Motor Insurance Directive
On 24.05.2018, the EC presented a proposal to amend the Motor Insurance Directive in five specific areas: compensating victims of accidents where an insurer goes bankrupt; minimum amounts of cover; Member States’ checks on vehicle insurance; how claims-history statements are used by a new insurance company; and the scope of the Directive. On 13.02.2019, the plenary endorsed the amendments to the proposal and referred the file back to IMCO for inter-institutional negotiations.
In particular, the plenary wanted to ensure that small vehicles, such as E-bikes, segways and electric scooters, are excluded from the scope of the Directive, as they are less likely to cause significant damage to persons or property. It would be left to the Member States to decide how to protect the potential victims of accidents caused by such vehicles. Moreover, Parliament also wished to enhance the provisions on insurance checks to tackle uninsured driving and streamline the procedure of compensating injured parties in case of an insolvency of the insurer.
Five years after the transposition deadline of the Directive, the Commission is expected to evaluate whether the new rules are fit for purpose as regards autonomous vehicles, high-speed lightweight vehicles and a potential bonus-malus system in insurance contracts.
Inter-institutional negotiations on the proposal are expected to start during the new legislative term.