value, salvage category (S, N, B or A) and pre-existing damage exclusions. The reasonable fee for that report is recoverable from the at-fault insurer. If matters proceed to litigation, the engineer is a CPR Part 35 expert and their duty is to the court. Do not authorise repairs before the report is issued - Dimond v Lovell-style enrichment arguments can otherwise be raised against the hire and storage claim.

Who pays

At-fault insurer, refunded via your insurer or directly

When paid

After the at-fault insurer admits and pays out

Authority

Subrogation: Castellain v Preston (1883) 11 QBD 380

If you claim through your own comprehensive policy first, you will pay your policy excess up front. Once your insurer recovers from the at-fault insurer under their subrogation rights (Castellain v Preston), they refund your excess. The cleanest route in a clear non-fault case is to bypass your own insurer entirely and claim direct from the third party - there is then no excess to pay and no fault-step on your renewal. If you have already paid an excess and the at-fault insurer later admits liability, you can pursue the excess directly as a small-claim head of loss.

Who pays

At-fault insurer (typically via injury claim)

When paid

On settlement of the personal-injury claim

Authority

Limitation Act 1980 s.11 (three years); Browning v Brachers [2005] EWCA Civ 753

If you are unable to work because of injury or because you cannot reach work without a car, net earnings (not gross) are recoverable. You must evidence loss with payslips, employer confirmation, and a medical report tying absence to the accident. Self-employed claimants prove loss through SA302s, accountant letters and lost-contract evidence. Limitation under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980 is three years from the accident or date of knowledge. Loss-of-earnings claims are part of the personal-injury head and must be pursued by a regulated solicitor - we refer only with explicit consent.

Who pays

At-fault insurer

When paid

On settlement, modest daily figure

Authority

The Mediana [1900] AC 113; Giles v Thompson [1994] 1 AC 142

If you choose not to take a replacement vehicle, you can still recover a modest daily sum for loss of use of your own car - the principle established for ships in The Mediana and extended to private cars in Giles v Thompson. The award is typically £10-£25 per day depending on vehicle type and demonstrated inconvenience. It is far smaller than credit-hire recovery but useful where need is limited (a second household car, a vehicle used only occasionally, or a short repair window). It cannot be claimed in addition to a hire charge - the two heads are alternatives, not cumulative.

Who pays

At-fault insurer (via solicitor or OIC portal)

When paid

On settlement of the injury claim

Authority

Civil Liability Act 2018; Limitation Act 1980 s.11; Judicial College Guidelines

Personal-injury heads are wholly separate from property damage and must be referred to a regulated solicitor or, for low-value soft-tissue injuries, run through the Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal under the Civil Liability Act 2018 small-claims tariff. We do not provide legal advice and we refer only with explicit, recorded consent to authorised solicitor partners. General damages are valued against the Judicial College Guidelines and Kemp & Kemp tables, with special damages (treatment, care, lost earnings) on top. Three-year limitation runs from the date of accident or knowledge.

Who pays

Generally NOT recoverable in the UK

When paid

Not paid - narrow exception only for prestige/historic vehicles

Authority

Payton v Brooks [1974] RTR 169; contrast US: Mabry v State Farm 556 SE.2d 114 (Ga 2001)

Unlike most US states, English law treats diminution in value as generally non-recoverable once a vehicle has been properly repaired to a pre-accident standard. The leading case is Payton v Brooks: a claimant may in principle recover the difference between pre-accident value and post-repair value, but only where the repair fails to restore the vehicle's market value - a narrow exception in practice applied to prestige, classic and low-mileage performance cars. For ordinary cars the courts assume a quality repair restores market value. Insurers routinely reject DV claims for everyday vehicles. Contrast this with US authority such as Mabry v State Farm.

Who pays

At-fault insurer

When paid

On settlement, against receipts

Authority

British Westinghouse v Underground Electric Rys [1912] AC 673

Taxi fares, train tickets, parking, additional bus journeys, additional fuel and any other reasonable expense incurred because you have lost the use of your vehicle are recoverable as special damages, on the same restitutio in integrum principle. Keep every receipt, log the date and reason, and tie each item to the period your vehicle was off the road. Insurers will scrutinise this head closely - claims without contemporaneous receipts are routinely refused. Anything claimed must be reasonable and proportionate; first-class travel will be cut to standard, taxi where a bus existed will be reduced.

Who pays

At-fault insurer

When paid

On settlement

Authority

Restitutio in integrum (British Westinghouse)

Transport of child seats, work tools, mobility aids or other personal items that were in the vehicle at the moment of collision is recoverable where the vehicle has been recovered to a compound and the items are needed at home or work. The classic example is the parent who must collect a baby seat from a compound thirty miles away. Reasonable taxi or courier costs and a single onward transport leg are recoverable. Damage to the items themselves (smashed laptop, bent bicycle) is a separate head - claim it on the engineer's contents schedule with photographs and original purchase evidence.