An insurance company shall not provide insurance in the United Kingdom to cover relevant motor vehicle risks unless—
it is a member of the Motor Insurers' Bureau (being a company limited by guarantee and incorporated under the Companies Act 1929 on 14th June 1946); and
it has appointed a claims representative who satisfies the requirements of subsections (2) to (6) below.
The claims representative must be a person who has been designated as the insurance company’s claims representative for the purposes of this section.
The claims representative must be authorised—
to act on behalf of the insurance company and to represent, or to instruct others to represent, the insurance company in relation to any matters giving rise to relevant claims;
to pay sums in settlement of relevant claims; and
to accept service on behalf of the insurance company of proceedings in respect of relevant claims;
but the authority must not extend to the settlement of relevant claims.
The claims representative must be authorised to represent the insurance company in any proceedings or enquiry to establish the existence or validity of a policy issued by the insurance company which covers or purports to cover relevant motor vehicle risks.
Without prejudice to subsection (3) above, the claims representative must not act on behalf of the insurance company in the carrying on of its general business in the United Kingdom other than its reinsurance business, if any.
The claims representative must—
in the case of an individual, be resident in the United Kingdom;
in the case of a corporation, have a place of business in the United Kingdom.
In this section “relevant claim” means any claim which may be made against a policy issued by the insurance company to the extent that it covers relevant motor vehicle risks, whether or not submitted to the company and whether by a policyholder or by a third party having rights of action against the company or a policyholder or both.