8.1 Introduction

The purpose of this study is to provide a roadmap that could help in finding one's way through the forest of rules and regulations regarding claim settlement under compulsory motor third party liability (MTPL) insurance following an accident with a motor vehicle in international traffic.

In this book, an 'international traffic accident' covers two types of accidents: either the accident is caused in the country of residence of the injured party by a visiting motor vehicle, or a visitor of a country other than the country of his residence becomes the victim of an accident. Various schemes offer a solution to the problem that arises, which is that the injured party must recover his damages in a country other than the country of his residence: on the one hand there is the green card system, as reinforced by successive Directives of the European Union (EU), which provides for protection of injured parties who suffer damages in their country of residence due to a visiting motor vehicle, and on the other hand there is the 4th Directive, which introduced protection for a 'visiting victim' of a motor vehicle accident. The successive Directives have, in principle, provided the injured party with a party in his own country - an insurer, a Bureau, a guarantee fund, a claims representative or a compensation body - to which he can present his claim. In addition the level of protection provided to the victim has been strengthened and improved over the years as well. And finally, the directives have strengthened the position of the insured liable person, as they have reduced the chance that his liability turns out to be uninsured.

The roadmap is the result of an analysis of the answers to three questions, which arise in relation to each claim in international road traffic. The first question is to whom the injured party in the given circumstances of the accident can present his claim to obtain compensation for his damages. The second question investigates - mainly on the basis of EU law - the minimum level of protection to which the victim is entitled. This concerns not only the content and scope of the coverage under the insurance policy of the liable person, but also the protection that is offered by guarantee funds and compensation bodies in the absence of an insurer. The position of the injured party is also strengthened by rules of procedure for claims handling.

The third question is how the financial burden of the accident once the claim has been settled with the victim is transferred through reimbursement to the insurer or the guarantee fund in the country of the responsible motorist. The focus lies on the Agreements between the Green Card Bureaux, compensation bodies and guarantee funds.

My study identifies a number of possible improvements, both at European and national (Dutch) level. The most significant of these will be discussed in the final chapter.