Road Traffic (Northern Ireland) Order 1981

Requirements in respect of policies N.I.

92.—(1) In order to comply with the requirements of this Part a policy of insurance must be a policy which —

(a) is issued by a person who is an authorised insurer within the meaning of this Part;

(b) insures such person, persons or classes of persons as may be specified in the policy (in this Article referred to as the insured) and the personal representatives of the insured, during the period (in this Article referred to as the period of cover) specified in that behalf in the policy, in respect of any liability which may be incurred by the insured in respect of the death of or bodily injury to any person [F1 or damage to property] caused by or arising out of the use of the motor vehicle on a road [F2 or other public place] in Northern Ireland;

[F3 (bb) in the case of a vehicle normally based in the territory of [F4 a] member State, insures the insured in respect of any civil liability which may be incurred by the insured as a result of an event related to the use of the vehicle in Northern Ireland if—

(i) according to the law of that territory, the insured would be required to be insured in respect of a civil liability which would arise under that law as a result of that event if the place where the vehicle was used when the event occurred were in that territory, and

(ii) the cover required by that law would be higher than that required by sub-paragraph (b);]

(c) [F3 in the case of a vehicle normally based in Northern Ireland] insures the insured in respect of any liability which may be incurred by the insured in respect of the use of the vehicle and of any trailer, whether or not coupled, in the territory [F5 of Great Britain and] of each of the member states of the Communities according to—

[F3 (i) the law on compulsory insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of vehicles [F6 applicable in the territory in which] the event giving rise to the liability occurred; or

(ii) if it would give higher cover, the law which would be applicable under this Part if the place where the vehicle was used when that event occurred were in Northern Ireland;]

(d) is not subject to any condition, restriction or limitation which is prescribed as a condition, restriction or limitation, as the case may be, which shall not be inserted in a policy issued for the purposes of this Part; and

(e) provides that the period of cover is not capable of being terminated before its expiration by effluxion of time by the insurer unless at least one week's notice of intention so to terminate the period of cover has been given by the insurer to the person by whom the policy is effected and to the Department.

[F1 (2) The policy shall not be required—

(a) to cover liability in respect of the death, arising out of and in the course of his employment, of a person in the employment of the insured or in respect of bodily injury or damage to property sustained by such a person arising out of and in the course of his employment;

(b) to provide insurance for more than [F7 £1,200,000] in respect of all such liabilities as may be incurred in respect of damage to property caused by, or arising out of, any one accident involving the vehicle;

(c) to cover liability in respect of damage to the vehicle;

(d) to cover liability in respect of damage to goods carried for hire or reward in or on the vehicle or in or on any trailer (whether or not coupled) drawn by the vehicle;

(e) to cover any liability of a person in respect of damage to property in his custody or under his control; or

(f) to cover any contractual liability.]

[F3 (2A) In the case of a person—

(a) carried in or upon a vehicle; or

(b) entering or getting on to, or alighting from, a vehicle,

the provisions of paragraph (2)(a) relating to cover for liability in respect of death and bodily injury do not apply unless cover for such liability is in fact provided pursuant to a requirement of the Employers' Liability (Defective Equipment and Compulsory Insurance) (Northern Ireland) Order 1972.]

(3) Notwithstanding anything in any enactment, a person issuing a policy of insurance under this Article shall be liable to indemnify the insured and the personal representatives of the insured in respect of any liability which the policy purports to cover in the case of the insured or the personal representatives of the insured.

(4) A policy shall be of no effect for the purposes of this Part unless and until there is delivered by the insurer to the person by whom the policy is effected a certificate (in this Part referred to as a certificate of insurance) in the prescribed form and containing such particulars of any conditions subject to which the policy is issued and any other matters as may be prescribed.

[F8 (4A) A certificate of insurance is to be treated for the purposes of this Part as having been delivered under paragraph (4) to the person by whom the policy is effected if—

(a) it is transmitted electronically by the insurer to the person in accordance with paragraph (4B); or

(b) it is made available by the insurer to the person on a website in accordance with paragraph (4C).

(4B) A certificate of insurance is transmitted electronically by an insurer to a person in accordance with this paragraph if—

(a) on effecting the policy to which the certificate relates, the person agreed to its electronic transmission for the purpose of paragraph (4); and

(b) the certificate is transmitted by the insurer to an electronic address specified by the person for this purpose.

(4C) A certificate of insurance is made available by an insurer to a person on a website in accordance with this paragraph if—

(a) on effecting the policy to which the certificate relates, the person agreed to its being made available on a website for the purposes of paragraph (4);

(b) the insurer makes the certificate available to the person by placing an electronic copy of it on a website; and

(c) the person is notified by the insurer, in a manner agreed by the person, of—

(i) the certificate's presence on the website;

(ii) the address of the website;

(iii) the place on the website where he may access the certificate; and

(iv) how he may access the certificate.

(4D) Where a certificate of insurance made available on a website is treated by virtue of paragraph (4A)(b) as having been delivered by an insurer to a person, the insurer must ensure that the certificate remains continuously accessible to the person on the website until the expiry of the last day on which the policy to which it relates has effect.

(4E) For the purposes of paragraph (4D), a certificate of insurance is to be treated as remaining continuously accessible to a person on a website, despite its being temporarily inaccessible to him on the website, if the insurer has taken all reasonable steps to make it continuously accessible to him on the website (including steps to remedy any temporary inaccessibility).]

(5) In this Part the expression “"policy of insurance”” includes a covering note [F1 and the expression “"accident”” includes two or more causally related accidents.]

F1 SR 1989/84

F2 SR 2000/331

F3 SR 1993/57

F4 Word in art. 92(1)(bb) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/551), regs. 1(1), 5(a); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F5 Words in art. 92(1)(c) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/551), regs. 1(1), 5(b)(i); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F6 Words in art. 92(1)(c)(i) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/551), regs. 1(1), 5(b)(ii); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F7 Sum in art. 92(2)(b) substituted (20.2.2017) by The Motor Vehicles (Compulsory Insurance) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 (S.R. 2017/25), regs. 1(1), 2(2)

F8 Art. 92(4A)-(4E) inserted (21.3.2011) by Motor Vehicles (Electronic Communication of Certificates of Insurance) Order (Northern Ireland) 2011 (S.R. 2011/23), art. 2(2)