We reported yesterday on the breaking news announcement from The Secretary of State for Transport that motor insurance law in the UK will diverge from the EU model and most specifically in relation to no longer following the Vnuk decision.
As the industry reacts, Alistair Kinley has spoken to Insurance Times on the news and what it means for new developments such as e-scooters and the related insurance debate.
Alistair says:
On the impact of the decision: "The UK probably could not have done this before 1 January this year because of the need to comply with EU motor insurance law. The DfT’s decision to reverse the Vnuk case will, when it takes effect, mean that non-standard vehicles and use of all vehicles on private land will not have to be covered under compulsory motor insurance. But the prospect of accidents in those settings hasn’t changed, so it would still be sensible to look for voluntary insurance for any risky activities involving vehicles in either of those settings.”
And, on the issue of insuring micromobility such as e-scooters:
"It does indicate either a likely change in the legal definition of motor vehicle for insurance purposes or further carve-outs from the existing definition in order to exclude many types of non-standard vehicles. In that sense, the direction of travel would seem to point to escooters eventually not being subject to compulsory cover. That said, the current escooter trials do fall within scope, and the DfT has stated it intends to wait for the results of those before taking final decisions on regulatory issues such as insurance.”
