Brussels, 21/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - The Competitiveness Council of 18 April adopted without debate the fifth directive on insurance for civil liability in self-propelled vehicle traffic cases, by agreeing to all the European Parliament's amendments voted in second reading (EUROPE 8866). Member States have two years for implementing the directive.
The Commission has declared that it will be examining the specific problems posed by trailers, in a report that it will presented before 20 July. It considers that consumers should be able to have insurance cover for legal costs resulting from accidents and it will examine the current offer on voluntary insurance contracts for legal costs and produce a report as soon as possible.
The fifth “car insurance” directive revises the four directives (72/166/ECC, 84/5/ECC, 90/232/ECC and 2000/26/EC) currently in force. It establishes new minimum amounts for compensation in the event of an accident: EUR 1 million per victim or EUR 1 million per accident for material damages. Compensation for pedestrians and cyclists who are victims of road accidents is also included. The fifth directive also allows for temporary insurance policies for facilitating the attending of court in another Member State and for facilitating the acquisition of a vehicle abroad.