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Europa Group Motorcycle Insurance Compensation Claims Guide

If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident and the at-fault party was insured with Europa Group insurance, you may be considering making a Europa Group motorcycle insurance claim. If so, this guide could offer valuable information on making such claims. Included in the sections below is information on what could constitute a motorcycle injury claim, how you could go about making a claim, and how much compensation you could look to receive for your injuries. If you would like expert advice and support with your claim, please do not hesitate to call the Legal Expert team on 0800 073 8804.

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A Guide To Europa Group Motorcycle Insurance Claims

Europa Group motorcycle insurance accident claims guide

Many motorcycle insurance comparison sites include policies that are underwritten by Europa Group motorcycle insurance. This means when you make a claim against either your own or someone else’s motorbike insurer, they could be financially responsible for making the payout.

Whatever type of motorbike accident you’ve been in, if it wasn’t your fault, you could be eligible to make a Europa Group motorcycle insurance claim if the at-fault party’s insurance was underwritten by the Europa Group. This guide offers information about making such claims and offers insights into the compensation you could receive for injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. We also look at what insurers and underwriters consider when assessing these types of claims and why it could be beneficial for claimants to consider taking legal advice before accepting an offer of compensation.

What Are Motorcycle Accident Insurance Claims?

If you’ve been injured in a motorcycle accident, you could make a claim against the at-fault party’s insurance company. According to ROSPA, 19,297 motorcyclists suffered injuries in road traffic accidents in 2016, with 319 of these sadly passing away because of their injuries. While fatalities only make up 3% of the casualties in these statistics, they provide a clear picture of how serious these accidents could be.

Whether you have suffered minor injuries or severe, life-changing injuries due to the fault of someone else on the road, you could be in a position to claim compensation for the pain and suffering you’ve experienced, as well as the financial expenses incurred due to your injuries. Most claims would be made against the at-fault party’s insurance company, but you could also have the option to claim compensation through the Motor Insurer’s Bureau if the person at fault for the accident was not insured or was untraceable.

When Victims Of Accidents Could Make An Insurance Claim

There are a variety of scenarios as to how victims of accidents could make insurance claims. A claim could be made against your own policy if:

  • You damaged your vehicle and it was your fault
  • You had fully comprehensive insurance and an at-fault party that caused your injuries was not insured
  • Someone else was injured on your motorbike as a passenger and you caused the accident

You would claim against someone else’s Europa Group motorcycle insurance policy if:

  • The other party was at fault, and damage was caused to your vehicle
  • The other party was at fault and you suffered a motorbike injury
  • The other party was at fault and your passenger suffered an injury (the passenger would launch their own claim in these cases)

What Is A Motorcycle Insurance Underwriter?

A motorcycle insurance underwriter is, essentially, a company that accepts financial responsibility to cover the potential losses incurred by its clients. Underwriters are the companies that assess applications for insurance to determine whether or not to accept them. They determine the terms, costs and conditions of insurance policies.

How Insurance Companies And Underwriters Assess Motorcycle Insurance Claims

Before agreeing to motorcycle personal injury settlements, an underwriter or insurer may consider the following:

  • The site of the accident – If an insurance policy covered accidents solely on public roads, and your accident happened on a pathway or driveway, they could refuse your claim.
  • The accident report – The police report could be studied to see if any fault could be attributed to you for the motorbike accident.
  • The date you launch your claim – In most cases, there is a limit to how long you would have to make a claim. In many cases, this would be three years from the accident date. However, some exceptions may occur.
  • The medical evidence – if you have suffered a motorcycle ankle injury, for example, the insurer might ask for evidence that the injury is as bad as you have reported it to be.

Should your Europa Group motorcycle insurance claim be refused or disputed, a personal injury lawyer may be able to fight against this decision, if it was made unfairly.

Considerations To Make Before Accepting An Insurance Companies Offer

Have you received an offer from an insurance company and are considering taking the offer as it means your motorcycle injury claim would be completed quickly? If so, it may be wise to think carefully before you take the first offer you receive.

Some insurance companies try to save money and time by making what are known as pre-medical offers. These are offers of compensation that mean your medical evidence would not be taken into account. While taking a pre-med offer may mean your motorcycle accident claim is settled quickly, you may not be getting as much compensation as you deserve for your injuries.

Some injuries, such as whiplash, for example, may, at first, seem minor, but if they go on for some time, they could require treatment and turn into long term conditions, such as chronic pain. Others, such as a motorcycle groin injury, for example, may result in impotence in extreme cases. Taking a pre-med offer could preclude you from making further claims if this turns out to be the case, so it would be wise to wait until your medical condition could be properly assessed to ascertain how much compensation could be appropriate for your claim.  However, it would be best not to wait for too long, as your case could be time-barred if you do not claim within the relevant time limit. This is why contacting a personal injury solicitor to help you with a claim could be beneficial.

When Solicitors Could Help You To Make A Motorcycle Insurance Claim

While it could be possible for you to make a compensation claim without the assistance of a lawyer, we would highly recommend you consider using a specialist solicitor if you are intending to make a Europa Group motorcycle insurance claim.

A solicitor takes on the leg work of building a strong case. They do so by collecting evidence and arranging for you to see an independent medical expert to corroborate your injuries and provide medical evidence that could help achieve the maximum compensation possible for your case. Not only this, but they could also assess any settlement offer you receive and check it could be appropriate for your injuries. If they feel an offer is too low and they could fight for more compensation, this could avoid you accepting a low offer when you could have achieved more for your claim.

Do I Have To Go To Court?

If you’re considering using a solicitor for your motorcycle accident claim but fear that this may mean you would have to go to court, this might not be the case. While a solicitor could issue protective proceedings if you are getting close to the personal injury claims time limit for your case, this would not necessarily result in you needing to attend court. Most personal injury claims are settled out of court, but even if you did have to go to court, your solicitor would be able to support you in doing so.

Information Solicitors Need To Help You Make A Claim

Various pieces of information could help to strengthen your claim. Providing such information could mean your solicitor has all that they need to fight for the maximum compensation achievable for your Europa Group motorcycle insurance claim. Useful information could include:

  • Your own statement of the facts surrounding the case
  • Your own statement regarding your injuries and how they affected you
  • Your medical notes (If you have requested them. If not, your solicitor could request these on your behalf)
  • Any witness details (to corroborate your statement)
  • A sketch of the scene of the accident, with positions of vehicles
  • Photographs of the scene
  • Proof of any financial expenses relating to your injuries

Check If You Could Claim Compensation?

If you’re looking to make a Europa Group motorcycle insurance claim, but are not sure whether you could be eligible, you could contact our team for advice and support. We could provide an eligibility check for free to clarify your position and could help you begin a claim for compensation by providing you with an experienced solicitor.

There are a variety of road users that could claim compensation for a motorcycle accident. These may include:

  • Pedestrians
  • Passengers on motorbikes
  • Riders of a motorbike
  • Drivers of other vehicles
  • Passengers of other vehicles
  • Other road users

I Was Partially To Blame For a Motorcycle Accident – Could I Still Claim?

If you were completely at fault for a motorcycle accident that caused you to suffer injuries, you would not be able to claim compensation for your injuries, as it would be your own fault that you’d sustained injuries. However, if you were partly to blame, but another road user was also at fault, you could still be in a position to claim compensation. This type of claim would be called a split liability claim. Your compensation would likely be reduced to reflect your involvement, but you could still be in a position to claim compensation for a motorcycle injury sustained in this type of accident.

The Other Driver Was Not Insured Or Could Not Be Traced – Could I Still Claim

If the other driver was not insured or did not stop at the scene of the accident, you may be able to claim through the Motor Insurer’s Bureau. This is an organisation that helps compensate victims who have suffered an injury due to an accident caused by an uninsured or untraceable driver. We could provide you with a solicitor to help with these kinds of claims.

Compensation Calculator For Motorcycle Accident Claims

If you wanted to get some idea of how much compensation might be appropriate for your Europa Group motorcycle insurance claim, you might have searched for a personal injury claims calculator to give you this information. We should mention, however, that the figures generated from this type of calculator would only be able to offer you a very rough guide of how much you could receive. Every personal injury claim would be assessed on its unique circumstances and facts. It would take into account the medical evidence provided when you attend an independent medical assessment, which you would be required to do as part of your claim. At this assessment, your medical notes would be analysed, and you would be examined, and the report would give details of your motorbike injury and your prognosis. This report would go some way towards valuing your claim.

We do understand that many claimants may want to get an idea of how much compensation their claim could bring them. To help with this, we have created a table below to illustrate the Judicial College’s Guidelines (JCG) for injuries that we believe could relate to a motorcycle accident claim. The JCG is a legal publication that could be used by the court and by your lawyer to arrive at an appropriate value for your claim. If your motorcycle injury cannot be found in the table, please get in touch with our team, as we could provide further information over the phone.

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Type of Injury JC Guideline Payout Amount Remarks
Severe ankle Injury £29,380 to £46,980 Injured parties may have had to have a lengthy course of treatment and could have required a long period where the leg was in plaster or required pins/plates to fix. Despite this lengthy treatment, there would still be a severe limitation on their ability to walk. There may also be a high risk of osteoarthritis.
Modest ankle injury Up to £12,900 Less serious ligamentous tears and fractures.
Severe Hip Injury £36,770 to £49,270 Many of the severe hip injuries that could be sustained could fall into this bracket. Some could include fracture of the acetabulum, which could lead to degenerative changes, as well as a requirement for future hip replacement.
Lesser hip injury or pelvic injury Up to £3,710 Soft tissue injuries with a full recovery.
Moderate brain damage £85,150 to £140,870 Cases where the injured party suffers a modest to moderate deficit to their intellect, and where their ability to work is removed or greatly reduced. There could be some risk of developing epilepsy.
Moderate brain damage £40,410 to £85,150 The injured party’s memory and concentration would be affected and their ability to work reduced. There could be a small risk of developing epilepsy, but only limited dependence on others.
Moderate neck injury £12,900 to £23,460 Pain, stiffness and discomfort could feature here, and injuries would usually involve soft tissue damage or a wrenching injury that could lead to cervical spondylosis, for example.

Could I Claim Damages For Lost Income Or Expenses?

While you might already be aware that you could claim compensation for the suffering and pain caused by your motorcycle injury, you may not be aware that you could also claim compensation to cover the financial expenses caused by your injuries. The expenses you could claim for could include:

  • Care costs – if someone had to help you with toileting, dressing or meal preparation, for example, because your motorcycle injury to the hip or another part of the body meant you couldn’t do these things yourself, care costs could be recovered in a Europa Group motorcycle insurance claim.
  • Medical costs – if your injuries meant you needed to pay for prescriptions, physiotherapy or other treatments, you could recover these costs as special damages within your claim.
  • Travel costs – if you paid to travel to see your lawyer, or to attend medical appointments, these costs could also be included as special damages.
  • Loss of wages – did your injuries mean you had to take time off work to recover? If so, your lost wages could be recovered within your motorbike accident claim. If your injuries were so severe that you weren’t able to return to work in the future, future losses could also be included within your claim.

If you have incurred a cost not mentioned here, our advisors could clarify whether it could be included within your claim. We should, however, mention that you would need to have proof of expenses in order to include them within your claim. Payslips, bank statements and receipts could be vital in ensuring you are able to claim for the expenses you’ve incurred.

No Win No Fee Motorbike Injury Claims

We highly recommend using the services of a personal injury solicitor when looking to claim compensation. Not only could a lawyer take the stress out of building a case for compensation, but they could also assist with analysing any compensation offer you receive to see whether it could be appropriate for you to take the offer or fight for more compensation.

Using the services of a personal injury lawyer does not have to mean that you would have to pay them upfront either. If you make a claim under a No Win No Fee agreement, or Conditional Fee Agreement, you would not need to pay your lawyer until your claim was settled. The agreement would promise your lawyer a success fee if they successfully negotiated a compensation settlement for you. This success fee is legally capped and would be discussed with you before you signed the agreement. If your solicitor was not able to secure a settlement for you, you wouldn’t have to pay the success fee or their costs in pursuing your claim.

If you have any questions about making a Europa Group motorcycle insurance claim under such terms, please do call our team. Not only could we answer any questions you might have about No Win No Fee claims, but we could also connect you with a lawyer who could work on your case on this basis.

Talk To Us About Your Claim

If you’re ready to talk about starting a Europa Group motorcycle insurance claim and would like our help to find an appropriate lawyer, or you have further questions about your eligibility to claim or about the claims process, you can contact us in any of the ways below.

We are available now to help you. Why not get in touch with our expert advisors today?

Essential References

You can also learn more about motorcycle accident claims below:

 

Written by Jeffries

Edited by Billing