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EU Directives On Road Accidents In Europe

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Road Traffic Accidents Abroad.

Since the expansion of the European Economic Area ( a larger area than the European Union ) it has become easier, through increased freedom of movement, to be involved in a road traffic accident in a foreign country.

In the past, should you have been so unfortunate, you would have had to make a claim in the country where the accident took place, which would have meant dealing with a foreign insurer in a foreign language. In all probability you would be forced to appoint a lawyer in the country where the accident took place to pursue your claim for you.

Brussells wanted to simplify the system for seeking compensation within the EU, and to modernise the system for tracking down insurers across the EU. Hence the EU 4th Directive on Motor Insurance.

The requirements of the Directive are that:-
• It should apply where someone resident in the European Economic Area has an accident in another member state where the responsible vehicle is registered and insured with an insurer established in a member state other than the victim's home state.
• All insurers must appoint a representative in every other member state capable of responding to claims and paying them. Hence, all cases can be dealt with in the Claimant’s own language and home country.
• Member states have to impose "appropriate, effective and systematic financial or equivalent administrative penalties".
• There must be a direct right of action against insurers. This means that it is no longer necessary to try and serve papers on a foreign individual, who you may have trouble tracing. You can serve court documents upon the UK representative of the foreign insurer.
• An information centre must be established so a victim can, by reference to the registration number of a vehicle, obtain details of its insurance, or the name and address of the owner, or user. In the UK the MIIC ( Motor Insurers Information Centre ) in Milton Keynes was setup to record insurance details of all registered vehicles and to provide such information within the EU.
• The insurer/representative must provide a "reasoned reply" to a claim, within three months. If that is not done, a "compensation body" must be available to handle the claim, with a right to recover any payment from the compensation body in the country where the insurer is established. There is no guidance as to what a reasoned reply is, but in the UK the Motor Insurers Bureau is the compensation body that would step in to resolve issues or make payments.
• Cases involving uninsured and untraced vehicles are to be dealt with by the victim's local guarantee fund ( MIB ) acting as the agent of the relevant foreign fund.
• The relationship between information centres, compensation bodies and guarantee funds must be governed by agreements approved by the Commission.
These requirements were implemented in Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 19th January 2003 by Regulations, S.I.2003 No.37 (information centre and the compensation body), S.I 2002 No.2706 (penalties), S.I. 2002 NO 2707 (representatives) and S.I.2002 No.3061 (direct right of action).
Whilst the making of a claim against a foreign driver is simplified by the removal of the language barrier and by the ability to commence proceedings in the UK and serve papers on the foreign insurers UK representatives, there are still complex issues to be considered.
It must be remembered that the applicable law is still the law of the country where the accident occurred, which would influence the levels of damages and the costs awarded to the successful Claimant.
Our panel of solicitors have dealt with a number of foreign accidents. They recently settled a claim for a road traffic accident that happened in the Republic of Ireland, where our client received significant damages and they are currently pursuing a number of cases for accidents that have happened in France, which is probably the most common country for foreign road traffic accidents for UK drivers.