EU Motor Insurance Directives
When a road traffic accident involving a foreign vehicle occurs in a country of the European Economic Area, these are the directives that regulate the claim.
What are the
EU Motor Insurance Directives?
The European Parliament, through Directive 2000/26/EC (commonly known as the “4th Directive”), sought to provide European victims with the advantage of claiming and handling an accident in their own country of residence and in their own language, even though the accident took place in another country and the applicable law remains that of the country where it occurred.
Accidents
Accidents occurring in Spain
The European (non-Spanish) injured party who has suffered an accident in Spain (provided that the party at fault is another European of a nationality different from that of the injured party) must claim through the Compensation Body of their country of residence.
Accidents occurring outside Spain
The injured party resident in Spain who has suffered an accident in another country (provided that the party at fault is another European of a nationality other than Spanish) must locate the foreign insurer and/or representative.
Subsequently, you can submit a claim to OFESAUTO, as the Compensation Body of your country of residence, if your claim has not been dealt with by the representative/insurer, or if the Information Body certifies that the liable insurer has not appointed a representative in Spain, or if the party at fault is unknown or the vehicle is uninsured.
In what circumstances can a claim be made under the EU Motor Insurance Directives?
The EU Motor Insurance Directives system applies when a resident of the European Economic Area is injured in an accident in a country other than their country of residence and the party at fault is a vehicle registered and insured in another country different from the victim’s country of residence.
In short, the system applies when:
The victim
You are a resident of an EEA country
The liable vehicle
Is resident in an EEA country (other than that of the injured party)
Country of accident
Any country within the EEA, provided it is different from the injured party’s country of residence.
Compensation Bodies
If you have questions about the EU Motor Insurance Directives System, check the index. If you are looking for the international compensation body for an accident involving a foreign vehicle, find it in the list below.
Germany
D
United Kingdom
GB
Cyprus
CY
Slovenia
SLO
Estonia
EST
Finland
FIN
France
F
Greece
GR
Netherlands
NL
Hungary
H
Ireland
IRL
Latvia
LV
Luxembourg
L
Malta
M
Norway
N
Czech Republic
CZ
Slovak Republic
SK
Sweden
S
Poland
PL
EU Motor Insurance Directives Documentation
Documents and links related to the EU Motor Insurance Directives.
Questions about
EU Motor Insurance Directives
How are these claims handled?
To make the EU Motor Insurance Directives System effective, all insurers are required to appoint a representative in each Member State able to handle, respond to and settle this type of claim. It is to that representative (or directly to the insurer) that the claim must be addressed.
In addition, EU law grants the injured party the right of direct legal action against the liable insurer.
What happens once I have found the representative/insurer?
You must submit your claim to them, and the insurer or its representative is obliged to provide you with an offer or a reasoned reply within 3 months. If you do not receive it within that period, you must refer your claim to OFESAUTO so that it can intervene in its capacity as Compensation Body.
If the law of the country where the accident occurred applies, and it is different from the law of my country of residence, how can I know whether the compensation offer is fair?
Both the representatives in Spain of foreign entities and our team of claims handlers know the applicable foreign legislation and will inform you about it in detail.
Can the representative pay me directly in my country of residence?
Yes, you can demand it, and in fact it is the quickest and most convenient way to settle the claim.
What is the temporal scope of application of the Directives System?
Each Member State had different deadlines to implement the 4th Directive into its own legal system, but as a general rule the system came into operation in January 2003 for all the countries that belonged to the EEA at that time.
Therefore, an accident that occurred before that date cannot be handled under this system.
How do I find the liable insurer or its representative?
Each Member State has an Information Body through which you can find the details of the liable foreign insurer or of its representative in Spain.
In Spain the Information Body is the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros.
The Information Bodies of the other EEA countries can also be consulted on that page.
What is a Compensation Body?
It is the body in your country of residence that handles your claim if it has not been dealt with by the representative/insurer, or if the liable insurer has not appointed a representative in Spain, or if the vehicle at fault is unknown or uninsured.
In Spain, that body is OFESAUTO.
How long can the whole process take?
It depends mainly on the legal system of the country where the accident took place.
What happens if my claim is rejected or I am not satisfied with the proposed solution?
You have the right to take legal action directly against the foreign vehicle and/or its insurer. Legal action must normally be brought in the country where the accident occurred.
The judicial and out-of-court channels cannot be pursued at the same time. If the injured party opts for legal action, the Compensation Body cannot intervene.
What happens if the vehicle was uninsured or is untraced?
When you receive the certificate from the relevant Information Body confirming this, you must redirect your claim to the competent Compensation Body.
It is very important that this is evidenced by that certificate; otherwise the Compensation Body cannot act.
The Council of Bureaux
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