Directive 2000/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles and amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (Fourth motor insurance Directive)

• Celex Number: 32000L0026
• Coming into Force: 20 July 2000
• End of Effective Date: 26 October 2009
• ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/dir/2000/26/oj
• Published date: 20 July 2000
• Date: 16 May 2000
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 181, 20 July 2000

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Directive 2000/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles and amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (Fourth motor insurance Directive)

Official Journal L 181 , 20/07/2000 P. 0065 - 0074

Directive 2000/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council

of 16 May 2000

on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles and amending Council Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC

(Fourth motor insurance Directive)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Articles 47(2) and 95 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission(1),

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee(2),

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty(3), in the light of the joint text approved by the Conciliation Committee on 7 April 2000,

Whereas:

(1) At present, differences exist between provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles and those differences constitute an obstacle to the free movement of persons and of insurance services.

(2) It is therefore necessary to approximate those provisions in order to promote the sound functioning of the single market.

(3) By Directive 72/166/EEC(4), the Council adopted provisions on the approximation of 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.

(4) By Directive 88/357/EEC(5), the Council adopted provisions on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to direct insurance other than life assurance and laying down provisions to facilitate the effective exercise of freedom to provide services.

(5) The green card bureau system ensures the ready settlement of claims in the injured party's own country even where the other party comes from a different European country.

(6) The green card bureau system does not solve all problems of an injured party having to claim in another country against a party resident there and an insurance undertaking authorised there (foreign legal system, foreign language, unfamiliar settlement procedures and often unreasonably delayed settlement).

(7) By its Resolution of 26 October 1995 on the settlement of claims arising from traffic accidents occurring outside the claimant's country of origin(6), the European Parliament, acting under the second paragraph of Article 192 of the Treaty, called on the Commission to submit a proposal for a European Parliament and Council Directive to solve these problems.

(8) It is in fact appropriate to supplement the arrangements established by Directives 72/166/EEC, 84/5/EEC(7) and 90/232/EEC(8) in order to guarantee injured parties suffering loss or injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident comparable treatment irrespective of where in the Community accidents occur; for accidents falling within the scope of this Directive occurring in a State other than that of the injured party's residence, there are gaps with regard to the settlement of injured parties' claims.

(9) The application of this Directive to accidents occurring in third countries covered by the green card system, affecting injured parties resident in the Community and involving vehicles insured and normally based in a Member State does not imply an extension of the compulsory territorial coverage of motor insurance as provided for in Article 3(2) of Directive 72/166/EEC.

(10) This entails giving the injured party a direct right of action against the insurance undertaking of the responsible party.

(11) One satisfactory solution might be for injured parties suffering loss or injury as a result of a motor vehicle accident falling within the scope of this Directive and occurring in a State other than that of their residence to be entitled to claim in their Member State of residence against a claims representative appointed there by the insurance undertaking of the responsible party.

(12) This solution would enable damage suffered by injured parties outside their Member State of residence to be dealt with by procedures familiar to them.

(13) This system of having claims representatives in the injured party's Member State of residence affects neither the substantive law to be applied in each individual case nor the matter of jurisdiction.

(14) The existence of a direct right of action against the insurance undertaking for the party who has suffered loss or injury is a logical supplement to the appointment of such representatives and moreover improves the legal position of injured parties of motor vehicle accidents occurring outside that party's Member State of residence.

(15) In order to fill the gaps in question, it should be provided that the Member State where the insurance undertaking is authorised should require the undertaking to appoint claims representatives resident or established in the other Member States to collect all necessary information in relation to claims resulting from such accidents and to take appropriate action to settle the claims on behalf and for the account of the insurance undertaking, including the payment of compensation therefor; claims representatives should have sufficient powers to represent the insurance undertaking in relation to persons suffering damage from such accidents, and also to represent the insurance undertaking before national authorities including, where necessary, before the courts, in so far as this is compatible with the rules of private international law on the conferral of jurisdiction.

(16) The activities of the claims representative are not sufficient in order to confer jurisdiction on the courts in the injured party's Member State of residence if the rules of private international law on the conferral of jurisdiction do not so provide.

(17) The appointment of representatives responsible for settling claims should be one of the conditions for access to and carrying on the activity of insurance listed in class 10 of point A of the Annex to Directive 73/239/EEC(9), except for carriers' liability; that condition should therefore be covered by the single official authorisation issued by the authorities of the Member State where the insurance undertaking establishes its head office, as specified in Title II of Directive 92/49/EEC(10); that condition should also apply to insurance undertakings having their head office outside the Community which have secured an authorisation granting them access to the activity of insurance in a Member State of the Community; Directive 73/239/EEC should be amended and supplemented accordingly.

(18) In addition to ensuring that the insurance undertaking has a representative in the State where the injured party resides, it is appropriate to guarantee the specific right of the injured party to have the claim settled promptly; it is therefore necessary to include in national law appropriate effective and systematic financial or equivalent administrative penalties - such as injunctions combined with administrative fines, reporting to supervisory authorities on a regular basis, on-the-spot checks, publications in the national official journal and in the press, suspension of the activities of the company (prohibition on the conclusion of new contracts for a certain period), designation of a special representative of the supervisory authorities responsible for monitoring...