PURPOSE: to strengthen EU rules on motor insurance to
better protect victims of motor vehicle accidents.
PROPOSED ACT: Directive of the European Parliament and
of the Council.
ROLE OF THE
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance
with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing
with the Council.
BACKGROUND: the first EU Directive on motor insurance
was adopted in 1972, with the dual objectives of protecting victims
of motor vehicle accidents (with or without a cross-border
element), and facilitating the free movement of motor vehicles
between Member States. Five motor insurance Directives since 1972
progressively strengthened the Directive and enhanced its
provisions; they were consolidated into Directive
2009/103/EC of the European Parliament and the Council. Motor
insurance also has an impact on the free movement of persons, goods
and vehicles. It should therefore be a key objective of the Union
action in the field of financial services to reinforce and
consolidate the internal market for motor
insurance.
The evaluation of the functioning of Directive
2009/103/EC concluded that the Directive was working well overall.
However, four areas have been identified where targeted
amendments would be appropriate: (i) compensation of victims of
accidents in cases of insolvency of an insurance undertaking, (ii)
minimum obligatory amounts of insurance cover, (iii) checks by
Member States on vehicle insurance and (iv) the use of
policyholders claims history statements by a new insurance
undertaking.
IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the impact assessment examined
several options for each of the problems identified. The proposed amendments aim at reducing
uninsured driving, potentially reducing motor insurance premiums,
and at improving the level of protection of victims of motor
accidents, potentially benefitting all citizens in the EU. The
proposal avoids risking large potential increases of premiums of
motor insurance.
CONTENT: the proposed amendment to Directive
2009/103/EC on motor insurance introduces the following
changes:
-
Scope: the
proposal clarifies the scope of the Directive in the light of
recent judgments of the Court of Justice of the European
Union. The Court of Justice of the European Union has clarified
that motor vehicles are intended normally to serve as means of
transport, irrespective of such vehicle's characteristics, and it
has clarified that the use of such vehicles covers any use of a
vehicle consistent with its normal function as a means of
transport, irrespective of the terrain on which the motor vehicle
is used and of whether it is stationary or in motion.
-
Uninsured driving: Member States shall be authorised to carry out
insurance checks of vehicles normally based in the territory of
another Member State and of vehicles normally based in the
territory of a third country entering their territory from the
territory of another Member state only if, they are
non-discriminatory necessary and proportionate, form part of a
general system of checks on the national territory and do not
require stopping of the vehicle for the purpose of such a check.
Those checks have to be conducted in accordance with the protection
of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data
and on the free movement of such data.
-
Minimum level of protection: in order to ensure the same minimum level of
protection at EU level for victims of motor vehicle accidents, the
proposal harmonises at EU level the minimum levels of compulsory
cover for personal injury and material damage, without prejudice to
any higher amounts of cover prescribed by the Member States. The
Commission may adopt delegated acts to update, every five years,
the harmonised minimum amounts of cover for victims in line with
inflation.
-
Insolvency of the insurer: each Member State should entrust a body set up for
this purpose with the task of providing compensation for material
or personal injuries caused by a vehicle insured by an undertaking
which is insolvent or where, after a period of three months
from the date on which the injured party submitted a claim for
compensation, the insurer has not provided a reasoned reply. The
injured parties would be compensated by the body in their Member
State of residence. That body would be entitled to claim
reimbursement from the body in the Member State where the insurance
undertaking which produced the contract is established, with the
latter assuming ultimate responsibility.
-
Claims history statements: the proposal harmonises the statements relating to
successful third party liability claims against the policyholder in
the last five years. It ensures non-discriminatory treatment of the
claims history by insurance undertakings, irrespective of
nationality or previous Member State of residence of a
citizen.