On Thursday 19 September, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) handed down a judgment clarifying the scope of the protection offered to victims of road accidents under compulsory third-party motor insurance (Case C-236/23).
The CJEU has ruled that the nullity of a motor insurance contract on the grounds of a false declaration cannot be relied on against an accident victim, even if the latter is at the origin of the false declaration, except in cases of abuse of rights.
The dispute is between the French insurance company Matmut and a policyholder who was also injured as a passenger in an accident involving his own vehicle, driven by a third party. After the accident, Matmut refused to compensate the policyholder, claiming that the contract was null and void for misrepresentation.
He had failed to mention that the usual driver of the vehicle was not himself, but another person. Matmut tried to avoid responsibility, arguing that the insurance contract was no longer valid.
The CJEU ruled in favour of the victim, stating that, under EU law, in particular Directive 2009/103/EC, an insurance company cannot refuse to compensate a victim, even if the latter made a false declaration when taking out the policy, unless there is an abuse of rights.
The Court reiterated that the protection of victims of road traffic accidents is a priority and that cancellation of the contract cannot be used to refuse compensation.
See the judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/dhh (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)