Motor vehicle insurance: definition of “motor vehicle”

The Road Traffic Act 1988 requires insurance to be in place for the use of a “motor vehicle” on a road or in a public place. The definition of “motor vehicle” in the Act is somewhat different from the definition in the EU Consolidated Motor Insurance Directive 2009.

In Lewington v Motor Insurers’ Bureau [2017] EWHC 2848 (Comm) the claimant suffered injuries from a dumper truck that could not lawfully be used on a road, and was denied compensation by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau for injuries suffered by her at the hands of an unidentified thief of the dumper truck, a decision upheld when the matter was referred to arbitration.