Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Act
39 of 1933
Amended by
16 of 1935
19 of 1938
11 of 1940
12 of 1943
28 of 1946
12 of 1961
11 of 1965
24 of 1966
34 of 1974
9 of 1978
45 of 1979
50 of 1979
*47 of 1980
44 of 198
21 of 1990
38 of 1996
*See Note on page 2
L.R.O.
Current Authorised Pages
Pages Authorised
(inclusive) by L.R.O.
1–41 ..
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE
(THIRD-PARTY RISKS) ACT
CHAPTER 48:51
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
2 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Index of Subsidiary Legislation
Page
Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations (G. 1.3.1934) … 28
Note on Act No. 47 of 1980
The amendments to the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Act in Schedule D
of Act No. 47 of 1980 were retrospective and have already been incorporated in the Act of this
Chapter. A marginal amendment reference to “47 of 1980” should be inserted accordingly.
Note on Adaptation
Under paragraph 6 of the Second Schedule to the Law Revision Act (Ch. 3:03) the
Commission amended certain references to public officers in this Chapter. The Minister’s
approval of the amendments was signified by LN 120/1980, but no marginal reference is
made to this Notice where any such amendment is made in the text.
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 3
CHAPTER 48:51
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE
(THIRD-PARTY RISKS) ACT
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. Obligation on owners of motor vehicles to hold insurance policies or
other security against third-party risks.
4. Requirements in respect of policies.
4A. Owner of motor vehicle deemed to be employer of driver.
5. Time limit within which certificate of insurance shall be issued.
6. Company to notify Licensing Authority that policy has expired, is
cancelled or has ceased to have effect.
7. Requirements in respect of securities.
8. Certain conditions to policies or securities to be of no effect.
9. Production of certificate of insurance or certificate of security on
application for motor vehicle licence.
10. Duty of insurers to satisfy judgments against persons insured in
respect of third-party risks.
10A. Joinder of insurer as co-defendant.
11. Bankruptcy, etc., of insured persons not to affect certain claims by
third parties.
12. Avoidance of restrictions on scope of policies covering
third-party risks.
12A. Avoidance of certain restrictions.
13. Duty of person against whom claims are made to give information
as to insurance.
14. Duty to surrender certificate on cancellation of policy.
15. Application of sections 10 to 14 to securities.
16. Saving as to preservation of rights in case of death of an insured.
17. Rights of third parties against insurers on bankruptcy, etc., of
the insured.
18. Duty to give necessary information to third parties.
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS—Continued
SECTION
19. Settlement between insurers and insured persons.
20. Requirements as to production of certificate of insurance or of security.
21. Company to notify Licensing Authority of decision to accept vehicle
as a total loss or to pay insured for loss of vehicle.
22. Forgery, etc., of certificates.
23. Refusing to give name or address or giving false name or address.
24. Liability of driver and owner for offences.
25. Offences and general penalty.
26. Recovery of penalties.
27. Regulations.
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 5
CHAPTER 48:51
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE
(THIRD-PARTY RISKS) ACT
An Act to make provision for the protection of third parties
against risks arising out of the use of motor vehicles.
[1ST JULY 1934—TRINIDAD]
[1ST AUGUST 1941—TOBAGO]*
1. This Act may be cited as the Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Act.
2. In this Act—
“driver” where a separate person acts as steersman of a motor
vehicle, includes that person as well as any other person
engaged in the driving of the vehicle, and the expression
“drive” shall be construed accordingly;
“insurer” means a company registered to carry on insurance
business in Trinidad and Tobago and includes an underwriter
and an association of underwriters, but does not include an
insurance agent as such and, where an insurance agent is also
an insurer, it does not refer to that part of his business done
as an insurance agent;
“licensed trailer” means a trailer that is required to be registered
by the Licensing Authority under the Motor Vehicles and
Road Traffic Act;
“motor cab” means any motor vehicle kept or used for hire or
reward, or standing or plying for hire or reward, for the
conveyance of not more than six passengers and their
personal luggage, whether at separate fares or otherwise;
“motor omnibus” means any motor vehicle kept or used for hire
1950 Ed.
Ch. 16. No. 4.
39 of 1933.
Commencement.
Short title.
Interpretation.
[11 of 1965
45 of 1979
44 of 1981
38 of 1996].
Ch. 48:50.
* By Proclamation No. 9–1941 dated the 17th of April 1941, published in the Royal
Gazette, 1941, at page 508, the provisions of this Act were extended to apply to Tobago as
from 1st August 1941.
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
or reward, or standing or plying for hire or reward, for the
conveyance of more than six passengers, whether at separate
fares or otherwise, but does not include any motor vehicle,
the property of the Corporation established under the Public
Transport Service Act;
“motor van” “motor lorry” mean any motor vehicle transporting
or intended for the transport of goods or materials or for
hauling or intended for the haulage of any goods or materials
or of any other vehicle so engaged;
“motor vehicle” includes any vehicle operated or propelled by any
form of engine, motor, or mechanical power together with
any trailer that may be attached to it;
“owner”, in relation to a vehicle which is the subject of a hiring
agreement or hire purchase agreement, means the person in
possession of the vehicle under that agreement;
“public road” means any street, road or open space to which the
public has access and any bridge over which a road passes, and
includes any privately owned street, road or open space to which
the public has access either generally or conditionally;
“trailer” means any vehicle which has no independent motor
power of its own and which is attached to a motor vehicle,
but does not include a side-car attached to a motor cycle;
“tram car” includes any car, whether mechanically propelled or
not, which runs on rails affixed to the surface of the ground
and mainly along the public roads;
“trolley vehicle” means a mechanically propelled vehicle adapted
for use upon roads without rails and moved by power
transmitted thereto from some external source.
3. (1) Subject to this Act, it shall not be lawful for any person
to use, or to cause or permit any other person to use, a motor vehicle
or licensed trailer on a public road unless there is in force in relation
to the user of the motor vehicle or licensed trailer by that person or
that other person, as the case may be, such a policy of insurance or
such a security in respect of third-party risks as complies with the
requirements of this Act.
Ch. 48:02.
Obligation on
owners of motor
vehicles to hold
insurance
policies or other
security against
third-party
risks.
[28 of 1946
11 of 1965
9 of 1978
21 of 1990
38 of 1996].
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 7
(2) If a person acts in contravention of this section, he is
liable to a fine of five thousand dollars and to imprisonment for
two years, and a person convicted of an offence under this section
shall (unless the Court for special reasons thinks fit to order
otherwise and without prejudice to the power of the Court to
order a longer period of disqualification) be disqualified for
holding or obtaining a driving permit under the Motor Vehicles
and Road Traffic Act for a period of three years from the date of
the conviction.
A person disqualified by virtue of a conviction under this
section or of an order made thereunder for holding or obtaining a
driving permit shall, for the purposes of the Motor Vehicles and
Road Traffic Act be deemed to be disqualified under the provisions
of that Act.
(3) Notwithstanding any written law prescribing a time
within which proceedings may be brought before a Court of
summary jurisdiction, proceedings for an offence under this
section may be brought—
(a) within a period of two years from the date of the
commission of the alleged offence; or
(b) within a period which exceeds neither three
months from the date on which it came to the
knowledge of the prosecutor that the offence had
been committed nor one year from the date of the
commission of the offence, whichever period is
the longer.
(4) This section does not apply to any person in the
service of—
(a) the Government;
(b) a Municipal Corporation within the meaning of
the Municipal Corporations Act (1990); or
(c) the Tobago House of Assembly,
who keeps or is allowed keep any vehicle or licensed trailer used
and employed exclusively in the service of the Government, or
the Municipal Corporation or the Tobago House of Assembly, as
the case may be.
Ch. 48:50.
Ch. 25:04.
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
(5) Nothing in this Act shall apply to any public service
vehicle the property of the Corporation established under the Public
Transport Service Act.
4. (1) In order to comply with the requirements of this Act,
a policy of insurance must be a policy which—
(a) is issued by a person who is an insurer; and
(b) insures such person, persons or classes of
persons as may be specified in the policy in
respect of any liability which may be incurred
by him or them in respect of any death of or
bodily injury to including emergency treatment
therefor performed by a duly registered medical
practitioner or damage to the property of any
person caused by or arising out of the use of the
motor vehicle or trailer mentioned in the policy
on a public road.
(2) In the case of death or of bodily injury, a policy of
insurance shall not be required to cover—
(a) liability in respect of the death arising out of
and in the course of his employment of a person
in the employment of a person insured by the
policy or of bodily injury sustained by such a
person arising out of and in the course of his
employment; or
(b) any contractual liability;
(c) liability in respect of any sum in excess of one
million dollars arising out of any one claim by
any one person which sum shall not be taken to
include payment for emergency treatment not
exceeding one thousand dollars in respect of
each person;
(d) liability in respect of any sum in excess of
two million dollars arising out of the total claims
for any one accident for each vehicle concerned.
*Act No. 34 of 1974 came into operation on 7th July 1976—see 100/1976.
Ch. 48:02.
Requirements
in respect of
policies.
[24 of 1966
*34 of 1974
45 of 1979
50 of 1979
38 of 1996].
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 9
(3) For the purposes of this Act “property” does
not include—
(a) property carried in or on a motor vehicle or
licensed trailer for hire or reward;
(b) property belonging to or held in trust by or in the
custody or control of the person insured; or
(c) any bridge, weighbridge, viaduct, road or
anything beneath which has been damaged by
vibration, by the weight of the motor vehicle or
of the load carried by the motor vehicle.
(4) In the case of damage to property, a policy of insurance
shall not be required to cover liability in respect of any sum in
excess of—
(a) five hundred thousand dollars where the liability
arises out of one claim by one person;
(b) one million dollars where the liability rises out
of a series of claims by different persons in respect
of the same accident.
(4a) In the case of death, bodily injury or damage to
property a policy of insurance shall not contain any provision that
restricts liability in respect of any portion of a claim by any one
person arising out of the use of a motor vehicle on a public road.
(5) The Minister may by Order “subject to Affirmative
Resolution of Parliament,” vary any of the amounts mentioned in
subsections (2) and (4).
(6) Where any payment is made by an insurer under a
policy issued under this Act or by the owner of a motor vehicle in
relation to the user of which a security under this Act is in force or
who has made a deposit under this Act in respect of the death of or
bodily injury to any person arising out of the use of a motor vehicle
on a public road and the person who has so died or been bodily
injured has to the knowledge of the insurer or the owner received
treatment in a hospital in respect of the fatal or other bodily injury
so arising, there shall also be paid by the insurer or the owner to
the hospital the expenses reasonably incurred by the hospital in
affording such treatment to an amount not exceeding seven hundred
and fifty dollars for each person so treated.
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
For the purposes of this subsection the expression “hospital”
means an institution which provides medical or surgical treatment
for in-patients, and the expression “expenses reasonably incurred”
means, in relation to a person who receives treatment in a hospital,
an amount for each day such person is maintained in the hospital
representing the average daily cost per patient of the maintenance
of the hospital and the staff thereof and the maintenance and
treatment of the patients therein.
(7) Notwithstanding anything in any written law, rule of
law or the Common Law, a person issuing a policy of insurance
under this section shall be liable to indemnify the person insured
or persons driving or using the vehicle or licensed trailer with the
consent of the person insured specified in the policy in respect
of any liability which the policy purports to cover in the case of
those persons.
(8) A policy shall be of no effect for the purposes of
this Act unless and until there is issued by the insurer in favour
of the person by whom the policy is effected a certificate (in this
Act referred to as a “certificate of insurance”) in duplicate in
the prescribed form and containing such particulars of any
conditions subject to which the policy is issued and of any other
matters as may be prescribed, and different forms and different
particulars may be prescribed in relation to different cases
or circumstances.
(9) A policy of insurance together with a certified copy
of the proposal form upon which the policy was issued shall be
delivered by the insurer to the insured before the expiration of a
period of one week from the date of issue of the certificate of
insurance under subsection (8).
(10) For the puroses of this section a reference to
“emergency treatment” means medical or surgical treatment or
examination administered by a registered medical practitioner
immediately after the accident to an injured person as a result of
bodily injury (including fatal injury) caused by or arising out of
the use of a motor vehicle on a public road.
(11) In this Act the expression “a policy of insurance”
means a policy issued for not less than six months, and includes
a single covering note issued for a period not exceeding thirty days
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 11
Owner of motor
vehicle deemed
to be employer
of driver.
[38 of 1996].
Time limit
within which
certificate of
insurance shall
be issued.
[50 of 1979].
Company to
notify Licensing
Authority that
policy has
expired, is
cancelled or
has ceased to
have effect.
[50 of 1979].
Requirements
in repect
of securities.
[45 of 1979
38 of 1996].
in respect of any vehicle, but does not include any extension of a
covering note or any subsequent covering note issued in respect of
the same vehicle during any period of six consecutive months.
However, the provisions of this subsection shall not apply
to a bona fide visitor to Trinidad and Tobago who is the holder of
a policy of insurance which otherwise complies with the
requirements of this Act in respect of the period of his temporary
stay in Trinidad and Tobago.
4A. Notwithstanding any other law, the owner of a motor
vehicle licensed to ply for hire and insured under this Act is
deemed to be the employer of any person driving the motor vehicle
at the time of an accident as a result of which a person has suffered
death, bodily injury or damage to property unless it is shown that
at the time of the accident that the vehicle was the subject of larceny.
5. A certificate of insurance shall be issued by the insurer
on or before the expiration of the period during which a single
covering note has effect or where no such note was issued within
seven days of the receipt by the insurer of the first premium or part
premium paid in respect of the policy for which the certificate
is required.
6. Where a policy of insurance issued by a company under
the Act expires, is cancelled or ceases to have effect, the company
shall within thirty days of the expiration, cancellation or the
ceasing to have effect of the policy, notify the Licensing
Authority that the policy has expired, is cancelled or has ceased to
have effect.
7. (1) In order to comply with the requirements of this Act a
security must—
(a) be given either by an insurer or by a person or
body of persons approved by the Minister
carrying on in Trinidad and Tobago the business
of giving securities of a like kind; and
(b) consist of an undertaking by the giver of the
security to make good, subject to any condition
specified therein, and up to the amount, in the
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Certain
conditions to
policies or
securities to be
of no effect.
[38 of 1996].
case of any motor vehicle or licensed trailer, of
not less than three hundred thousand dollars in
respect of each such motor vehicle or licensed
trailer any failure by the insured or any person
driving or using the motor vehicle or licensed
trailer with the consent of the insured or the
consent of the person authorised by the insured
duly to discharge any such liability as is required
to be covered by a policy of insurance under
section 4 which may be incurred by any of the
persons aforesaid.
(2) A security shall be of no effect for the purposes of
this Act unless and until there is issued by the person giving the
security in favour of the person to whom it is given a certificate in
duplicate (in this Act referred to as a “certificate of security”) in
the prescribed form and containing such particulars of any
conditions subject to which the security is issued and of any
other matters as may be prescribed, and different forms and
different particulars may be prescribed in relation to different
cases or circumstances.
(3) In lieu of the security mentioned in this section a
deposit may be made by the owner of the motor vehicle or by the
person who stands security for him of the sum of three hundred
thousand dollars or approved securities to the like amount in the
hands of the Comptroller of Accounts to make good any liability
as is specified in this Act.
8. (1) Any condition in a policy or security issued or given
for the purposes of this Act, providing that no liability shall arise
under the policy or security, or that any liability so arising shall
cease, in the event of some specified thing being done or omitted
to be done after the happening of the event giving rise to a claim
under the policy or security, shall be of no effect in connection
with such liability as is mentioned in section 4(1)(b).
(2) Nothing in this section shall be taken to render void
any provision in a policy or security requiring the person insured
or secured to repay to the insurer or the giver of the security any
sums which the latter may have become liable to pay under the
policy or security and which have been applied to the satisfaction
of the claims of third parties.
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LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 13
Production of
certificate of
insurance or
certificate of
security on
application for
motor vehicle
licence.
Ch. 48:50.
Duty of insurers
to satisfy
judgments
against persons
insured in
respect of
third-party risks.
[24 of 1966
50 of 1979
38 of 1996].
9. Provision may be made by Regulations under the Motor
Vehicles and Road Traffic Act, for requiring a person making
a requisition for a licence in respect of a motor vehicle under
section 12 of that Act, to append thereto a certificate of insurance
or a certificate of security or to produce such evidence as may be
prescribed that either—
(a) on the date when the licence comes into operation
there will be in force the necessary policy of
insurance or the necessary security or deposit in
relation to the user of the motor vehicle by the
applicant or by other persons on his order or with
his permission; or
(b) the motor vehicle is a vehicle to which section 3
of this Act does not apply at any time when it is
being driven by the owner thereof, or by a servant
of his in the course of his employment, or is
otherwise subject to the control of the owner.
10. (1) If, after a certificate of insurance has been delivered
under section 4(8) to the person by whom a policy has been effected,
judgment in respect of any such liability as is required to be covered
by a policy under section 4(1)(b) (being a liability covered by the
terms of the policy) is obtained against any person insured by the
policy, then, notwithstanding that the insurer may be entitled to
avoid or cancel, or may have avoided or cancelled, the policy, the
insurer shall, subject to the provisions of this section, pay to the
persons entitled to the benefit of the judgment any sum payable
thereunder in respect of the liability, in addition to any amount
payable in respect of costs and any sum payable in respect of
interest on that sum by virtue of any written law relating to interest
on judgments.
(2) No sum shall be payable by an insurer under the
foregoing provisions of this section—
(a) in respect of any judgment, unless before or
within seven days after the commencement of
the proceedings in which the judgment was
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given or within such other period as the Court
may in its absolute discretion consider equitable
the insurer had notice of the bringing of
the proceedings;
(b) in respect of any judgment, so long as execution
thereon is stayed pending an appeal; or
(c) in connection with any liability, if before the
happening of the event which was the cause of
the death or bodily injury or damage to property
giving rise to the liability, the policy was cancelled
by mutual consent or by virtue of any provision
contained therein, and either—
(i) before the happening of the said event the
certificate was surrendered to the insurer,
or the person to whom the certificate was
delivered made a statutory declaration
stating that the certificate had been lost or
destroyed; or
(ii) after the happening of the said event, but
before the expiration of a period of fourteen
days from the taking effect of the
cancellation of the policy, the certificate
was surrendered to the insurer, or the
person to whom the certificate was
delivered made such a statutory declaration
as aforesaid; or
(iii) either before or after the happening of the
said event, but within the said period of
fourteen days, the insurer has commenced
proceedings under this Act in respect of the
failure to surrender the certificate.
(3) No sum shall be payable by an insurer under the
foregoing provisions of this section, if, in an action commenced
before, or within three months after, the commencement of the
proceedings in which the judgment was given, he has obtained a
declaration that, apart from any provision contained in the policy,
he is entitled to avoid it on the ground that it was obtained by the
non-disclosure of a material fact, or by a representation of fact
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 15
which was false in some material particular, or, if he has avoided
the policy on that ground, that he was entitled to do so apart from
any provision contained in it.
However, an insurer who has obtained such a declaration in an
action shall not thereby become entitled to the benefit of this
subsection as respects any judgment obtained in proceedings
commenced before the commencement of that action, unless before
or within seven days after the commencement of that action he has
given notice thereof to the person who is the plaintiff in the said
proceedings specifying the non-disclosure or false representation
on which he proposes to rely, and any person to whom notice of
such an action is so given shall be entitled, if he thinks fit, to be
made a party thereto.
(4) If the amount which an insurer becomes liable under
this section to pay in respect of a liability of a person insured by a
policy exceeds the amount for which he would, apart from the
provisions of this section, be liable under the policy in respect of
that liability, he shall be entitled to recover the excess from
that person.
(5) In this section the expression “material” means of such
a nature as to influence the judgment of a prudent insurer in
determining whether he will take the risk, and, if so, at what
premium and on what conditions; and the expression “liability
covered by the terms of the policy” means a liability which is
covered by the policy or which would be so covered but for the
fact that the insurer is entitled to avoid or cancel, or has avoided or
cancelled, the policy.
(6) In this Act references to a certificate of insurance in
any provision relating to the surrender, or the loss or destruction,
of a certificate of insurance shall, in relation to policies under which
more than one certificate is issued, be construed as references to
all the certificates, and shall, where any copy has been issued of
any certificate, be construed as including a reference to that copy.
10A. (1) Where a plaintiff brings an action under section 10
against any person by whom a policy has been effected and who
Joinder of
insurer as
co-defendant.
[38 of 1996].
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has had issued to him a certificate of insurance under section 4(8)
in respect of such liability as is required to be covered by a policy
under section 4(1)(b) then, even though—
(a) liability as between the plaintiff and the insured
has not yet been determined; or
(b) the insurer may be entitled to avoid or cancel or
may have avoided or cancelled the policy,
the plaintiff may, subject to the provisions of this section, join the
insurer as a co-defendant in the action.
(2) Where an insurer is joined as a co-defendant under
subsection (1), the insurer may, raise any defence that he may be
entitled to under the policy of insurance or otherwise.
(3) Where the insurer is joined as a co-defendant under
this section, or is required to pay to any person entitled to the benefit
of a judgment under section 10, he shall be liable to satisfy the
judgment that may be obtained against the insured in addition to
all costs and interest payable in respect of such judgment and any
other costs for which the insured may be made liable.
(4) A plaintiff who desires to institute proceedings under
this section may require the insured to provide within fourteen
days the name and address of the insurer, the date of the policy,
and such other particulars as may be required to enable him to
institute such proceedings.
(5) Upon receipt of the particulars referred to in
subsection (4), or where the plaintiff has obtained those particulars
in any other manner, whichever is earlier, the plaintiff shall give to
the insurer twenty-eight days’ notice of his intention to institute
proceedings under this section.
(6) Where the insured refuses or neglects to provide the
particulars required under subsection (4), he is liable on summary
conviction to a fine of five thousand dollars.
(7) Proceedings for an offence under subsection (6) shall
not be instituted without the leave of the Court.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 17
(8) Notwithstanding any other law, where the Court is of
the opinion that interest is payable on any amount awarded in a
judgment obtained in proceedings under this Act, such interest shall
be the mean between lending and borrowing rates then prevailing
in lending institutions in Trinidad and Tobago, or at such higher
rate as the Court may fix.
11. Where a certificate of insurance has been delivered
under section 4(8) to the person by whom a policy has been
effected, the happening in relation to any person insured by the
policy of any such event as is mentioned in section 17(1) or (2),
shall, notwithstanding anything in this Act, not affect any such
liability of that person as is required to be covered by a policy
under section 4(1)(b), but nothing in this section shall affect any
rights against the insurer conferred by this Act on the person to
whom the liability was incurred.
12. (1) Where a certificate of insurance has been delivered
under section 4(8) to the person by whom a policy has been
effected, so much of the policy as purports to restrict the insurance
of the persons insured thereby by reference to any of the
following matters:
(a) the age or physical or mental condition of persons
driving the vehicle;
(b) the condition of the vehicle;
(c) the number of persons that the vehicle carries;
(d) the weight or physical characteristics of the goods
that the vehicle carries;
(e) the times at which or the areas within which the
vehicle is used;
(f) the horse power or value of the vehicle;
(g) the carrying on the vehicle of any particular
apparatus; or
(h) the carrying on the vehicle of any particular means
of identification other than any means of
identification required to be carried by or under
this Act,
shall, as respects such liabilities as are required to be covered by a
policy under section 4(1)(b), be of no effect.
Bankruptcy,
etc., of insured
persons not to
affect certain
claims by
third parties.
Avoidance of
restrictions on
scope of policies
covering
third-party risks.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
18 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
(2) Nothing in this section shall require an insurer to pay
any sum in respect of the liability of any person otherwise than in
or towards the discharge of that liability, and any sum paid by an
insurer in or towards the discharge of any liability of any person
which is covered by the policy by virtue only of this section shall
be recoverable by the insurer from that person.
12A. Where a certificate of insurance has been delivered under
section 4(8) to the person by whom a policy has been effected, so
much of the policy as purports to restrict the insurance of the
persons insured by the policy as regards liability in respect of the
death of or bodily injury to persons being carried in or upon the
motor vehicle at the time of the occurrence of the event out of
which the claims arise by reference to whether or not those persons
are carried gratuitously or belong to any particular class of persons
shall, as respects such liabilities as are required to be covered by a
policy under section 4(1)(b), be of no effect.
13. (1) Any person against whom a claim is made in respect
of any such liability as is required to be covered by a policy under
section 4(1)(b) shall, on demand by or on behalf of the person
making the claim, state whether or not he was insured in respect of
that liability by any policy having effect for the purposes of this
Act, or would have been so insured if the insurer has not avoided
or cancelled the policy, and, if he was or would have been so
insured, give such particulars with respect to that policy as were
specified in the certificate of insurance delivered in respect thereof
under section 4(8).
(2) If, without reasonable excuse, any person fails to
comply with the provisions of this section, or wilfully makes any
false statement in reply to any such demand as aforesaid, he is
guilty of an offence.
14. Where a certificate of insurance has been delivered under
section 4(8) to the person by whom a policy has been effected and
the policy is cancelled by mutual consent or by virtue of any
provision in the policy, the person to whom the certificate was
delivered shall, within seven days from the taking effect of the
Avoidance of
certain
restrictions.
[38 of 1996].
Duty of person
against whom
claims are made
to give
information as
to insurance.
Duty to
surrender
certificate on
cancellation
of policy.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 19
Application of
sections 10 to 14
to securities.
Saving as to
preservation of
rights in case of
death of an
insured.
Rights of third
parties against
insurers on
bankruptcy, etc.,
of the insured.
cancellation, surrender the certificate to the insurer or, if it has
been lost or destroyed, make a statutory declaration to that effect,
and if he fails to do so he is guilty of an offence.
15. The provision of sections 10 to 14 shall apply in relation
to securities having effect for the purposes of this Act as they apply
in relation to policies of insurance, and in relation to any such
security as aforesaid, references in the said sections to being
insured, to a certificate of insurance, to an insurer, and to persons
insured, shall be construed respectively as references to the
having in force of the security, to the certificate of security, to the
giver of the security, and to the persons whose liability is covered
by the security.
16. The rights of any person in respect of any liability incurred
by an insured shall, in the event of the death of the insured, and
notwithstanding any written law, rule of law or the Common Law
to the contrary, be preserved to and be enforceable by such person
against the personal representatives of the insured in the same
manner and to the same extent as such rights would have been
enforceable against the insured if he had survived and the provisions
of section 4(3) shall apply accordingly.
In this section the word “insured” means a person who is insured
under a contract of insurance against liabilities to third parties or
in respect of whom security or a deposit in lieu thereof is given in
accordance with the provisions of this Act.
17. (1) Where under any contract of insurance a person
(hereinafter referred to as the insured) is insured against liabilities
to third parties which he may incur, then—
(a) in the event of the insured becoming bankrupt or
making a composition or arrangement with his
creditors; or
(b) in the case of the insured being a company, in the
event of a winding up order being made, or a
resolution for a voluntary winding up being
passed, with respect to the company, or of a
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
20 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Ch. 9:70.
receiver or manager of the company’s business
or undertaking being duly appointed, or of
possession being taken, by or on behalf of the
holders of any debentures secured by a floating
charge, of any property comprised in or subject
to the charge,
if, either before or after that event, any such liability as aforesaid
is incurred by the insured, his rights against the insurer under the
contract in respect of the liability shall, notwithstanding anything
in any Act or rule of law to the contrary, be transferred to and vest
in the third party to whom the liability was so incurred.
(2) Where an order is made under section 115 of the
Bankruptcy Act for the administration of the estate of a deceased
debtor according to the law of bankruptcy, then, if any debt provable
in bankruptcy is owing by the deceased in respect of a liability
against which he was insured under a contract of insurance as being
a liability to a third party, the deceased debtor’s rights against the
insurer under the contract in respect of that liability shall,
notwithstanding anything in the said Act, be transferred to and
vest in the person to whom the debt is owing.
(3) In so far as any contract of insurance made after the
commencement of this Act in respect of any liability of the
insured to third parties purports, whether directly or indirectly, to
avoid the contract or to alter the rights of the parties thereunder
upon the happening to the insured of any of the events specified
in subsection (1)(a) or (b) or upon the making of an order under
section 115 of the Bankruptcy Act in respect of his estate, the
contract shall be of no effect.
(4) Upon a transfer under subsection (1) or
subsection (2), the insurer shall, subject to the provisions of
section 19, be under the same liability to the third party as he would
have been under to the insured, but—
(a) if the liability of the insurer to the insured exceeds
the liability of the insured to the third party,
nothing in this Act shall affect the rights of the
insured against the insurer in respect of the
excess; and
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 21
Ch. 88:05.
Duty to give
necessary
information to
third parties.
Ch. 9:70.
(b) if the liability of the insurer to the insured is less
than the liability of the insured to the third party,
nothing in this Act shall affect the rights of the
third party against the insured in respect of
the balance.
(5) For the purposes of this Act the expression “liabilities
to third parties”, in relation to a person insured under any contract
of insurance, shall not include any liability of that person in the
capacity of insurer under some other contract of insurance.
(6) This Act shall not apply—
(a) where a company is wound up voluntarily merely
for the purposes of reconstruction or of
amalgamation with another company; or
(b) to any case to which section 16(1) and (2) of the
Workmen’s Compensation Act applies.
18. (1) In the event of any person becoming bankrupt or
making a composition or arrangement with his creditors or in the
event of an order being made under section 115 of the Bankruptcy
Act in respect of the estate of any person, or in the event of a
winding up order being made, or a resolution for a voluntary
winding up being passed, with respect to any company or of a
receiver or manager of the company’s business or undertaking being
duly appointed or of possession being taken by or on behalf of the
holders of any debentures secured by a floating charge of any
property comprised in or subject to the charge it shall be the duty
of the bankrupt, debtor, personal representative of the deceased
debtor or company, and, as the case may be, of the trustee in
bankruptcy, trustee, liquidator, receiver, or manager, or person in
possession of the property to give at the request of any person
claiming that the bankrupt, debtor, deceased debtor, or company
is under a liability to him, such information as may reasonably be
required by him for the purpose of ascertaining whether any rights
have been transferred to and vested in him by this Act and for the
purpose of enforcing such rights, if any, and any contract of
insurance, in so far as it purports, whether directly or indirectly, to
avoid the contract or to alter the rights of the parties thereunder
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
22 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
upon the giving of any such information in the events aforesaid or
otherwise to prohibit or prevent the giving thereof in the said events,
shall be of no effect.
(2) If the information given to any person in pursuance
of subsection (1) discloses reasonable ground for supposing that
there have or may have been transferred to him under this Act
rights against any particular insurer, that insurer shall be subject to
the same duty as is imposed by the subsection on the persons
therein mentioned.
(3) The duty to give information imposed by this section
shall include a duty to allow all contracts of insurance, receipts for
premiums, and other relevant documents in the possession or power
of the person on whom the duty is so imposed to be inspected and
copies thereof to be taken.
19. Where the insured has become bankrupt or where, in the
case of the insured being a company, a winding up order has been
made or a resolution for a voluntary winding up has been passed
with respect to the company, no agreement made between the
insurer and the insured after liability has been incurred to a third
party and after the commencement of the bankruptcy or winding
up, as the case may be, nor any waiver, assignment, or other
disposition made by, or payment made to the insured after the
commencement aforesaid shall be effective to defeat or affect the
rights transferred to the third party under this Act, but those rights
shall be the same as if no such agreement, waiver, assignment,
disposition or payment had been made.
20. (1) A person who drives or is in charge of a motor vehicle
on any road shall have either on his person or in the motor vehicle
his certificate for production as required under subsection (2).
(2) Any person driving a motor vehicle on a public road
shall, on being so required by any member of the Police Service,
give his name and address and the name and address of the owner
of the motor vehicle and produce his certificate.
Settlement
between insurers
and insured
persons.
Requirements as
to production of
certificate of
insurance or
of security.
[9 of 1978].
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 23
(3) Any person who fails to comply with the requirements
of either subsection (1) or (2) is liable to a fine of five hundred
dollars or to imprisonment for six months.
(4) It shall be the duty of the owner of a motor vehicle to
give such information as he may be required by or on behalf of a
First Division police officer to give as to the identity of the driver
of the motor vehicle on any occasion when the driver was required
under subsection (2) to produce the certificate, and if the owner
fails to do so, he is guilty of an offence.
(5) If in any case where, owing to the presence of a motor
vehicle on a road, an accident occurs involving personal injury to
another person, the driver of the motor vehicle does not at the time
produce his certificate to a member of the Police Service or to
some person who, having reasonable grounds for doing so, has
required its production, the driver shall report the accident at a
Police Station as soon as possible, and in any case within
twenty-four hours of the occurrence of the accident, and there
produce his certificate.
(6) In this section the expression “certificate” means the
relevant certificate of insurance or certificate of security or such
other evidence that the motor vehicle is not or was not being driven
in contravention of section 3 as may be prescribed.
21. Where a company carrying on motor vehicle
insurance business—
(a) accepts a vehicle which was involved in an
accident as a total loss; or
(b) agrees to pay the insured for the loss of
the vehicle,
the company shall, within seven days of the acceptance or
agreement notify the Licensing Authority of its decision and when
so doing specify in detail the extent of the damage to the vehicle.
22. (1) If, with intent to deceive, any person—
(a) forges within the meaning of the Forgery Act, or
alters or uses or lends to or allows to be used by
any other person, a certificate of insurance or
certificate of security within the meaning of this
Act; or
Company to
notify Licensing
Authority of
decision to
accept vehicle
as a total loss
or to pay
insured for loss
of vehicle.
[50 of 1979].
Forgery, etc., of
certificates.
Ch. 11:13.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
24 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
(b) makes or has in his possession any document so
closely resembling such a certificate as to be
calculated to deceive,
he is liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for
two years.
(2) If any person for the purpose of obtaining the issue of
a certificate of insurance or of a certificate of security under this
Act makes any false statement or withholds any material
information, he is liable to a fine of two thousand dollars and to
imprisonment for six months.
(3) If any person issues a certificate of insurance or
certificate of security which is to his knowledge false in any material
particular, he is liable to a fine of four thousand dollars and to
imprisonment for six months.
(4) If any member of the Police Service has reasonable
cause to believe that any certificate of insurance or certificate of
security produced to him in pursuance of the provisions of this
Act by the driver of a motor vehicle is a document in relation to
which an offence under this section has been committed he may
seize the document, and when any document is seized under this
section, the person from whom it was taken shall, unless previously
charged with an offence under this section, be summoned before a
Court of summary jurisdiction to account for his possession of the
document, and the Court shall make such order respecting the
disposal of the document and award such costs as the justice of the
case may require.
(5) In this section the expressions “certificate of
insurance” and “certificate of security” include any document
issued under Regulations made under the Motor Vehicles and Road
Traffic Act, in pursuance of the provisions of section 9 to prescribe
evidence which may be produced in lieu of a certificate of insurance
or a certificate of security.
23. If the driver of any motor vehicle who commits an offence
under this Act or any Regulations made thereunder, refuses to give
his name and address, or gives a false name or address, he is guilty
of an offence; and it shall be the duty of the owner of the motor
Ch. 48:50.
Refusing to give
name or address
or giving false
name or address.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS www.legalaffairs.gov.tt
L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 25
Liability of
driver and
owner for
offences.
Offences and
general penalty.
[38 of 1996].
vehicle if required to give any information which is within his
power to give and which may lead to the identification and
apprehension of the driver, and if the owner fails to do so he is
guilty of an offence.
24. If—
(a) any motor vehicle is used which contravenes
any provision of this Act or of any regulation,
or any order lawfully made under this Act or
any regulation;
(b) any motor vehicle is used in such a state or
condition or in such a manner as to contravene
any such provision; or
(c) anything is done or omitted in connection with
a motor vehicle in contravention of any
such provision,
then, unless otherwise expressly provided by this Act—
(d) the driver of the motor vehicle at the time of the
offence is guilty of an offence unless the offence
was not due to any act, omission, neglect, or
default on his part; and
(e) the owner of the motor vehicle also is guilty of
an offence, if present at the time of the offence,
or if absent, unless the offence was committed
without his consent and was not due to any act or
omission on his part, and he had taken all
reasonable precautions to prevent an offence.
25. (1) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of
this Act, is, unless a penalty is otherwise specifically provided,
liable on summary conviction to a fine of seven thousand five
hundred dollars or to imprisonment for three months.
(2) Where a person is, by virtue of any power contained
in this Act or in any Regulations made thereunder, required to do
or to abstain from doing any act or thing and makes default in
complying with any such requisition, a Magistrate on conviction,
in addition to any other penalty which he may impose, may order
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
26 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
such person to comply with the requisition and may annex to any
such order any condition as to time or mode of action or otherwise
which he may think necessary to enforce compliance therewith.
(3) Any person who makes default in complying with any
such order of the Magistrate may, in the discretion of the Court, be
ordered to pay by way of a penalty a sum not exceeding forty
dollars for every day during which he is thereafter in default or to
be imprisoned, until he has remedied his default, but he shall not
for the non-compliance be liable to the payment of any sums
amounting in the aggregate to more than one thousand dollars or
to imprisonment for any periods amounting in the aggregate to
more than two months in addition to any other fine or term of
imprisonment to which he may otherwise be liable.
26. Save as otherwise expressly provided, all offences under
this Act or any regulation made thereunder, may be prosecuted,
and all penalties incurred may be imposed or recovered, in the
manner provided by the Summary Courts Act.
27. (1) The Minister may make Regulations for prescribing
anything which may be prescribed under this Act, and generally
for the purpose of carrying this Act into effect, and in particular,
but without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions,
may make Regulations—
(a) as to the forms to be used for the purposes of
this Act;
(b) as to applications for and the issue of certificates
of insurance and certificates of security and any
other documents which may be prescribed and as
to the keeping of records of documents and the
furnishing of particulars thereof or the giving of
information with respect thereto to the
Commissioner of Police;
(c) as to the issue of copies of any such certificates
or other documents which are lost or destroyed;
(d) as to the custody, production, cancellation
and surrender of any such certificates or
other documents;
Recovery of
penalties.
Ch. 4:20.
Regulations.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 27
(e) for providing that any provisions of this Act
shall, in relation to motor vehicles brought into
Trinidad and Tobago by persons making only
a temporary stay therein, have effect subject to
such modifications and adaptations as may
be prescribed.
(2) Regulations made under this section shall be subject
to affirmative resolution of Parliament.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
28 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE
(THIRD-PARTY RISKS) REGULATIONS
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
REGULATION
PART I
1. Citation.
2. Interpretation.
3. Certificates issued by company.
4. Authentication and date of issue of certificate.
5. Issue of further article of insurance security.
6. Evidence as alternative to production of certificate.
7. Destruction of certificate.
8. Printing and contents of certificate.
9. Licensing of a motor vehicle.
10. Record of particulars to be kept.
11. Notification of ineffective policy or security.
12. Return of suspended or ineffective certificates.
13. Issue of fresh certificate.
PART II
14. Interpretation—Part II.
15. Certificate of foreign insurance.
16. Issuing of certificate of foreign insurance.
17. Application for certificate of foreign insurance.
18. Signature of authorised person.
19. Period of validity.
20. Effect of certificate of foreign insurance.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 29
[Subsidiary]Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
21. Application of section 8.
22. Return of certificate of foreign insurance.
23. Record of particulars relative to certificate of foreign insurance.
PART III
24. Fine.
SCHEDULE.
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
30 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
[Subsidiary]
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE
(THIRD-PARTY RISKS) REGULATIONS
made under sections 9 and 27
PART I
1. These Regulations may be cited as The Motor Vehicles
Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations.
2. In these Regulations—
“policy” means such policy of insurance in respect of third-party
risks arising out of the use of motor vehicles as complies
with the requirements of the Act and includes a single
covering note issued for a period not exceeding ninety days
in respect of any motor vehicle, but does not include any
extension of a covering note or any subsequent covering note
issued in respect of the same motor vehicle during any period
of six consecutive months;
“security” means such security in respect of third-party risks
arising out of the use of motor vehicles as complies with the
requirements of the Act;
“company” means an insurer as defined in section 2 of the Act;
“owner” in relation to a vehicle which is the subject of a hiring
agreement or hire purchase agreement means the person in
possession of the vehicle under that agreement.
3. (1) A company shall issue to every holder of a security
or of a policy other than a covering note issued by the company—
(a) in the case of a policy or security relating to a
specified vehicle or to specified vehicles a
certificate of insurance in the form set out as
Form A or a certificate of a security in the form
set out as Form D in the Schedule in respect of
each such vehicle;
(b) in the case of a policy or security not relating to
any specified vehicle or vehicles such number
G. 1.3.34.
[3.3.38
30.4.42
13.3.43].
Citation.
Interpretation.
Certificates
issued by
company.
Forms A, D.
Schedule.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 31
[Subsidiary]Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
of certificates in the forms set out as Form B
or D in the Schedule as may be necessary to
enable the requirements of section 20(2) of
the Act and of these Regulations as to the
production of evidence that a motor vehicle
is not being driven in contravention of
section 3 of the Act to be complied with; but
where a security is intended to cover the use
of more than 10 motor vehicles at one time
the company by whom it was issued may
subject to the consent of the Minister issue one
certificate only and where the consent has
been given the holder of the security may issue
duplicate copies of the certificate duly
authenticated by him up to such number and
subject to such conditions as the Minister
may determine.
(2) A policy in the form of a covering note issued by
a company shall have printed thereon or on the back thereof
a certificate of insurance in the form set out as Form C in
the Schedule.
4. (1) A certificate of insurance or certificate of security shall
be duly authenticated by or on behalf of the company by whom it
is issued.
(2) A certificate shall be issued on or before the date on
which the policy or security is issued or renewed.
5. When under the terms of a policy or security relating to a
specified motor vehicle the holder is entitled to drive any other
motor vehicle than that specified without contravention of
section 3 of the Act, the company by which the policy or security
was issued may and shall on demand being made to them by the
holder issue to him a further certificate of insurance in the forms
set out as Form A or B in the Schedule or a further certificate of
security as the case may be.
Forms B, D.
Schedule.
Form C.
Schedule.
Authentication
and date of issue
of certificate.
Issue of
further article
of insurance
security.
Forms A, B.
Schedule.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
32 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
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[Subsidiary] Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
Evidence as
alternative to
production of
certificate.
Form E.
Schedule.
Destruction of
certificate.
Printing and
contents of
certificate.
Licensing of a
motor vehicle.
Ch. 48:50.
6. The following evidence that a motor vehicle is not being
driven in contravention of section 3 of the Act may be produced
by the driver of the motor vehicle on the request of a member of
the Police Service in pursuance of section 20 of the Act as an
alternative to the production of a certificate of insurance or a
certificate of security:
(a) a duplicate copy of a certificate of security issued
in accordance with regulation 3(1)(b);
(b) in the case of the municipal motor vehicles
mentioned in section 3(4) of the Act, a certificate
in the form set out as Form E in the Schedule
signed by some person authorised in that behalf
by the authority.
7. Any certificate issued in accordance with regulation 6(b)
shall be destroyed by the person by whom it was issued before
the motor vehicle to which it relates is sold or otherwise
disposed of.
8. (a) Every certificate issued in pursuance of the Act and
of these Regulations shall be printed and completed in black on
white paper or similar material.
(b) No certificate so issued shall contain any advertising
matter either on the face or on the back.
The name and address of a company by which a certificate is
issued or a reproduction of the seal of the company or any
monogram or similar device of the company or the name and
address of an insurance broker shall not be deemed to be advertising
matter for the purposes of this regulation if it is printed or stamped
at the foot or on the back of the certificate.
9. (1) Any person applying under section 24 of the Motor
Vehicles and Road Traffic Act for the licensing of a motor vehicle
shall produce to the Licensing Officer, for verification, a certificate
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 33
[Subsidiary]Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
of insurance or a certificate of security issued in accordance with
regulation 3(1)(a), indicating that on the date when the licence
comes into operation there will be in force a policy or a security in
relation to the use of the motor vehicle by the applicant or by other
persons on his order or with his permission.
(2) There may be produced in lieu of a certificate of
insurance or a certificate of security—
(a) where a motor vehicle of which the owner had
deposited with the Comptroller of Accounts the
sum of two hundred thousand dollars in
accordance with section 7(3) of the Act, a
certificate signed by the owner of the vehicle or
by some person authorised by him in that behalf
and by the Comptroller of Accounts that the
deposit has been made;
(b) where the motor vehicle is one of more than ten
motor vehicles owned by the same person in
respect of which a policy or policies of insurance
have been obtained by him from the same insurer,
a statement duly authenticated by the insurer to
the effect that on the date when the licence
becomes operative an insurance policy which
complies with the Act will be in force in relation
to the motor vehicle;
(c) where motor vehicles used and employed
exclusively in Government service or in the
service of the Municipal Authorities of Port-of-
Spain, San Fernando or Arima, a certificate
signed by some person authorised in that behalf
that the vehicles in respect of which the
application for a licence is made are owned by
Government or by either of the authorities and
so used and employed exclusively.
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
34 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
[Subsidiary] Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
10. (1) A company by whom a policy or a security is issued
shall keep a record of the following particulars relative thereto
and of any certificates issued in connection therewith:
(a) full name and address of the person to whom the
policy, security or certificate is issued;
(b) in the case of a policy relating to a specified
motor vehicle or to specified motor vehicles the
index mark and registration number of each
motor vehicle;
(c) the date on which the policy or security comes
into force and the date on which it expires;
(d) in the case of a policy the conditions subject to
which the persons or classes of persons specified
in the policy will be indemnified;
(e) in the case of a security the conditions subject to
which the undertaking given by the company
under the security will be implemented;
(f) every record shall be preserved for one year from
the date of expiry of the policy or security.
(2) A Municipal Authority mentioned in section 3(4) of
the Act shall keep a record of the motor vehicles owned by them in
respect of which a policy or a security has not been obtained, and
of any certificate issued by them under these Regulations in respect
of the motor vehicles, and of the withdrawal or destruction of any
such certificates.
(3) Any person, authority, or company by whom records
of documents are required to be kept by these Regulations shall,
without charge, furnish to the Commissioner of Police on request
any particulars thereof.
(4) A company by whom a certificate of insurance or a
certificate of security is issued, shall forthwith forward to the
Licensing Officer, Port-of-Spain, a duplicate of the certificate.
Record of
particulars to
be kept.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
MINISTRY OF LEGAL AFFAIRS www.legalaffairs.gov.tt
L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 35
[Subsidiary]Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
Ch. 48:50.
Notification of
ineffective
policy or
security.
Return of
suspended or
ineffective
certificates.
Issue of fresh
certificate.
Interpretation—
Part II.
For the purposes of this subregulation, the expression
“Licensing Officer” means an officer appointed under section 4
of the Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Act.
11. Where to the knowledge of a company a policy or security
issued by them ceases to be effective without the consent of the
person to whom it was issued otherwise than by effluxion of time
or by reason of his death the company shall forthwith notify the
Commissioner of Police of the date on which the policy or security
ceased to be effective.
12. Where with the consent of the person to whom it was issued
a policy or security is suspended or ceases to be effective
otherwise than by effluxion of time such person shall forthwith
return any relative certificates to the company by which they were
issued and a new policy or security shall not be issued to that person,
nor shall the policy or security be transferred to any other person
unless and until the certificates have been returned to the company
or the company are satisfied that they have been lost or destroyed.
13. (1) Where any company by whom a certificate of
insurance or a certificate of security has been issued are satisfied
that the certificate has become defaced or has been lost or destroyed
they shall if requested by the person to whom the certificate was
issued, issue to him a fresh certificate.
(2) Every statutory declaration made for the purposes of
section 10(2)(c) or of section 14 of the Act, shall be delivered
forthwith to the insurer by the person making the declaration.
PART II
14. In this Part—
“issuing authority” means the Trinidad Automobile Association;
“motor vehicle” means a motor vehicle brought into Trinidad and
Tobago by a visitor;
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
36 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
[Subsidiary] Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
Certificate of
foreign
insurance.
Form F.
Schedule.
Issuing of
certificate of
foreign
insurance.
Application for
certificate of
foreign
insurance.
Signature of
authorised
person.
Period of
validity.
Effect of
certificate of
foreign
insurance.
“visitor” means a person bringing a motor vehicle into Trinidad
and Tobago and making only a temporary stay therein.
15. A visitor who is a holder of a policy of insurance issued
outside Trinidad and Tobago in respect of third-party risks
arising out of the driving by him of a motor vehicle in Trinidad
and Tobago may make application to the issuing authority for a
certificate (hereinafter called “a certificate of foreign insurance”)
in the form set out as Form F in the Schedule.
16. The issuing authority may issue in duplicate a certificate
of foreign insurance to any visitor who makes application in the
manner prescribed by these Regulations.
17. An application for a certificate of foreign insurance shall
be signed by the person by whom it is made and shall specify the
number of the policy in respect of third-party risks held by him,
the name of the company by which it was issued, the date on which
the policy commences and the date on which it expires, and shall
also contain a declaration by the applicant that the provisions of
the policy with respect to third-party risks are effective in relation
to the driving of the motor vehicle in Trinidad and Tobago by him
or by some other person or persons or classes of persons specified
in the declaration.
18. A certificate of foreign insurance shall be signed by
some person duly authorised in that behalf by the issuing authority.
19. The period of validity of a certificate of foreign insurance
shall not exceed either of the following:
(a) four months from the date of the arrival of the
motor vehicle in Trinidad and Tobago;
(b) the unexpired period covered by the policy to
which it relates.
20. For the purposes of the Act and of regulation 6, a
certificate of foreign insurance shall have effect as if it were a
certificate of insurance issued by an insurer and the policy of
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 37
[Subsidiary]Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
Application of
section 8.
Return of
certificate of
foreign
insurance.
Record of
particulars
relative to
certificate of
foreign
insurance.
Fine.
insurance to which it relates shall be deemed to comply with
the requirements of the Act.
21. The provisions of section 8 of the Act shall not apply in
relation to any policy of insurance in respect of which a certificate
of foreign insurance has been issued.
22. A certificate of foreign insurance shall be forthwith
returned by the visitor to the issuing authority if the motor vehicle
to which it relates is sold or otherwise disposed of or if by reason
of his obtaining a new policy or otherwise a new certificate of
foreign insurance is issued to him during his stay in Trinidad and
Tobago, and if the certificate is not so returned it shall be
surrendered to the issuing authority by which it was issued by or
on behalf of the visitor when the motor vehicle is taken out of
Trinidad and Tobago.
23. The issuing authority shall keep a record of the
following particulars relative to any certificates of foreign
insurance issued by it:
(a) the full name and address of the person to whom
the certificate is issued and particulars of the
persons or classes of persons authorised to drive
the motor vehicle;
(b) the date on which the policy of insurance to which
the certificate relates commences and the date on
which it expires;
(c) the date of return of the certificate to the
issuing authority,
and the issuing authority shall without charge furnish to the
Commissioner of Police on request any particulars thereof.
PART III
24. Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of these
Regulations is liable on summary conviction to a fine of one
hundred and fifty dollars.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
38 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
[Subsidiary] Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
SCHEDULE
FORM A
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE (THIRD-PARTY RISKS) ACT
CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE
Certificate No. Policy No.
(Optional)
1. Index mark and registration number of vehicle.
or (if not registered) Make.
Chassis No.
2. Name of Policy holder.
3. Effective date of the commencement of Insurance for the purposes of the Act.
4. Date of expiry of Insurance.
5. Persons or classes of persons entitled to drive.*
6. Limitations as to use.*
(I)/(We) hereby certify that the policy to which this certificate relates is issued in
accordance with the provisions of the above-mentioned Act.
Hour of issue.
Date of issue.
Insurers
*Limitations rendered inoperative by section 12 of the Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Act are not to be included under this heading.
Regulations
3(1)(a), 5.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 39
[Subsidiary]Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
FORM B
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE (THIRD-PARTY RISKS) ACT
CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE
Certificate No. Policy No.
(Optional)
1. Description of vehicles.
2. Name of Policy holder.
3. Effective date of the commencement of Insurance for the purposes of the Act.
4. Date of expiry of Insurance.
5. Persons or classes of persons entitled to drive.*
6. Limitations as to use.*
(I)/(We) hereby certify that the policy to which this Certificate relates is issued in
accordance with the provisions of the above-mentioned Act.
Insurers
*Limitations rendered inoperative by section 12 of the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-
Party Risks) Act, are not to be included under this heading.
Regulations
3(1)(b), 5.
Regulations
3(2).
FORM C
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE (THIRD-PARTY RISKS) ACT
CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE
(I)/(We) hereby certify that this covering note is issued in accordance with the
provisions of the above-mentioned Act and cannot exceed ninety days.
Index Mark and Registration number of vehicle.
or (if not registered)
Make ...................................... Chassis No. ................................
Hour of issue ................
Date of issue ................
Insurers
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
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Motor Vehicles Insurance
40 Chap. 48:51 (Third-Party Risks)
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
[Subsidiary] Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
FORM D
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE (THIRD-PARTY RISKS) ACT
CERTIFICATE OF SECURITY
Certificate No. Security No.
(Optional)
1. Name of holder of security.
2. Effective date of the commencement of security for the purposes of the Act.
3. Date of expiry of security.
4. Conditions to which security is subject.*
(I)/(We) hereby certify that the security to which this certificate relates is issued in
accordance with the provisions of the above-mentioned Act.
(authorised under the said Act
to issue securities).
*Conditions rendered inoperative by section 12 of the Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Act are not to be included under this heading.
Regulation 3(1).
Regulation
6(b).
FORM E
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE (THIRD-PARTY RISKS) ACT
CERTIFICATE OF OWNERSHIP BY A
MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY
We hereby certify that the vehicle of which the registration marks and numbers are
..................................................... is the property of ........................................................
Signed on behalf of the Authority
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
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L.R.O.
LAWS OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
Motor Vehicles Insurance
(Third-Party Risks) Chap. 48:51 41
[Subsidiary]Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Regulations
FORM F
MOTOR VEHICLES INSURANCE (THIRD-PARTY RISKS) ACT
CERTIFICATE OF FOREIGN INSURANCE
Certificate No. Policy No.
1. Date to which Certificate is valid.
2. Identification mark and number or numbers and make of vehicle.
3. Persons or classes of persons authorised to drive the vehicle.
4. Date of commencement of policy.
5. Date of expiry of policy.
I hereby certify that this certificate is issued in accordance with the Regulations made
under the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third-Party Risks) Act.
Signed
on behalf of
Regulation 15.
UNOFFICIAL VERSION
UPDATED TO DECEMBER 31ST 2014
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