CELEX: 51980PC0469
Language: en
Date: 1980-07-30
Title: Proposal for a Second Council Directive on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles (submitted to the Concil by the Commission)

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COM (80) 469
Vol. 1980/0161
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 ---pagebreak--- COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
                                                COM(80)469 final
                                                Brussels , 30 July 1980
              Proposal for a Second Council Directive
on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to
insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor
                             vehi c les
           ( submitted to the Council by the Commission )
C0MC80 ) 469 final
 ---pagebreak---                                 Explanatory memorandum
The laws of the Member States relating to compulsory insurance against .
ci-vil liability in respect of the use of motor vehi cles^have already
been approximated in a first directive of '24'     April 1972 , In accordance,
with that document checks on such insurance ,      in a Member State , in respect
of a vehicle normally based in the territory       of another Member Stcte , were
abolished with effect from. 15 May 1974 ( from     1 July 1973. in the original
Member . States ) .                      •             -   . .
This measure necessitated the requi rement , ■ i n all Member States , th'J.t civil ,
liability in respect of the use of vehicles be covered by insurance -
throughout the territory of the Community in accordance with the conditions
of each country visited .. The second prior condition was the signing of an
agreement between national insurers' bureaux whereby each bureau guaranteed
the payment of compensation in the event of an accident caused in its tei– ■
ritory by a vehicle normally based in another Member State , even where the
obligation to take out insurance had not been observed .
This directive continues that work in two directions . Firstly , it aims to
rectify certain shortcomings or inaccuracies which are such as may impede
the smooth operation of the system referred to above .         Secondly , and more
f undamenta I ly ,, i t seeks to make the guarantees offered in the various
Member . States more favourable for victims , by preventing the injured third ,
party from being treated differently according to the country in which the
accident occurred , and at the same time ensuring that the cover enjoyed by
the insured person does not vary significantly according to the country
in which he is travelling .                                                      . .."
Coordination remains partial , however . It did - not ' appear feasible or
expedient at this stage to establish a general system under which proceedings
could be instituted directly , and in respect of which any exceptions or
exclusions would be void , or to approximate the conditions governing the
operation and intervention of guarantee funds . . It should be noted , more­
over , that the rules of Liability remain unchanged and have not been
coordinated . The Commission , in spite of its desire to satisfy the -wishes
expressed by Parliament in its Resolution of - 16 November ,1 976 , has been
very clearly opposed on these points by a number of Member States .
  Council Directive 72 / 166 / EEC of 24 April 1972 - OJ No 103 of-*2.5.1972 .
  0J No C 293 of 13.12.1976, p. 18 .                                           "
 ---pagebreak---                                Comments on the articles
Article 1 ~ Extent of the obligation to insure
 1 . In the United Kingdom compulsory motor vehicle insurance cover is still
         restricted to personal injuries . Although the large majority of
        British drivers also insure against liability for damage merely to
        property , and ir, addition take out direct cover against damage they
        might themselver suffer , this situation can be shown to be prejudicial ,,
        especially where one of the vehicles involved in an accident in the
    . United Kingdom is normally based in the territory of another Member
        State .   If the non-British vehicle is liable 'for " the damage , in prin-
     • ciple it nead not be insured against damage to property in the United
        Kingdom , and in any event , the United Kingdom bureau will not cover
        such damage . If , on the other hand , the vehicle is itself damaged , in
        most cases it will not be covered against such damage , and if the
      • person liable has not taken out insurance , no "guarantee fund will
        satisfy his liability . .     -                               .     •  .
        Article 1(1 ) puts an end to that situation .
2 . In Belgium and Luxembourg compulsory motor insurance against civil
        liability is unlimited as it is in Ireland and the United Kingdom for
; ■ personal s injuries . For social reasons connected with the amount of
        premiums it is impossible for the moment to apply this solution generally .
        Of those countries which apply fixed amounts up to which insurance is
        compulsory , only France has selected the formula of amounts per victim .
        In Germany , Denmark , Italy , the Netherlands and Ireland there is an
        overall limit per claim irrespective of the number of victims ( either
        for personal injuries and damage to property combined or a separate
        amount for each type of damage)'. ' The chief advantage of this formula
        is that it makes matters simpler for the insurer when making his
        estimates . Provided the amounts are properly calculated and regularly
        updated , victims will in most cases be fully compensated .
   - Where unlimited cover does not exist , the proposal for a directive
        requires compulsory insurance cover for amounts of not less than
        350 000 EUA per victim or 500 000 EUA per4 claim , depending on the
        formula applied . In both cases these amounts apply to damage to property
        and personal injuries combined . In practice , in comparison with the
        situation obtaining on 1 January 1980 , these figures represent an
        increase for Germany , the Netherlands and Italy only *. The amounts
  - could be revised in the future , but since Article 1(2 ) of the proposal .
        is a minimum one it did not seem necessary to lay down a revision
        procedure at Community level .                   '
* See table ^annexed to the explanatory memorandum .
 ---pagebreak---  3 . Each national' bureau guarantees the payment of compensation for personal
 .... injuriesor damage to property caused by an . uninsured vehicle normally -
          based in another Member State . . If , on the other hand , the uninsured
        . vehicle responsible is registered in the Member State in which the
       1 accident occurred , at present the guarantee fund assumes liability
          for personal injuries only in Belgium , Ireland , Italy , Luxembourg and'
       • the United kingdom , while in Germany , France and the Netherlands com­
          pensation for damage to property is payable subject to deduction of a
          franchise .  The victims of accidents are thus- treated differently . de­
     . pending on the place in which, the accident occured , and the most-
          astonishing aspect is that frequently they are in' a better position if
      . the uninsured vehicle responsible is not . registered in the country in
          which the accident occurs .  In the case of unidentified vehicles , since
    -     the place in which they are norma I ly based , cannot , by definition , be
          determined , the guarantee fund of- the country in which the accident
          occurred is always required to pay compensation , and generally does so
          under the same conditions as for an uninsured vehicle . .. The purpose of
          this provision is to amplify the system and remove this anomaly.' :
Article 2 - Exclusions - Umnsured Vehicles                              »
This provision basically concerns situations , whose frequency varies from
 one Member State to another , in whi ch the insurer-is sometimes permitted -
 by law to repudiate , liability towards both the insured person and the
 victim ( exceptions . valid against .: all 'parties or ' exclusions ' - ''e.g . . theft ) .
 In those cases either the guarantee fund takes over from the insurer                    - "
  ( Netherlands , France , Belgium , Luxembourg ) or the insurer pays , but - ■_ V :
 under an agreement with the fund and in place of it ( Ireland , United
 Kingdom ). In both cases compensation for damage to property is limited
 as is stated in the comment on Article 1(3 ),,                              ^
 In Denmark , 1 Germany and Italy , finally , the insurer is prohibited by law
 from availing himself of these circumstances and must compensate the
 victim .                   '• '    i                               ; ;v ■
 Where tire vehicle responsible is registered in the country in which the
 accident occurs this discrepancy is unfortunate in that the treatment
 accorded , to the injured party varies according to the country in which
 he was victim of an accident.' Where the vehicle responsible for the
 accident is normally based in another Member State , a further troublesome
 consequence is that sometimes conflicts arise between the fund and the
.bureau, concerning the interpretation of the law of the country in which
 the accident occured on the question whether the permitted exclusion
 amounts-to a case of non-insurance" or one in which the vehicle need not
 be insured .             v         .                 \ '• '     ■"        .     '
 The proposed article will improve the position of victims in the same
 way as does Article 1(3 ) without affecting the insurer 's obligation , .
 where it exists , to compensate the victim in spite of those circumstances ;
  in addition , it will put an end to the dispute referred to above .,
 Where the vehicle in question i s normal ly - based in the territory of
 another Member State the bureeau will act in all cases either- as an
 insurer or as a guarantee fund.'            - -   -
 ---pagebreak--- Article 3 - Members of the rami ly
The exclusion^ of the above , which is based on the ( theoretical ) risk of
collusion , is provided for in Article 4 of the Annex to the Strasbourg
Convention of 20 April 1959 on compulsory insurance against civil liabi­
 lity in respect of motor vehicles , which has been signed by Belgium ,
Denmark , France, Germsny , Italy and Luxembourg ., It is now applied only
in Belgium , Italy and the, Netherlands . However , where members of the
family are compensated by . the third-party motor insurer this is not
necessarily based on the same grounds or the same conditions as compen­
sation for ordinary third parties . Cover is sometimes optional or
restricted to personal injuries , or may be for a lower amount than is
granted to ordinary third parties .                    * .
The members of the family form a category that is particularly vulnerable
to the risk of road accidents , and their exclusion may prove disastrous
in terms of the- necessarily high- costs incurred if they suffer an accident .
For that reason this article goes a L'ong way towards improving the position
of road accident victims .
Article 4 – Territory in which the vehicle is normally based -
             Place of registration
Article 1(4 ) of the Directive of 24 April 1972 defines the " territory in
which the vehicle is normally based " as that " of the State in which the
vehicle is registered ".   In some Member States the fact that a vehicle
bears a registration plate does not necessari ly imply that it is registered
there . The majority of bureaux have concluded temporary bi lateral agree­
ments among themselves whereby , if , the conditions relating to registration
have not been satisfied within a certain period of time , the vehicle is no
longer regarded as being based normally in the country whose registration
plate it bears, the result being that , if the vehicle is uninsured , com­
pensation must be borne definitively by the bureau of the country in which -
the accident occurred . The Commission has always felt , however , that
while bureaux remained free to alter the rules governing reimbursement
between bureaux as they wished , the fact remained that the registration
plate alone was decisive for determining whether the bureau of the Member
State in which the accident occurred should compensate the damage . The
abolition of checks on insurance was conditional on this rule , which is
confirmed here .
Articles 5 and 6
These articles require no special comment .
 ---pagebreak---                                                                                                                                           . ANNEX
      COUNTRY          /    PER VICTIM ( DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND PERSONAL                                 PER CLAIM ( DAMAGE TO PROPERTY AND PERSONAL
                                             DAMAGE )                                                                        INJURIES )
                         NATIONAL AMOUNTS          j   COMMISSION PROPOSAL            ..      NATIONAL AMOUNTS .                   COMMISSION PROPOSM.
                      In national        in EUA ^)     In national     in EUA               In national        in EUA         In national            in EUA     ]
               ..   I    currency                      currency                             currency                          currency
                                                                                                                                                            _J
 federal Republic     DM 500.000                                                            750.000
 Df Germany           + . lOO.OOO(xx )                                                   + 100.000(xx )
                           600.000       238,543,9      880 . 341 DM \ 350.000              850.000 DM         337.937,2      1 . 257.630DM          500.000
Senmark                                               2.755.728Dkr _      • Il
                                                                                       lO.OOO.OOODkr
                                                                                     + 1 . OOO.OOO(x x )
                                                                                                                                                       II
                                                                                       11.000.000            1.397.089,6      3.936.755Dkr'
                                                     –         1
France                   2.000.000FF
                     + 1 . OOO.OOO(xx )
                         3.000.000 FF    513.167,8    2.046.114FF           11
                                                                                                                            | 2.923.020FF         |L _       __J
Italy '               20.000.000Lit
                      + 5.000.000 ( xx )       »
                                                                                                                                                       •I
                      25.000.000          21.345,6     409.920.000Lit       Il .
                                                                                       SO.OOO.OOOLit           42.691          585.600.000Lit
hether lands                                           965.167gld .         Il
                                                                                       1 . OOO.QOOgld .      362.631,5          1.378 . 810g!d
                                                                                 /
                                                                                                                           I
Ireland                                                237.073IÉ            II
                                                                                       I.OOOtf ( xxx )         1.476,3             338.675 U           II
(x)      Conversion at 24 March 1980                            -       *                       ,
( xx ) Separate amount -for darrtage to property          . v                      "
( xxx ) This figure relates only to damage to property since there is unlimited cover, for personal injuries .
 ---pagebreak---                                       - 1  -
 THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,
 Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community ,
 and in particular Article 100 thereof ;
 Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ;.
 Having regard to the Opinion of the European Parliament ;
 Having regard to the Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee ;
 Whereas , by Directive 72 / 166 / EEC of 24 April 1972 ( 1 ), as amended by Directive
 72 / 430 / EEC of 19 December 1972 ( 2 ), the Council approximated
 the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability
 in respect of the use of motor vehicles and to the enforcement of the
obligation to insure against such liability ;
Whereas Article 3 of          Directive 72 / 166 /EEC requires each Member State
to take all appropriate measures to-ensure that civil liability in respect
of the use of vehicles normally based in its territory is covered by insurance ;
 whereas the extent of the liability covered and the . terms and conditions
of the cover are to be determined on the basis of those measures ;
Whereas , however , the continued existence of major disparities between the
 laws of the different Member States concerning the extent of this obligation
of cover is such as to       impede the free movement of persons ;
Whereas the obligation - of cover' should be extended to include liability
 incurred purely in respect of damage to property ;
Whereas the amounts in respect of which insurance is compulsory must in
any event guarantee vi ctims adequate compensation irrespective of the Member
State in which the accident occurred ;
Whereas it is necessary to make provision for a body to bear secondary
 liability for the payment of compensation in cases where the vehicle
responsible is unidentified or uninsured , or where the insurer is entitled
to disclaim liability ; whereas this latter case must be treated in the
same way as a case of non-insurance ;
Whereas the members of the family of the insured person , driver or person
Liable are deserving of consideration as potential injured parties and
should be afforded protection comparable to that of other third parties ;
 '0J No L 103 of 2.5.1972 ,
20J No. L 291 of 28.12.1972 .
 ---pagebreak---                                     - 2 -
Whereas the abolition of checks on insurance is conditional on the granting
by the national insurers' bureau of the host country of a guarantee of
compensation for damage caused by vehicles normally based in another Member
State ; whereas the most convenient criterion for determining wither e
vehicle is normally based in a given Member State is the bearinr       a
registration plate of that State ; whereas the first indent of A'tiicle 1 ( 4 )
of the Directive of 24 , Apri I 1972 should therefore be amended to that
effect ;
HAS ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE :
 ---pagebreak---                                   Article 1
1 . The contract of insurance referred to in Article 3(1 ) of
     Directive 72 / 166 / EEC shall cover both damage to property and personal
     injuries ..
2 . Each Member State shall require an unlimited guarantee or shall specify
           amounts up to which . such insurance shall be compulsory . Those
     amounts shall be not less than 350 000 EUA per victim for damage to .
     property and personal injuries or 500 000 EUA for all damage , in­
     cluding damage to property and personal injuries , arising out of a
   . single claim where there is more than one victim .
     " Unit of account " means the European Unit of Account ( EUA ) as defined
     by Article 10 of the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977 applicable
     to the general budget of the . European Communities ; the conversion
     value in national currency to be adopted shall as from 31 December of
 ,   each year be that of the last day of the preceding month of October
     for which the EUA conversion values are available in all the Community
     currencies .
3 . Each Member State shall make provision that compensation within the
     limits authorized by paragraph 2           for damage to property or
     personal injuries caused by an unidentified vehicle in respect of which
     the insurance obligation provided for in paragraph 1 has not been
     satisfied shall be borne by a body set up or authorized by that State .
 ---pagebreak---                                    Article 2
For the purposes of Article 1(3 ) of this Directive and Article 3(2 ) of
     Directive 72 / 166 / EEC , where an insurer refuses to make payment by
virtue of the law or of a contractual provision authorized by 'aw, the
vehi c le~ sha 1 1 be treated as an uninsured vehicle .
 ---pagebreak---                                 Article 3
The members of the farm Ly of the insured person , driver , or any other
person who is Liable under civil law in the event of an accident , and
whose liability is covered by civil liability motor vehicle insurance
shall not be excluded from such cover by virtue of that relationship .
 ---pagebreak---                             Article 4
The first indent of Article 1(4 ) of    Directive 72 / 166 / EEC is amended
as fol lows :
    - territory in which the vehicle is normally based means :
      the territory of the State of which the vehicle bears a registration
      plate ;
 ---pagebreak---                             Article 5
Member States shall bring into force the measures necessary to comply with
this directive by 31 D?"amber 1982 and shall forthwith inform the Commission
thereof .
 ---pagebreak---                              Article 6
This directive is addressed to the Member States .
Done at ...                                ,
                                                 For the Counci L
                                                The President