BUREAU CENTRAL FRANCAIS DES SOCIETES D’ASSURANCES CONTRE LES ACCIDENTS D’AUTOMOBILES - PowerPoint Presentation

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BUREAU CENTRAL FRANCAIS

DES SOCIETES D’ASSURANCES CONTRE LES ACCIDENTS D’AUTOMOBILES

AZERBAIDJIAN INTERNATIONAL INSURANCE FORUM 3 juillet 2015

International Claims

Handling

and

the CoBSlide2

2

CA 14/06/13Welcome

AzerbaïdjanInto

the green

card

systemSlide3

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CA 14/06/13

To facilitate the cross-border road

traffic

and

To

maintain

the

degree

of protection of road

traffic

victims

Double goal of the systemSlide4

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CA 14/06/13What’s

new for an inhabitant of Azerbaïdjan

with the green card system ?

He

could

now

drive in all the countries of the green

card

system

without

paying

any

frontier

insurance

Why

?

Because

,

this

insurance

for civil

liability

that

he

has

subscribed

to,

is

valid

in all the countries of the green

cardSlide5

5

CA 14/06/13

How does it

work ?

Organisation

A

national Bureau

in

each

country

guarantor

of the

payment

and of the respect of the

rules

Correspondents

a

ppointed

by the

foreign

insurers

and

approved

by the Bureau

They

are in charge of the handling and the

settlement

of the claims

Any

insurer

or an international claim handling officeSlide6

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CA 14/06/13Geographical

scope

Limited to countries lying

to the West of

the

Ural

mountains

and the

C

aspian

sea and the countries bordering

the

Mediteranean

sea

(GA 2012)

Future

Membership

possible for :

Algeria

,

Egypt

, Lebanon,

Libya

and

Syria

Armenia, Georgia and KazakhstanSlide7

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CA 14/06/13

MapSlide8

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CA 14/06/13CoB

Council of BureauxSlide9

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CA 14/06/13CoB

as umbrella

organizationAssociation of

National

I

nsurers Bureaux

Under

the

aegis

of the United Nations (UNECE United Nations

Economic Commission for Europe).Slide10

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CA 14/06/13Functioning

of the CoB

Committees

Management

Application

Monitoring

GRC

SRC

Many

ad-hoc

committees

(

fraud

,

uninsurance

…)

All countries

are

members

of

regional

groups

which

sends

delegates

to

these

committeesSlide11

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CA 14/06/13We

have a common

rule : Internal

Regulation

art 4.4 - a)

CoB

constitution

Each

member

shall

comply

with

The constitution

Internal

R

egulations

And

with

all

decisions

made in accordance

with

the provision of

this

constitution

Explanatory

MemorandumSlide12

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CA 14/06/13

Article

7 :

Issue and delivery of Green Cards

Each Bureau = responsible

for

printing Green Cards

or

shall authorise its members to print

them

solely for vehicles registered in own country

any country where no Bureau exists provided that the member is established in that country. Not possible for transitional members

Validity: at least 15 daysSlide13

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CA 14/06/13International claims handling

andInternal

RegulationsSlide14

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CA 14/06/13

Article

2 :

Definitions

Accident

: any event causing loss or injury which may, pursuant to the law of the country where the accident occurs, fall within the scope of compulsory third party liability insurance in respect of the use of the vehicle.

Injured

party

:

any person (entity) entitled to claim compensation in respect of any loss or injury caused by a (foreign) vehicle in respect of the law of the country of accident. Slide15

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CA 14/06/13

Article

8 :

Confirmation of the validity of a green

card

Identified Green

Card

Name

of the Bureau or country code

Insurer’s name and/or code

Serial number of the

GC

Demand

for confirmation of the validity

By fax or e-mail

Definitive answer within 6 weeks

No answer within 6 weeks ==> GC = deemed to be validSlide16

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CA 14/06/13

Article

9 : False

,

unauthorised

or illegally altered Green Cards

Any GC presented in a country for which it is valid, purporting to be issued under the authority of a bureau shall be guaranteed by that bureau, even if it is false,

unauthorised

or illegally altered.

However: not where a GC relates to a vehicle which is not legally registered in the Bureau’s countrySlide17

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CA 14/06/13

Article

3 :

Handling of claims

Investigate the circumstances of the accident in which a foreign car is involved – who issued the green card (=

proactive attitude

) // if there is a nominated correspondent -> immediate transfer of the

file

If no correspondent – Bureau has to

inform immediately

the insurer or the bureau concerned

–

The Bureau is

authorised

to settle amicably or to accept service of any extra-judicial or judicial process

.

Claims Handling of the Bureau in complete autonomy – in conformity with its legislation and jurisprudence BUT in the

best interest

// on express demand

informing before taking final decisions Slide18

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CA 14/06/13

Article

3 :

Handling of claims

Procedure to be followed if settlement is in excess of the conditions or limits applicable under the compulsory MTPL insurance

→

consultation

A bureau

may

not

of its own volition or without the written consent of the insurer or Bureau concerned,

entrust the claim to any agent who is financially interestedSlide19

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CA 14/06/13

Article

2 :

Definitions

The correspondent will handle the claim

in the name

of the Bureau and on the account of the foreign insurer

Bureau

:

sets out conditions under which

it :

grants

refuses

Withdraws

the approvalSlide20

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CA 14/06/13

Article

4 :

Correspondents

Bureau can - at any time - take over the handling and settlement

Insurers and correspondents are free to arrange their mutual relations

:

reimbursements

handling

fees

BUT these agreements are not enforceable against the

BureauxSlide21

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CA 14/06/13

Article

4 :

Correspondents

Article

4.8 (new):

guarantee of the handling Bureau towards the correspondent in case the correspondent is not reimbursed by the insurer.

Guarantee = limited

to :

sums

advanced to injured party

Costs

BUT does NOT extend

to :

handling fees

late payment

interests

CONDITIONS to invoke this

guarantee :

between 6 and 9 months since demand for reimbursement sent by correspondent to insurer

prior payment of the injured party (correspondent must ADVANCE compensation)

copy of demand for reimbursement + at least 1 reminderSlide22

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CA 14/06/13

Article

5 :

Conditions of

reimbursement

Reimbursement of

sums paid as compensation to injured parties

External

services (expert, lawyer,…)

Handling fee:

15% of compensation paid

Minimum € 200

Maximum € 3 500

Delay for reimbursement : currently 2 months (Article 5.2) – Non respect: 12% late interest

Supporting documents

but without delay to

reimbursement

“

pay

first ;

argue later”Slide23

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CA 14/06/13

Article

6 :

Obligation of

guarantee

Bureau = guarantor of its members (insurers)

When

? Non respect of the reimbursement delay – currently 2 months

Amount

:

principal amount of the reimbursement demand

+

12% late

interest sums

advanced to injured party

Guaranteeing Bureau pays

within a period of 1 month

How

?

Via

online Guarantee Call

systemSlide24

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CA 14/06/13

Protection of

visitors

Goal

=

Extension of the Protection of Visitors system as established by the 4th MID towards those countries of the GC System that do not belong to the European Economic Area.

Method =

Agreement between

Bureaux

, containing two different parts (basic and optional). Each Bureau can choose whether to adhere to one or to both parts, depending on the extent of protection it wants to offer.

Difference with the 4th MID =

No comparable sanctions

mechanism ;

no compensation

body.Slide25

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CA 14/06/13

Protection of

visitors

Basic

Agreement :

Reciprocal exchange of information between

Bureaux

Supply of information towards victims of road traffic accidents occurred in a different country than their country of residence

Optional

Agreement :

Insurers have the possibility (not the obligation) to nominate claims representatives in other countries.

In case no claims representative is nominated, the Bureau engages itself to take over this role, on condition of the insurer’s approval of the claims handling by the Bureau.

Common :

No sanctions and no compensation body (« Gentlemen's Agreement »)Slide26

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CA 14/06/13Conclusion

The principal preoccupation

of the CoB

today

is

the

financial

stability

of the system

Problems

with

financial

stability

of one country

could

first influence

neighbouring

countries and

could

finally

spread

over the

overall

systemSlide27

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CA 14/06/13

Financial

Stability

Member

countries (2014):

46

Population: 940 000 000

*)

Overall vehicle fleet: 350 000 000

*)

Green Card claims: 365 000

**)

Green Card insurers: 1,371

**)

*)

UNECE

Statistics Database, latest available figures for 2010

**)

CoB

Statistics

2013Slide28

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CA 14/06/13

It’s the reason why the

CoB

demands at all the transitional members

A bank guarantee or cash deposit

A reinsurance treaty

Or could take sanctions like

Financial penalties

Temporary suspension

Termination of membershipSlide29

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CA 14/06/13

Since

1951, the green card system

works

with

the satisfaction of all

its

members

for the best protection of cross-border road

traffic victimsSlide30

Thank

you

for

your

attention

Merci de votre attention!

www.bcf.asso.fr

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