More protection for traffic accident victims and new mandatory insurance

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The concepts of motor vehicle and use of a vehicle are expanded for mandatory insurance purposes. It now covers any use of the vehicle as a means of transport, even when parked or driven off a road, following European Court of Justice rulings.
2. The minimum amounts of mandatory insurance go up: 70 million euros per accident for personal injury and 15 million euros for property damage.
3. If the vehicle causing the accident is insured by an insolvent company, the Insurance Compensation Consortium will compensate victims in Spain, and OFESAUTOOFESAUTO The Spanish office that helps victims of accidents caused by foreign vehicles. if the accident happens abroad. Both can claim reimbursement from the insurer's home state.
4. Compensation rules for victims improve: the settlement offer must be more detailed, victims can turn to the Institutes of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences, and the calculation tables are updated using the consumer price index instead of the pension index.
5. Compensation for death, permanent injuries and temporary injuries improves, with specific rules for people doing household work and a minimum income equal to the minimum wage when calculating lost earnings.
6. A mandatory civil liability insurance is created for light personal vehicles, such as e-scooters that meet certain requirements, with minimum coverage of 6,450,000 euros for personal injury and 1,300,000 euros for property damage. It takes effect on January 2, 2026.
7. Vehicles that now count as motor vehicles have six months from the law's publication to take out mandatory insurance. During that period they cannot be fined for lacking it.
8. Oversight of insurance companies is strengthened: the supervisor can suspend or remove executives who fail fitness requirements, and companies can be required to prepare preventive recovery plans when their finances deteriorate.

Who it affects

• Drivers and owners of motor vehicles: They must keep mandatory insurance, with higher coverage amounts and new rules on what counts as use of a vehicle.
• Users of e-scooters and light personal vehicles: From January 2, 2026, if their vehicle is registered and can be driven, they must take out mandatory liability insurance.
• Traffic accident victims and their families: They will receive compensation calculated with improved criteria, more complete settlement offers and access to forensic reports.
• Insurance companies: New information duties, fitness checks on their executives and possible preventive recovery plans.
• Taxi policyholders: Insurers must give them more transparency about premiums, risk factors and renewal conditions.

Words worth knowing

Oferta motivada (settlement offer)

A written proposal the insurer must send the victim stating the compensation amount and the documents it is based on.

Consorcio de Compensación de Seguros

A public body that compensates victims when there is no insurance or the insurer cannot pay.

Lucro cesante (lost earnings)

The income the victim stops receiving because of the accident, such as lost wages.

OFESAUTO

The Spanish office that helps victims of accidents caused by foreign vehicles.

Vehículo personal ligero (light personal vehicle)

A small one-seat vehicle powered only by an electric motor, such as an e-scooter, with speed limits depending on its weight.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries