Vehicle insurance in France(fr) is a compensation-based insurance policy for terrestrial motor vehicles that are insured in France and circulate on French territory, as well as in the European Economic Area and the Green Card zone.(fr)
It has been compulsory since 1958, and is governed by the French Insurance Code. Its main purpose is to provide financial support in the event of losses sustained by an insured person or a third party, particularly in the event of a traffic collision, but also for damage sustained outside the context of traffic.
Insurance companies offer a wide range of policies and cover. Each contract is specific to a particular situation. Whether it's the vehicle, the cover chosen, the policyholder or the insurance company.
Insurance contracts only take effect when a crash occurs. In this case, compensation is paid on the basis of the insured's declaration, the completed crash statement, the expert's report and the terms of the contract.
Vehicle insurance represents a major part of the insurance market.
Insurance obligation
Legislation
Vehicle insurance was made compulsory in France by the law of 27th, February 1958, which is now codified in Title I, Book 2, Regulatory Part of the Insurance Code. Compulsory insurance covers only "civil liability", i.e. damage caused to third parties and passengers.
It must cover the owner of the vehicle, any person having custody of or driving the vehicle, even if unauthorized, and passengers in the insured vehicle.(fr) It also covers damage caused by the fall of accessories or objects transported, whether occurring at the time of the fall or afterwards. It also covers unloading and loading operations.
Vehicle liability insurance requires unlimited coverage for bodily injury, with a minimum amount of 1 million euros(fr) per vehicle and per material loss.(fr) Article R. 211-7 of the French Code des assurances.
Drivers, turned down by several insurance companies, can appeal to the Bureau central de tarification. The Bureau will find insurance for the driver.(fr) Article L. 121-1 of the French Code des assurances.
Affected vehicles Vehicle insurance covers "any vehicle designed for the transport of people or goods moving on the ground and powered by a motive force", as well as trailers, including those that are not coupled.
Thus, it covers cars, trucks, motorcycles, scooters, tractors, construction equipment and electric scooters, as well as self-propelled lawnmowers, caravans, trailers, forklift trucks and battery-powered children's buggies (although an isolated ruling by the 2nd Civil Chamber of the French Supreme Court on March 4, 1988, excludes a battery-powered miniature car, a ruling which has been criticized(fr) Cour de Cassation, Chambre civile 2, du 4 mars 1998, 96-12.242, (read online).). On the other hand, such vehicles are generally included in home insurance policies.(fr)
The notion of registration has no bearing on the obligation to insure.(fr) Article L211-1 of the French Code des assurances.
Geographical area
Vehicle insurance taken out in France allows you to drive in all the countries indicated on your "green card". Depending on the type of insurance, some countries in the green card zone may not be insured - in which case they are crossed out on the green card - but the overseas collectivities and the European Union and European Economic Area form a single, non-optional block.
A car insured in a country in the Green Card zone remains insured (in the Green Card sense) when driving in France, without having to modify its contract. When a car insured in France leaves the Green Card zone, it must take out specific insurance for the country in which it is to be driven. This also applies when a vehicle arrives from a country outside the green card zone, with the exception of state vehicles.(fr) Article R. 211-25 of the French Code des assurances. It must take out insurance for the period during which it is to be driven in France.
Non-insured vehicles entering France must take out frontier insurance, which can be obtained from customs on entry.(fr) Article R. 211-23 of the French Code des assurances.
In the event of a claim between a French vehicle and a foreign vehicle in the green card zone, the IRSA convention does not apply, which means that the processing time for claims is much longer. Guarantees and limits will be those of the country where the loss occurs, unless the contract is more favorable.(fr) Article L. 211-4 of the French Code des assurances.
Insurance can be taken out either in the country where the vehicle is registered, or with an insurance company in the country of residence of the "guardian".The "guardian" is the person who has regular custody of a vehicle, without necessarily being the owner.
For stays of more than three months outside France, it's advisable to take out insurance in the country where the stay is taking place.
Credentials
The green card is a document that serves as a presumption of compliance with the insurance obligation. It is accompanied by the insurance certificate, which must be affixed to the vehicle's windshield.(fr) Decree No. 85-879 of August 22, 1985 "relatif à l'affichage sur les véhicules d'un certificat d'assurance"; current codification: article A.211-10 of the French Code des Assurances. The green card also specifies all the countries in which the insurance is valid.
The information statement is a document issued by the insurance company at the policyholder's request, detailing his or her bonus and claims record over the last five years. It must specify the driver(s) named in the contract, the nature of the claims (bodily injury or material damage) and the driver's share of responsibility, the identity of the at-fault driver, the coverage period and the reduction/increase coefficient at the anniversary date.(fr) Article A. 121-1 of the French Code des assurances.
History
Chronology of vehicle insurance in France The history of Vehicle insurance in France began in 1929,(fr) with the creation of the French Central Bureau of Insurance Companies for the study of automobile crash statistics. On July 13, 1930, in light of the increase in automobile traffic, the legislature decided to regulate vehicle insurance.
As World War II came to an end, road traffic increased,Specifically on page 689. In 1950 there were 1,525,000 cars compared with 11,860,000 in 1970. as did the number of casualties. To raise public awareness, insurance companies, with the help of the Union Routière de France, took the initiative in 1949 of creating the Prévention Routière. This organization's mission is to encourage, study and implement measures aimed at reducing the frequency and severity of traffic violence. It set up an information and public awareness network. In 1972, it was reinforced by the Comité Interministériel de la Sécurité Routière (Interministerial Road Safety Committee). Its aim was to make road users aware of the risk factors associated with driving: speed, alcohol, non-use of seat belts, fatigue, etc.
At the time, insurance was not compulsory, which meant that victims could find themselves doubly injured in the event of a serious bodily injury crash: if the drivers responsible did not have the means to compensate the victims themselves, the latter would not only have to bear the cost of their injuries, but also receive no compensation. To put an end to this injustice, the law of December 31, 1951 created the Fonds de garantie automobile (FGA). Its purpose was to pay compensation to victims of personal injury crashes caused by vehicles whose drivers were unknown, uninsured or insolvent. The FGA's financial limits soon became apparent. Most cars were insured, although two-wheelers had the least coverage rates and were the most exposed to serious injury.(fr) Yvonne Lambert-Faivre and Laurent Leveneur, Droit des assurances, Paris, Dalloz Précis, 2005, 12th ed., 918 p. (, , p. 658)Précis edition 11 page 535, précis edition 12 gives the same sentence but no figure. Six years later, on 27 February 1958, legislators decided to make Vehicle insurance compulsory for all.
In 1955, the Bureau commun automobile (BCA) was created, bringing together independent automobile adjusters to rapidly estimate the cost of claims on behalf of insurance companies. The BCA succeeded the 1954 Convention Expertise.The purpose of the appraisal agreement is to entrust companies with the appraisal of repairs. The entire profession draws up a list of independent experts whose reports will not be contested for small sums. In 2003, the amount was €6,500 exclusive of tax. However, the adjusting profession did not organize itself until 1972.
On May 1, 1968, the Convention d'Indemnité Direct des Assurances (IDA) was introduced, enabling insurance companies to compensate policyholders directly, without waiting for the outcome of a more lengthy recourse procedure under ordinary law. The convention introduced a liability scale to simplify procedures between insurance companies. This agreement facilitated the processing of almost 80% of claims. In 1974, it became the Convention inter sociétés de règlement des sinistres automobile (IRSA).
To reward good drivers and penalize bad ones, the legislator introduced the bonus-malus system on June 11, 1976.(fr) However, its existence was challenged by the Brussels Commission, which considered that it undermined free competition and contravened the third directive regulating non-life insurance, which came into force on July 1, 1994. But on September 8, 2004, the European Court of Justice ruled in favor of the French system.(fr)
On October 1, 1977, the application of the Convention d'indemnisation des accidents corporels (IDAC) came into force, with the aim of improving the time taken to compensate bodily injury claims.
In the wake of the Charoy affair,(fr) public authorities realized that members of the driver's or insured's family were not automatically insured in the same way as third parties. Indeed, Article L. 211-1 § 5 of the French Insurance Code did not consider them to be third parties until January 7, 1981.(fr) Prior to this law, if the driver did not take out special insurance for his family, its members were not compensated in the event of a crash. The change in the law in their favor meant that passengers were systematically insured, without having to take out a special option.
On July 13, 1982, all insurance contracts covering damage to property were required to include cover against natural disasters.
In the event of a traffic crash, ordinary civil liability under articles 1382 and following of the French Civil Code applied.(fr) This posed problems when it came to establishing a fair system of compensation for bodily injury, as the driver may be totally or partially exonerated from liability in the event of an extraneous cause.
On July 21, 1982, the Second Civil Chamber of the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) handed down a controversial ruling known as the "Desmares ruling", launching an all-or-nothing policy to the detriment of victims. If the victim was at fault, he or she had no recourse against the driver. Added to this is the fact that the number of people injured on the roads is rising, approaching 300,000 a year.In 1972, there were 388,363 casualties, and the number of people injured exceeded 300,000 a year until 1983. Some judges refused to apply this ruling, creating an imbalance between courts. To ensure that no traffic violence victim went without compensation, the Badinter Law was passed on July 5, 1985, and came into force on January 1, 1986.
On January 1, 1986, the Convention d'indemnisation pour le compte d'autrui (ICA) was introduced. It was succeeded on April 1, 2002, by the Convention d'indemnisation et de recours corporel automobile (IRCA).