When can an injured party file a claim for compensation?

In accordance with Article 23-6 of the law of 16 April 2003 on compulsory insurance against third party motor vehicle liability, as amended (hereinafter the ‘Law’), an injured party in a traffic accident for which the insurance undertaking insuring the vehicle responsible is subject to one of the procedures referred to under Article 23-2, letter a), points i) and ii), of the Law, may submit a claim for compensation to the FIAA.

The procedures referred to in article 23-2, letter a), points i) and ii), of the Law are as follows:

• Collective winding-up proceedings within the meaning of Article 229, point 3, of the amended law of 7 December 2015 on the insurance sector;
• Winding-up proceedings as defined in Article 268, paragraph 1, letter d) of directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2009 on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance.

Please note that Article 23-6, paragraph 6, of the Law stipulates that any claim for compensation which is to give rise to the intervention of the FIAA in accordance with Article 23-2, letter a), point i), of the Law must, or penalised by foreclosure, be received by the FIAA within 3 years of the opening of the proceeding referred to in the aforementioned article, unless the injured party proves that it was physically or morally impossible to make the claim for compensation within the prescribed period.

How do I file a claim for compensation?

You can file a claim for compensation by:

• by post to the following address:

Fonds d’insolvabilité en assurance automobile (FIAA)
11, rue Robert Stumper
L-2557 Luxembourg

• electronically at the following address:

fiaa@fiaa.lu

What should a claim for compensation contain?

In the claim for compensation, addressed to the FIAA, the injured party shall indicate as far as possible:

• the date and place of the accident;
• the name of the insurance undertaking insuring the person who caused the accident and, if applicable, the name of the insurance undertaking insuring the person liable under civil law;
• any evidence that the insurance undertaking is the subject of proceedings under Article 23-2, letter a), points i) and ii), of the Law;
• if applicable, the reference of the file at the level at the insurance undertaking, and a copy of the exchanges the injured party had with the insurance undertaking in relation to the file;
• the surname, first name, profession, place of residence or address of the person who caused the accident and, if applicable, the surname, first name, profession, place of residence or address of the person liable under civil law;
• information enabling to identify the vehicle responsible for the accident;
• the authority who issued the accident report;
• the nature and severity of physical injuries suffered;
• the nature and extent of material damage sustained;
• a declaration of honour that the injured party has not yet received compensation or, in the event of partial compensation, details of such compensation;
• public and private bodies involved;
• any other relevant information or facts in the injured party’s possession.

Please note that the FIAA has developed a form to facilitate the filing of a claim for compensation, which you can download here: docx

Information regarding the follow-up of your claim

In accordance with article 23-6 of the Law, the FIAA provides the injured party within 3 months from the date when the latter has submitted a claim for compensation as referred above, with:

• either a reasoned offer of compensation, where the claim is not contested and the damages have been partially or fully quantified,
• or a reasoned reply to the points made in the claim, where the liability is denied or has not been clearly determined or where the damage has not been fully quantified.

The decision on compensation may be appealed to the FIAA. The claim, duly motivated, must be submitted in writing to the FIAA within 3 months of notification of the FIAA’s decision on compensation. In the event of total or partial rejection of the claim, an appeal against the FIAA’s decision may be lodged with the administrative court within 3 months of notification of the FIAA’s decision.

The FIAA compensates the injured party within 3 months of the acceptance by the latter of the reasoned offer of compensation referred to in the first indent above.

The FIAA is not allowed to make the payment of compensation subject to any requirements other than those set out in the Law, or to the requirement that the injured party establishes that the legal or natural person liable is unable, or refuses, to pay.

Additional information

• In accordance with Article 23-6, paragraph 5, of the Law, an injured party who is entitled to be compensated for the consequences of a traffic accident from a social security organisation or from his or her employer, pursuant to legal provisions, may only submit a claim to the FIAA to the extent that his or her rights against the person responsible do not pass to the social security organization in question or to the employer.

• Any recourse action by the FIAA will be prescribed after 3 years from the settlement made by the FIAA in accordance with the Law.

• The FIAA is subrogated, to the extent of the sums paid in compensation, to the injured party in his or her rights against the person who caused the accident or the Member (see definition of Member under the section “The FIAA”) in respect of which winding-up proceedings have been opened at the request of the CAA or the State Prosecutor. In order to exercise these rights, the FIAA may bring a civil action before the criminal courts.

Form for a claim of compensation

You can download the form for a claim of compensation here: docx