As the general insurance industry grapples with a significant financial fallout caused by delinquent uninsured drivers, at least one leading insurer is moving to have them sent to jail once the court enters a judgment for unreimbursed claims.
The company in question, whose officials did not want their names or that of the firm identified, told Barbados TODAY exclusively that it is actively attempting to recover over $700 000 from uninsured drivers via civil litigation.
“The uninsured drivers account for about 47.5 per cent of our recovery claims managed by the Legal Department alone and do not represent the full sum to be recovered as our Claims Department manages its own recoveries portfolio,” the attorney in charge of the legal department revealed.
The General Insurance Association of Barbados (GIAB) said on Wednesday that uninsured vehicles are a concern for the industry.
“The association continues to collaborate with the Barbados Licensing Authority and Police Service to ensure the matter of uninsured vehicles is addressed as quickly as possible,” GIAB President Andrea Walton told Barbados TODAY in an interview, adding that the issue was recently raised with the commissioner of police in writing.
But management officials of the company which is seeking imprisonment, said they have had enough of uninsured vehicle owners causing accidents that injure people and damage property, and then refusing to pay up.
The officials have also placed these car owners on notice that once a judgment is registered against them, the insurer will inform lending institutions, hire purchase providers and credit bureaus of the court matter to block the defaulters from accessing any type of loans.
The attorney who handles recovery of debt for the company explained that it still has to cover its clients who have comprehensive insurance and are involved in accidents with uninsured drivers.
“We still have to cover their damage, and some of those are total losses. When it is the Magistrates’ Court, it is up to $10 000. Over $10 000, it goes to the High Court. And sometimes you can get a claim as small as $1 500, depending on the damage; and then you can get a claim as big as $200 000 for writing off a person’s Mercedes-Benz that is days old.
“Those are some of the figures we are working with. And if we can’t get people to pay, then we have to absorb that loss. So that’s why we continue to go after those. But I think if they were to be committed [to prison], it would send a message…because it is kind of baffling that we have people on the road who don’t have insurance. It is scary if you have property damage, but it is even scarier if that person injures another person and they don’t have any relief to remedy it,” the attorney contended.
“The matters with the insurance companies are going to be settled pretty quickly, because when you get in an accident, you call the insurance, and they liaise with each other, and they say, ‘ok, this is it,’ and we settle. But with the uninsured drivers, that’s going to take longer…because (a), if you can’t find them, and (b) if you find them and you serve them, they start to pay, and then they stop. Sometimes you have them paying haphazardly, or sometimes they would be paying consistently and then they stop. Some are very cooperative; they just allow you to deduct it from their salary,” the legal counsel added.
The lawyer also suggested that having culprits jailed may assist enforcement efforts if insurance companies take a firmer stance.
She said that from the perspective of a vehicle owner, people often assume that an insurance company will handle the matter if a collision occurs. However, when it becomes clear that the other driver is uninsured, the situation becomes more complicated, as the affected party may have to cover the costs themselves or rely on the excess, depending on the value of the vehicle.
The lawyer also revealed that the company has matters where uninsured drivers have not settled their debts since 2022–2023, and chasing them down is difficult.
“Sometimes they change their telephone numbers; sometimes they know the number of the company official calling and refuse to answer. So, that’s where the litigation process starts. This month alone, I have about five claims I have to draft. So, next month I will have another five. Say that adds up – that could be nearly 60 in a year. So we have to keep going after them,” she said.
“Even if we get judgment, we still have to follow up with them. We still have to keep bringing them into court, and… [if] they still don’t pay, we still keep working with them, because the next step is committal. That’s the next step we are going to take.”
The attorney said a person may only avoid committal to prison if they are unemployed, as the Debt Act provides protection in such cases.
“It’s time insurance companies add some weight to what the courts and police do. No one cares until it’s their family or friend that’s been affected,” the company executive said.
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