Claims after an accident: injuries, uninsured drivers and hit-and-run

Terms used

• Parte amistoso — The parte amistoso is the joint accident statement both drivers fill in and sign after a collision.
• Baremo — The baremo is the official scale of amounts used to value compensation for deaths and injuries in traffic accidents.
• Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros — The Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros is a state-backed body that pays traffic victims when no insurer can.
• Interés por mora — Interés por mora is default interest an insurer owes when it is late to pay or offer.

Key rules

• Claim limit: Claims generally must be brought within 1 year, counted from the accident or, for injuries, from medical discharge.
• Insurer reply: Once you claim, the insurer has 3 months to make a reasoned offer or explain why it will not.
• Written claim: Send every claim in writing and keep proof it was received.
• No insurer: If the other vehicle is uninsured or unknown, claim from the Consorcio instead.

The short version

Claim in writing, and do it early. You have 1 year to bring a claim. Most vehicle-damage claims go through your own insurer. If the other vehicle is uninsured or drives off, the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros (the Consorcio) can pay instead.

Claiming through insurers

Fill in the parte amistoso (the joint accident statement) and send it to your own insurer within 7 days. Your insurer then usually handles and pays for the repair. You do not have to prove who was at fault. This works through an agreement between insurers, and it applies to collisions between two insured vehicles with fairly small, mostly property damage. Ask your insurer whether your claim falls under it.

The agreement does not usually cover injuries, uninsured vehicles, foreign vehicles or crashes with more than two vehicles. If fault is disputed, or the agreement does not apply, you can claim directly from the other driver's insurer. You only need the plate to find it.

Keep proof that the insurer received your claim. A written claim also restarts the time limit.

What the insurer must do

Once you claim, the insurer has 3 months to make a reasoned offer or explain why it will not. For damage to your vehicle, it has 5 working days to appraise the damage once the vehicle is available to it. It must then make an offer within the following 10 days.

If the insurer neither pays nor offers within the 3 months, default interest (interés por mora) starts to build up on what it owes. The rate is above the legal interest rate and rises after the first two years. The insurer must also pay any amount that is not in dispute.

If you get an offer, you have the same 3 months to accept or reject it. Compare it with the current year's baremo amounts first.

How injuries are valued: the baremo

The baremo is the official scale that sets compensation for traffic accident victims. It covers three things:

• Death: the amount depends on the victim's age and on who the relative is (spouse, children, parents, siblings and others).
• Lasting injuries (sequelae): you get points from 0 to 100, valued by your age. Extra amounts can apply for economic loss and special damage.
• Temporary injuries: a daily amount, higher if you were in hospital, with extra for surgery and for the effect on daily life.

Medical expenses, lost earnings and the cost of care are paid separately. Keep every bill, discharge report and proof of lost pay. If you have lasting injuries, get a medical forensic report, because it is the usual basis for the points. The amounts are updated every year, so use the current figures.

When the Consorcio pays

The Consorcio pays victims when:

• the vehicle that caused the accident is uninsured;
• the vehicle is unknown, for example a hit-and-run. Injuries are covered. Property damage is covered only in limited cases linked to serious injuries;
• the vehicle was stolen;
• the insurer is insolvent or being wound up;
• the insurer is not authorised;
• the vehicle is foreign and has no valid insurance.

To claim, fill in the Consorcio's traffic accident claim form. Send it to the nearest provincial office or file it online. The documents are listed below. File as soon as you can, and before the 1-year limit ends. The Consorcio then has to make a reasoned offer or reply, generally within 3 months. If it rejects your claim, you can go to court.

Time limits

The limit is 1 year. For damage you can see straight away, it runs from the accident. For injuries, it runs from your medical discharge, or from when the lasting effects are stable and known. A written claim to the insurer, or a court claim, restarts the clock. Do not rely on that, because the start date is often disputed.

Catalonia has its own civil law with a longer period, 3 years. Do not rely on it. Claim within 1 year anyway.

If there is a criminal case, different timing applies to the civil claim while it is open. Ask a lawyer in that case.

Where to go next

The timeline, documents list and checklist below set out the steps. The "what if" below covers uninsured, foreign and hit-and-run drivers.

Timeline and deadlines

• Make your claim in writing to the insurer, or to the Consorcio if there is no insurer: as soon as possible, which also restarts the clock on the time limit

• The insurer appraises the damage to your vehicle: within 5 working days of you making the vehicle available

• The insurer makes an offer for the vehicle damage: within the 10 days after the appraisal

• The insurer makes a reasoned offer, or explains why it will not: within 3 months of your claim

• Accept or reject the offer: within the 3 months after you receive it

• Default interest starts to build up if the insurer has not paid or offered: after the 3 months have passed

• Last day to bring the claim: 1 year from the accident or, for injuries, from your medical discharge

Documents you need

• The Consorcio's claim form for traffic accidents, from its website or the nearest provincial office

• Your ID

• A written description of the accident

• The police or Guardia Civil accident report (atestado), or the report you filed with the police (denuncia)

• Medical reports and bills, and the medical discharge once you have it

• The details of the vehicle that hit you, including the plate if you know it

• Proof that you own your vehicle, and repair estimates, if you claim for vehicle damage

Checklist

• Fill in the parte amistoso and send it to your own insurer so it can handle a vehicle-damage claim.

• Ask your insurer whether your claim falls under the direct-compensation agreement between insurers.

• Keep every medical bill, discharge report and proof of lost earnings for the separate payments.

• File the Consorcio claim form with the nearest provincial office or online if the other vehicle is uninsured, unknown, stolen or its insurer has failed.

• Compare any offer with the current year's baremo amounts before you accept or reject it.

• Ask the insurer to pay the undisputed part of the amount while the rest is still being discussed.

What if the other driver is uninsured, foreign or drives off?

The route depends on what is wrong with the other driver. Check their insurance first, then follow the matching route below.

Check whether the other driver is insured

Look up the plate in the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros' online vehicle insurance check. It is free and open to people involved in an accident. It shows whether the car has compulsory insurance in force and which insurer holds it. It does not show the policy number or the owner's personal details.

• Have the plate number ready. You may also be asked for the accident date.
• It works for Spanish-registered vehicles only. For a foreign plate, use the foreign-vehicle route below.

The other driver is uninsured

Claim from the Consorcio. It compensates injured people when the vehicle that caused the accident has no insurance. It can also pay for some property damage when the driver is known but uninsured. It acts too when the vehicle was stolen, the insurer is insolvent or not authorised, or a foreign vehicle has no valid cover.

Keep the police report (atestado) and photos of the damage. Tell your own insurer too, because your policy may cover your car.

The other driver is foreign

For a car from another EEA country or a Green Card country, go through Ofesauto, Spain's national insurers' bureau.

1. Write down the foreign plate, the country, the insurer and the policy or Green Card details.
2. Complete the joint accident form (amistoso) if the other driver will do so.
3. Ask Ofesauto to identify the foreign insurer and its claims representative in Spain. Each foreign insurer must appoint one.
4. Claim directly from that representative. It must reply with a reasoned offer within three months.

If the foreign vehicle turns out to be uninsured or cannot be identified, apply to the Consorcio instead. You can also sue directly in the Spanish courts. Confirm Ofesauto's current contact details before you write.

The other driver drives off

Do these in order:

1. Note the plate, make, model, colour and direction of travel. Ask witnesses to stay or leave their contact details.
2. Call 112 straight away, especially if anyone is hurt. Leaving the scene without helping an injured person can be a crime.
3. Wait for the Guardia Civil or police to draw up the atestado. If nobody attends, file a report (denuncia) at a police station promptly.
4. Photograph the scene and look for CCTV or dashcam footage.
5. Tell your own insurer promptly, usually within 7 days.

What gets paid depends on the damage:

• Injuries: if the driver is never identified, the Consorcio pays compensation for injuries and deaths in full, under the legal scale used for all traffic injuries.
• Your car: the Consorcio pays for property damage only if the accident also caused a death or a serious injury. Even then, a fixed excess (franquicia) is deducted. Ask the Consorcio for the current amount.
• No serious injury: the Consorcio does not cover your car. Only comprehensive (todo riesgo) cover on your own policy can.

Frequently asked questions

Does my own insurer handle my claim if I am injured?

Usually no, because the agreement under which your own insurer pays you directly normally covers only small vehicle damage, not bodily injury. For injuries, claim directly from the other driver's insurer using the plate number.

Who sets how much I get for my injuries?

A national compensation scale, the baremo, sets the amounts. For lasting injuries it gives points from 0 to 100, valued by your age, and a medical forensic report is the usual basis for the points. For temporary injuries you get a daily amount, higher if you were in hospital.

When does the Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros pay instead of an insurer?

The Consorcio pays when the vehicle that caused the accident is uninsured, stolen, unknown or foreign without valid insurance. It also steps in when the insurer is insolvent, under liquidation or not authorised.

What happens if the insurer is late with its offer?

If the insurer neither pays nor offers within the legal time, it owes you default interest on top of the amount. The rate is the legal interest rate plus 50 percent, and after two years it rises to at least 20 percent. The insurer must also pay any part of the amount that nobody disputes.

Is the time limit the same in Catalonia?

No, Catalonia's civil law has a different period of 3 years for these claims. Claims in the rest of Spain follow the general limit. While a criminal case is open, the period for the civil claim also works differently, so ask a lawyer before relying on it.