Automobile Guarantee Fund: Presentation

The Automobile Guarantee Fund (Fonds de Garantie Automobile – FGA), governed by the law of 16 April 2003, statutorily brings together all the insurance companies authorised to offer third-party liability insurance in respect of the use of motor vehicles in the Grand Duchy.

The Fund’s basic aim is, within the restrictions and conditions determined by law, to compensate for damages caused on Luxembourg territory by:

• uninsured vehicles
• unidentified vehicles
• vehicles covered by insolvent insurance companies

With the exception of cases with unidentified vehicles, the Automobile Guarantee Fund compensates for both material damages and physical injuries. In order to prevent potential fraudulent claims, compensation for material damages alone will not be considered in cases where the vehicle in question could not be identified or the victim has not suffered major physical injury. “Major physical injury” is deemed to mean injuries resulting in the victim’s permanent invalidity or hospitalisation for at least three days.

Following the transposition into Luxembourg law of the Fourth Motor Insurance Directive, the scope of the FGA’s intervention is substantially expanded.

Consequently, if within a period of three months from the date of submitting an application for compensation the insurer concerned has not produced a reasoned response to the elements mentioned, the victim is entitled to claim compensation from the FGA in its capacity as a Compensation Body.

Also, an injured party resident in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg who is the victim of an accident abroad (in an EEE country) is entitled to claim compensation from the FGA in the following cases:

• the foreign insurer of the vehicle involved has not designated a representative in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
• the foreign insurer, or its representative, does not adopt a position within a period of three months following the submission of the claim for compensation,
• the vehicle causing the accident outside the Grand Duchy is either not insured or not identified.

As part of its new attributions, the FGA obtains a refund of the compensation paid from the foreign insurer involved or from the foreign compensation body concerned.

Lastly, the FGA also serves as an Information Center in as much as it is required to inform on demand and without delay anyone suffering damage as a result of a car accident, of the contact details of the insurer of the vehicle concerned and, if relevant, the identity of the insurers’ representative (in the case of an insurer which is not established in the Grand Duchy).