The Council of Ministers has approved the draft Law that modifies the consolidated text of the Law on Civil Liability and Circulation Insurance and that transposes Directive 2021/2118 on motor insurance.
The bill includes the new provisions of the European Directive and also incorporates improvements in the assessment system for personal injuries caused by traffic accidents with the aim of increasing and reinforcing the protection of victims.
The transposition of the European Motor Insurance Directive broadens and clarifies the vehicles that must have the compulsory civil liability insurance, clarifying the type of insurance that agricultural and/or industrial vehicles must have. Likewise, the concept of “fact of circulation” covered by insurance to include casualty protection regardless of the terrain the car is being used on and whether it is stationary or moving.
Additionally, the functions of the Insurance Compensation Consortium are expanded, which will be in charge of the victim compensation when the insurer is in bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings, whether Spanish or foreign.
On the other hand, the regulatory project incorporates additional improvements in the compensation valuation system, both in the procedure and in the amount. In the first place, changes are introduced to speed up the payment procedure, trying to achieve a quick and fair settlement for the victims, in accordance with the principle of full reparation, avoiding, as much as possible, resorting to the courts. Secondly, the indemnities are substantially improved, proposing that they be updated automatically in accordance with the Consumer price index. This improvement joins the one recently approved in Royal Decree 907/2022, which increased compensation for lost profits and keeps the system fully updated and with the highest levels of protection.
Likewise, in the draft Law, a commission of experts is entrusted with carrying out a study that assesses the convenience and, where appropriate, characteristics of compulsory insurance to cover damages to third parties caused by the new personal mobility vehicles.
Finally, it includes a modification of Law 20/2015 on management, supervision and solvency of insurance companies to improve the powers of control by the supervisor of the suitability of the people who run an insurer and introduces the possibility of requiring preventive recovery plans for entities.
