The insurance implications of murder

In the evening of the 22 July 2009 taxi driver Mohammed Arshad, 36, was found at the side of Wast Hill Lane, in Hopwood near Birmingham with stab wounds to his head and other injuries. He was taken to hospital and died of his injuries the next day, leaving three sons. His blue Ford Galaxy was found a mile away.

West Mercia Police arrested a 28 year old man from Kings Norton on the 15 November on suspicion of murder.

Mr Arshad's funeral was held on the Friday, and a convoy of 200 taxi drivers paid their respects that evening.

Initial investigations centered around his last passenger who called himself Peter. Police released CCTV footage and an E-fit image. Mr Arshad was a self employed taxi driver working for A Cars in Pershore Road. A £10,000 reward was offered by West Mercia Police for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person who killed Mr Arshad.

Insurance consequences

There is nothing to say the vehicle was damaged, although it will be forensically examined and presumably in due course returned to the next of kin. A standard taxi insurance policy would pay out nothing in this case.

It's not known whether Mr Arshad had purchased insurance and if he is Muslim he is more likely to have involved himself in Takaful products that comply with Islamic law. Non-Islamic insurance policies such as life assurance or personal accident insurance are affordable and could provide support for his widow and their family under these circumstances.

Some form of insurance cover is particularly important where there is a sole breadwinner for a family with small children and there are a variety of different policies that can be effected in isolation or in conjunction with each other depending on each person's circumstances and budget, everyone's situation is different.

Metcalfe Insurance Services is an independent insurance broker authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority offering business and individual insurance services.