Motor vehicle insurance: liability for a parked vehicle

The UK and EU authorities on the scope of compulsory motor insurance have taken a divergent approach. The UK legislation demands a causation approach based on liability caused by or arising out of the use of a vehicle on a road or in a public place. The EU approach is to ask whether the liability arose from the use of its vehicle for its normal function. The outcome differs most significantly where the vehicle is on private land when the accident occurs, but otherwise there is general consistency.

The decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union in Linea Directa Aseguradora SA v Segurcaixa, Sociedad Anónima de Seguros y Reaseguros Case C-100/18 would not have been replicated in England, because the events occurred on private premises (as to which, see the recent decision of the Supreme Court in R&S Pilling (t/a Phoenix Engineering) v UK Insurance [2019] UKSC 16), but that point aside it is likely that the English courts would have reached the same conclusion.