ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(80)469
Vol.1980/0161

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(80)469 final
Brussels,30July1980
ProposalforaSecondCouncilDirective
ontheapproximation ofthelawsoftheMemberStatesrelatingto
insuranceagainstcivilliabilityinrespectoftheuseofmotor
vehicles
(submittedtotheCouncilbytheCommission )
C0MC80)469final

Explanatory memorandum
ThelawsoftheMemberStatesrelatingtocompulsory insuranceagainst .
ci-villiabilityinrespectoftheuseofmotorvehicles^havealready
beenapproximated inafirstdirectiveof'24'April1972,Inaccordance ,
withthatdocumentchecksonsuchinsurance,inaMemberState,inrespect
ofavehiclenormallybasedintheterritoryofanotherMemberStcte,were
abolishedwitheffectfrom.15May1974(from1July1973.intheoriginal
Member .States). • -..
Thismeasurenecessitated therequirement,■inallMemberStates,th'J.tcivil,
liabilityinrespectoftheuseofvehiclesbecoveredbyinsurance -
throughout theterritoryoftheCommunityinaccordance withtheconditions
ofeachcountryvisited..Thesecondpriorcondition wasthesigningofan
agreementbetweennationalinsurers'bureauxwherebyeachbureauguaranteed
thepaymentofcompensation intheeventofanaccidentcausedinitstei–■
ritorybyavehiclenormallybasedinanotherMemberState,evenwherethe
obligation totakeoutinsurance hadnotbeenobserved.
Thisdirectivecontinuesthatworkintwodirections .Firstly,itaimsto
rectifycertainshortcomings orinaccuracies whicharesuchasmayimpede
thesmoothoperationofthesystemreferredtoabove.Secondly,andmore
fundamentaIly,,itseekstomaketheguaranteesofferedinthevarious
Member .Statesmorefavourable forvictims,bypreventing theinjuredthird,
partyfrombeingtreateddifferently accordingtothecountryinwhichthe
accidentoccurred,andatthesametimeensuringthatthecoverenjoyedby
theinsuredpersondoesnotvarysignificantly accordingtothecountry
inwhichheistravelling . ..."
Coordination remainspartial,however.Itdid-not'appearfeasibleor
expedientatthisstagetoestablish ageneralsystemunderwhichproceedings
couldbeinstituteddirectly,andinrespectofwhichanyexceptions or
exclusions wouldbevoid,ortoapproximate theconditions governingthe
operation andintervention ofguaranteefunds..Itshouldbenoted,more­
over,thattherulesofLiabilityremainunchanged andhavenotbeen
coordinated .TheCommission,inspiteofitsdesiretosatisfythe-wishes
expressed byParliament initsResolution of-16November,1976,hasbeen
veryclearlyopposedonthesepointsbyanumberofMemberStates.
CouncilDirective72/166/EECof24April1972-OJNo103of-*2.5.1972 .
0JNoC293of13.12.1976,p.18. "

Commentsonthearticles
Article 1~Extentoftheobligationtoinsure
1.IntheUnitedKingdomcompulsory motorvehicleinsurancecoverisstill
restrictedtopersonalinjuries.Althoughthelargemajorityof
Britishdriversalsoinsureagainstliabilityfordamagemerelyto
property,andir,additiontakeoutdirectcoveragainstdamagethey
mightthemselversuffer,thissituationcanbeshowntobeprejudicial,,
especially whereoneofthevehiclesinvolvedinanaccidentinthe
.UnitedKingdomisnormallybasedintheterritoryofanotherMember
State.Ifthenon-British vehicleisliable'for"thedamage,inprin-
•cipleitneadnotbeinsuredagainstdamagetopropertyintheUnited
Kingdom,andinanyevent,theUnitedKingdombureauwillnotcover
suchdamage.If,ontheotherhand,thevehicleisitselfdamaged,in
mostcasesitwillnotbecoveredagainstsuchdamage,andifthe
•personliablehasnottakenoutinsurance,no"guaranteefundwill
satisfyhisliability..- .•.
Article1(1)putsanendtothatsituation.
2.InBelgiumandLuxembourg compulsorymotorinsuranceagainstcivil
liabilityisunlimitedasitisinIrelandandtheUnitedKingdomfor
;■personal sinjuries.Forsocialreasonsconnectedwiththeamountof
premiumsitisimpossibleforthemomenttoapplythissolutiongenerally.
Ofthosecountrieswhichapplyfixedamountsuptowhichinsuranceis
compulsory,onlyFrancehasselectedtheformulaofamountspervictim.
InGermany,Denmark,Italy,theNetherlands andIrelandthereisan
overalllimitperclaimirrespective ofthenumberofvictims(either
forpersonalinjuriesanddamagetopropertycombinedoraseparate
amountforeachtypeofdamage)'.'Thechiefadvantageofthisformula
isthatitmakesmatterssimplerfortheinsurerwhenmakinghis
estimates.Providedtheamountsareproperlycalculated andregularly
updated,victimswillinmostcasesbefullycompensated .
-Whereunlimitedcoverdoesnotexist,theproposalforadirective
requirescompulsoryinsurancecoverforamountsofnotlessthan
350000EUApervictimor500000EUAper4claim,dependingonthe
formulaapplied.Inbothcasestheseamountsapplytodamagetoproperty
andpersonalinjuriescombined.Inpractice,incomparison withthe
situationobtainingon1January1980,thesefiguresrepresentan
increaseforGermany,theNetherlands andItalyonly*.Theamounts
-couldberevisedinthefuture,butsinceArticle1(2)oftheproposal .
isaminimumoneitdidnotseemnecessarytolaydownarevision
procedureatCommunitylevel. '
*Seetable^annexedtotheexplanatory memorandum.

3.Eachnational'bureauguarantees thepaymentofcompensation forpersonal
....injuriesor damagetopropertycausedbyan.uninsuredvehiclenormally -
basedinanotherMemberState..If,ontheotherhand,theuninsured
.vehicleresponsible isregistered intheMemberStateinwhichthe
1accidentoccurred,atpresenttheguaranteefundassumesliability
forpersonalinjuriesonlyinBelgium,Ireland,Italy,Luxembourg and'
•theUnitedkingdom,whileinGermany,FranceandtheNetherlands com­
pensationfordamagetopropertyispayablesubjecttodeductionofa
franchise .Thevictimsofaccidents arethus-treateddifferently .de­
.pendingontheplaceinwhich,theaccidentoccured,andthemost-
astonishing aspectisthatfrequently theyarein'abetterpositionif
.theuninsuredvehicleresponsible isnot.registeredinthecountryin
whichtheaccidentoccurs.Inthecaseofunidentified vehicles,since
-theplaceinwhichtheyarenormaIlybased ,cannot,bydefinition,be
determined,theguaranteefundof-thecountryinwhichtheaccident
occurredisalwaysrequiredtopaycompensation ,andgenerally doesso
underthesameconditions asforanuninsuredvehicle...Thepurposeof
thisprovisionistoamplifythesystemandremovethisanomaly.' :
Article 2-Exclusions-Umnsured Vehicles »
Thisprovisionbasicallyconcernssituations,whosefrequencyvariesfrom
oneMemberStatetoanother,inwhichtheinsurer-is sometimespermitted -
bylawtorepudiate ,liabilitytowardsboththeinsuredpersonandthe
victim(exceptions .validagainst.:all'partiesor'exclusions '-''e.g..theft).
Inthosecaseseithertheguarantee fundtakesoverfromtheinsurer -"
(Netherlands ,France,Belgium,Luxembourg )ortheinsurerpays,but-■_V:
underanagreementwiththefundandinplaceofit(Ireland,United
Kingdom).Inbothcasescompensation fordamagetopropertyislimited
asisstatedinthecommentonArticle1(3),, ^
InDenmark,1GermanyandItaly,finally,theinsurerisprohibited bylaw
fromavailinghimselfofthesecircumstances andmustcompensate the
victim. '•' i ;;v■
Wheretirevehicleresponsible isregistered inthecountryinwhichthe
accidentoccursthisdiscrepancy isunfortunate inthatthetreatment
accorded ,totheinjuredpartyvariesaccordingtothecountryinwhich
hewasvictimofanaccident.' Wherethevehicleresponsible forthe
accidentisnormallybasedinanotherMemberState,afurthertroublesome
consequence isthatsometimesconflictsarisebetweenthefundandthe
.bureau,concerning theinterpretation ofthelawofthecountryinwhich
theaccidentoccuredonthequestionwhetherthepermittedexclusion
amounts-to acaseofnon-insurance "oroneinwhichthevehicleneednot
beinsured.v . \'•' ■" .'
Theproposedarticlewillimprovethepositionofvictimsinthesame
wayasdoesArticle1(3)withoutaffectingtheinsurer'sobligation,.
whereitexists,tocompensate thevictiminspiteofthosecircumstances ;
inaddition,itwillputanendtothedisputereferredtoabove.,
Wherethevehicleinquestionisnormally-basedintheterritoryof
anotherMemberStatethebureeauwillactinallcaseseither -asan
insurerorasaguaranteefund.' ---

Article 3-Members ofthe rami ly
The exclusion ^ofthe above ,which isbased onthe (theoretical )risk of
collusion ,isprovided for inArticle 4oftheAnnex totheStrasbourg
Convention of20April 1959 oncompulsory insurance against civil liabi­
lity inrespect ofmotor vehicles ,which hasbeen signed byBelgium ,
Denmark ,France ,Germsny ,Italy andLuxembourg .,Itisnowapplied only
inBelgium ,Italy andthe ,Netherlands .However ,where members ofthe
family are compensated by .thethird-party motor insurer this isnot
necessarily based onthe same grounds orthesame conditions ascompen­
sation forordinary third parties .Cover issometimes optional or
restricted topersonal injuries ,ormay befor alower amount than is
granted toordinary third parties . * .
Themembers ofthefamily form acategory that isparticularly vulnerable
tothe risk ofroad accidents ,and their exclusion may prove disastrous
interms ofthe -necessarily high -costs incurred ifthey suffer anaccident .
Forthat reason this article goes aL'ong waytowards improving theposition
ofroad accident victims .
Article 4–Territory inwhich thevehicle isnormally based -
Place ofregistration
Article 1(4 )ofthe Directive of24April 1972 defines the "territory in
which thevehicle isnormally based "asthat "ofthe State inwhich the
vehicle isregistered ". Insome Member States the fact that avehicle
bears aregistration plate does not necessari lyimply that itisregistered
there .Themajority ofbureaux have concluded temporary bilateral agree­
ments among themselves whereby ,if ,the conditions relating toregistration
have not been satisfied within acertain period oftime ,the vehicle isno
longer regarded asbeing based normally inthe country whose registration
plate itbears ,the result being that ,ifthevehicle isuninsured ,com­
pensation must beborne definitively bythe bureau ofthe country inwhich -
theaccident occurred .The Commission hasalways felt ,however ,that
while bureaux remained free toalter the rules governing reimbursement
between bureaux asthey wished ,the fact remained that the registration
plate alone wasdecisive fordetermining whether thebureau oftheMember
State inwhich the accident occurred should compensate the damage .The
abolition ofchecks oninsurance was conditional onthis rule ,which is
confirmed here .
Articles 5and 6
These articles require nospecial comment .

.ANNEX
COUNTRY /PERVICTIM(DAMAGETOPROPERTY ANDPERSONAL
DAMAGE)PERCLAIM(DAMAGETOPROPERTY AND
INJURIES)PERSONAL
NATIONALAMOUNTS jCOMMISSION PROPOSAL ..NATIONAL AMOUNTS . COMMISSION PROPOSM.
.. IInnational
currencyinEUA^)Innational
currencyinEUA Innational
currencyinEUA Innational
currencyinEUA]_J
federalRepublic
DfGermanyDM500.000
+.lOO.OOO(xx )
600.000 238,543,9 880.341DM\350.000750.000
+100.000(xx )
850.000 DM337.937,2 1.257.630DM 500.000
Senmark 2.755.728Dkr _•IllO.OOO.OOODkr
+1.OOO.OOO(x x)
11.000.000 1.397.089,6 3.936.755Dkr'II
France 2.000.000FF
+1.OOO.OOO(xx )– 1
3.000.000 FF513.167,8 2.046.114FF11
|2.923.020FF |L___J
Italy' 20.000.000Lit
+5.000.000 (xx)
25.000.000»
21.345,6 409.920.000LitIl.SO.OOO.OOOLit 42.691 585.600.000Lit•I
hetherlands 965.167gld .Il
/1.OOO.QOOgld .362.631,5 1.378.810g!d
Ireland 237.073IÉIII.OOOtf(xxx)I
1.476,3 338.675UII
(x)Conversion at24March1980 - * ,
(xx)Separateamount-fordarrtagetoproperty .v "
(xxx)Thisfigurerelatesonlytodamagetopropertysincethereisunlimitedcover ,forpersonalinjuries.

-1-
THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishing theEuropeanEconomicCommunity,
andinparticularArticle100thereof;
HavingregardtotheproposalfromtheCommission;.
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEuropeanParliament;
HavingregardtotheOpinionoftheEconomicandSocialCommittee;
Whereas,byDirective72/166/EECof24April1972(1),asamendedbyDirective
72/430/EECof19December1972(2),theCouncilapproximated
thelawsoftheMemberStatesrelatingtoinsuranceagainstcivilliability
inrespectoftheuseofmotorvehiclesandtotheenforcement ofthe
obligationtoinsureagainstsuchliability;
WhereasArticle3ofDirective 72/166/EECrequireseachMemberState
totakeallappropriate measuresto-ensurethatcivilliabilityinrespect
oftheuseofvehiclesnormallybasedinitsterritoryiscoveredbyinsurance;
whereastheextentoftheliabilitycoveredandthe.termsandconditions
ofthecoveraretobedeterminedonthebasisofthosemeasures;
Whereas,however,thecontinuedexistenceofmajordisparities betweenthe
lawsofthedifferentMemberStatesconcerningtheextentofthisobligation
ofcoverissuchastoimpedethefreemovementofpersons;
Whereastheobligation -ofcover'shouldbeextendedtoincludeliability
incurredpurelyinrespectofdamagetoproperty;
Whereastheamountsinrespectofwhichinsuranceiscompulsory mustin
anyeventguaranteevictimsadequatecompensation irrespective oftheMember
Stateinwhichtheaccidentoccurred;
Whereasitisnecessarytomakeprovisionforabodytobearsecondary
liabilityforthepaymentofcompensation incaseswherethevehicle
responsibleisunidentified oruninsured,orwheretheinsurerisentitled
todisclaimliability;whereasthislattercasemustbetreatedinthe
samewayasacaseofnon-insurance ;
Whereasthemembersofthefamilyoftheinsuredperson,driverorperson
Liablearedeservingofconsideration aspotentialinjuredpartiesand
shouldbeaffordedprotectioncomparabletothatofotherthirdparties;
'0JNoL103of2.5.1972 ,
20JNo.L291of28.12.1972.

-2-
Whereastheabolitionofchecksoninsuranceisconditional onthegranting
bythenationalinsurers'bureauofthehostcountryofaguaranteeof
compensation fordamagecausedbyvehiclesnormallybasedinanotherMember
State;whereasthemostconvenientcriterionfordeterminingwithere
vehicleisnormallybasedinagivenMemberStateisthebearinr a
registration plateofthatState;whereasthefirstindentofA'tiicle 1(4)
oftheDirectiveof24,ApriI1972shouldthereforebeamendedtothat
effect;
HASADOPTEDTHISDIRECTIVE :

Article 1
1.ThecontractofinsurancereferredtoinArticle3(1)of
Directive 72/166/EECshallcoverbothdamagetopropertyandpersonal
injuries..
2.EachMemberStateshallrequireanunlimitedguaranteeorshallspecify
amountsuptowhich.suchinsuranceshallbecompulsory .Those
amountsshallbenotlessthan350000EUApervictimfordamageto.
propertyandpersonalinjuriesor500000EUAforalldamage,in­
cludingdamagetopropertyandpersonalinjuries,arisingoutofa
.singleclaimwherethereismorethanonevictim.
"Unitofaccount"meanstheEuropeanUnitofAccount(EUA)asdefined
byArticle10oftheFinancialRegulation of21December1977applicable
tothegeneralbudgetofthe.EuropeanCommunities ;theconversion
valueinnationalcurrencytobeadoptedshallasfrom31Decemberof
,eachyearbethatofthelastdayofthepreceding monthofOctober
forwhichtheEUAconversion valuesareavailableinalltheCommunity
currencies .
3.EachMemberStateshallmakeprovisionthatcompensation withinthe
limitsauthorized byparagraph 2fordamagetopropertyor
personalinjuriescausedbyanunidentified vehicleinrespectofwhich
theinsuranceobligation providedforinparagraph 1hasnotbeen
satisfiedshallbebornebyabodysetuporauthorized bythatState.

Article2
ForthepurposesofArticle1(3)ofthisDirectiveandArticle3(2)of
Directive72/166/EEC,whereaninsurerrefusestomakepaymentby
virtueofthelaworofacontractual provisionauthorized by'aw,the
vehicle~sha11betreatedasanuninsuredvehicle.

Article3
ThemembersofthefarmLyoftheinsuredperson,driver,oranyother
personwhoisLiableundercivillawintheeventofanaccident,and
whoseliabilityiscoveredbycivilliabilitymotorvehicleinsurance
shallnotbeexcludedfromsuchcoverbyvirtueofthatrelationship .

Article4
ThefirstindentofArticle1(4)ofDirective 72/166/EECisamended
asfollows:
-territoryinwhichthevehicleisnormallybasedmeans:
theterritoryoftheStateofwhichthevehiclebearsaregistration
plate;

Article5
MemberStatesshallbringintoforcethemeasuresnecessarytocomplywith
thisdirectiveby31D?"amber1982andshallforthwithinformtheCommission
thereof.

Article6
ThisdirectiveisaddressedtotheMemberStates.
Doneat... ,
FortheCounci L
ThePresident