Driver's insurer could face £40m bill for disaster

As the cranes move in to winch away mangled carriages, rescue teams renew grim search for victims

The company that insured the motorist at the centre of the Selby train disaster could face the biggest bill in the history of car insurance.

The company that insured the motorist at the centre of the Selby train disaster could face the biggest bill in the history of car insurance.

Fortis Insurance, which indemnified Gary Hart, the driver of the Land Rover that caused the crash, might be forced to pay up to £40m to the victims of the tragedy. Claims will be made on behalf of the 13 people thought to have died and the 70 who were injured, 30 of them seriously.

Mr Hart's vehicle veered off the M62 early on Wednesday, fell down an embankment on to the main Newcastle-to-London railway line and was struck by a Great North Eastern Railways express. The passenger service derailed, but carried on for another half a mile and smashed into a Freightliner coal train.

Mr Hart was described by his stepfather, Martyn Taylor, as being "inconsolable with grief" yesterday. Police said that the possibility that Mr Hart, from the village of Strubby in Lincolnshire, fell asleep at the wheel was among aspects of the accident being investigated. The driver and his relatives said that the Land Rover, which was towing a trailer with a car on it, suffered a blow-out. Friends said Mr Hart would like to relate what happened, but has been advised not to make any statements. It is understood that police officers have failed to find any evidence of a burst tyre and have renewed their appeal for witnesses to call 0800 40 50 40.

Insurance experts said Fortis would face claims from the bereaved that could be up to £750,000 for a breadwinner and would also have to meet the cost of the care for the those who are permanently disabled.

GNER and Freightliner could seek up to £12m for the trains involved in the collision - although four of the nine passenger coaches and the locomotive at the back of the train may be salvageable. Train companies are expected to ask for compensation for the disruption to their timetables. Passengers are being bused between Doncaster and York and the line is likely to be closed until 12 March. Railtrack will demand reimbursement for the cost of repairing the track.

The company conceded that Mr Hart's insurance policy provided for unlimited liability for third-party claims, but insisted that there would be no problem in meeting the bill.

Alan Sendall, a claims director at Fortis, said reinsurance arrangements were in place to meet the liability, which he estimated at "tens of millions of pounds". The insurance company is part of the Fortis group, a Dutch-Belgian financial company involved in the insurance, banking and investment markets. It made a profit of £1.3bn (2.1bn euros) on assets of £270bn in the first nine months of last year.

It is possible that re-insurers might try to mitigate their liability by claiming that the Highways Agency should have erected more barriers to ensure that runaway vehicles could not end up on the tracks.

They could also take issue with the crashworthiness of the GNER carriages, but insurance industry experts said that the High Court would be unlikely to find in their favour.