ABSTRACT
8.1 The RTA 1988 controls not only the terms of the contract to be entered into between the assured and the insurers but also the statutory rights of the third party against the insurers. There is no contract between the insurer who insures liability as required by the RTA and the third party victim the protection of whose interest is the main concern of the relevant statutory provisions. The statutory compulsory liability insurance regime grants a direct right of action by the victim against the motorist’s insurer. Currently there are two parallel sets of rules with regards to such direct right of action. The current section 151 of the RTA 1988 represents the approach that had been first adopted by the 1934 Act and retained until today. The RTA 1988 has no effect on the direct enforcement action under the Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 1 (TPA 2010) that under the RTA 1988 s 153 the right of the third party to proceed against the assured despite the assured’s insolvency is preserved. As will be examined below, similar to the regime under the TPA 2010, section 151 of the RTA 1988 demands the third party to satisfy some requirements as set out by the section before a right of direct action is available for him.
