Third-party liability insurance may increase in price due to a draft amendment to the Insurance Code submitted by the Council of Ministers to parliament, insurers, quoted by "Telegraph", warned.
One of the texts in this draft provides for the abolition of the 5,000 leva ceiling introduced in 2018 for compensation for non-pecuniary damage to more distant relatives of a person killed on the road. The limitation applies to grandparents, brothers, sisters. To receive compensation, they must prove to the court that they had a strong emotional connection with the victim.
The reason for the removal of the ceiling is that the European Commission found contradictions with the requirements of a 2009 directive. The reason - the ceiling is lower than the minimum insurance amounts in the directive. According to insurers, if the limitation is removed, this will automatically reflect on the price of “Civil Liability“ in an increase direction. The compensation paid by insurers will increase and actuaries will reflect this in prices, they added.
According to them, courts currently rarely award compensation above the ceiling, citing a provision in the Obligations and Contracts Act that states compensation for pain and suffering must be determined fairly.
The ceiling was introduced in 2018 at the insistence of the insurance industry. This was necessitated by a decision of the Supreme Court of Cassation from the same year. It expanded the circle of people who can receive compensation for pain and suffering in the event of the death of a loved one on the road. According to the decision, compensation is also due to siblings, grandparents, as well as anyone else who can prove a lasting emotional connection with the deceased.