(1) Unless a police officer attended the motor accident, a motor accident that
gives rise to a claim must be reported to a police officer by or on behalf of
the claimant within 28 days after the motor accident. This requirement is
referred to in this section as the
"police accident report requirement" .
(a) the insurer has
lost the right to reject the claim on the ground of that non-compliance, or
(b) the Commission has, on the assessment of a dispute as to whether the
claimant has a full and satisfactory explanation for the non-compliance,
assessed that sufficient cause existed to justify the delay in reporting the
motor accident to a police officer and that a report of the motor accident to
a police officer was made within a reasonable period in the circumstances, or
(c) the claim is referred only for a certificate of exemption from assessment
under Part 4.4.
(a) does not, within 2 months after receiving the claim, reject the
claim on the ground of that non-compliance or ask the claimant to provide a
full and satisfactory explanation for the non-compliance, or
(b) does not,
within 2 months after receiving an explanation for the non-compliance, reject
the explanation.
(5) If court proceedings are commenced on a claim in respect
of which the police accident report requirement has not been complied with,
the insurer may apply to the court to have the proceedings dismissed on that
ground.
(6) An application to have proceedings dismissed on the ground of
non-compliance with the police accident report requirement cannot be made more
than 2 months after the statement of claim is served on the defendant and
received by the insurer and also cannot be made if the insurer has lost the
right to reject the claim on the ground of that non-compliance.
(7) On an
application to have proceedings dismissed on the ground of non-compliance with
the police accident report requirement, the court must dismiss the proceedings
unless satisfied that sufficient cause existed to justify the delay in
reporting the motor accident to a police officer and that a report of the
motor accident to a police officer was made within a reasonable period in the
circumstances.
(8) In this section, a reference to an insurer includes a
reference to the person against whom the claim is made.