The Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance

The Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance („MTPL insurance“) in the Czech Republic is a compulsory liability insurance related to compensation of any damage to health and property caused by operation of a vehicle. MTPL insurance is regulated by Act No. 168/1999 Coll. MTPL insurance must be concluded for all registered road vehicles and their trailers, including trolleybuses, and for unregistered vehicles that are operated or parked on the public road. The MTPL insurance applies to the territory of the Czech Republic and further to the territory of all EU Member States and other states that are listed on the "Green Card" (also known as the International Car Insurance Card) issued by the insurer immediately after the conclusion of the insurance contract.

Information for participants of a traffic accident in the Czech Republic

If you have caused damage by your vehicle in the Czech Republic

Tell the injured party your name, surname and place of residence, name, surname and place of residence or company name and registered office of the vehicle owner, company name and registered office of the insurer, with whom the MTPL Insurance was concluded, and the insurance contract number, registration (plate) number of your vehicle, with which the damage was caused.

Call the Police of the Czech Republic in case that a person is injured or killed during a traffic accident, a material damage exceeds the amount of CZK 100.000 or a material damage was caused to a property of a third party. Breach of the obligation to report a traffic accident to the Police of the Czech Republic is considered as an offence. Assistance of the Police of the Czech Republic by the traffic accident is free of charge.. If a traffic accident is investigated by the Police of the Czech Republic, sign the police protocol only if you agree to its wording. Otherwise, state your reservations in it.

In case participants involved in a traffic accident have no obligation to report a traffic accident to the police participants are required to fill in the traffic accident form, sign it and immediately hand it over to the insurer. The form must contain relevant data regarding a traffic accident (date, time and place, identification of participants and vehicles, description of the cause, course and consequences of a traffic accident). It is recommended to take photo documentation of the place of a traffic accident and damaged car parts, ideally from multiple angles. It is appropriate to use the "European Accident Record" form. The template of the form (in Czech) can be downloaded from the Ministry of Transport's website (www.mdcr.cz), it is recommended to have this form printed with you for the case of need.

Write down contact details of traffic accident participants and witnesses.

Without any delay notify your insurer in writing that a loss event has occurred, submit relevant documents specifying all facts of this loss event including a statement of requested compensation and its amount. Follow your insurer's instructions during the investigation. The injured party's right to compensation will be investigated within 3 months from the date of filing a claim and the insurer will inform you about an amount of insurance cover or provide an explanation of rejected or reduced claims.

In case the injured party resides in another state the person who caused the accident provides him/her documents for claiming his/her right to compensation and notify his/her own insurer that a loss event has occurred.

If anyone else has caused damage to you by his vehicle in the Czech Republic

Find out from the offender (if possible by examination of his/her documents) name, surname and place of residence, name, surname and place of residence or company name and registered office of the vehicle owner, registration (plate) number and international code of the country of registration of the vehicle by which the damage was caused, company name and registered office of the insurer, with whom the MTPL Insurance was concluded and the insurance contract number. In case the vehicle with which the damage was caused is registered abroad, find out also the Green Card number and its time validity or the frontier insurance number of such vehicle and if it is possible make a copy of these documents.

The rules for reporting a traffic accident to the Police of the Czech Republic or filling up the traffic accident form (optimally the "European Report of a Traffic Accident" form) are the same as those described above for all traffic accidents in the Czech Republic.

Write down contact details of traffic accident participants and witnesses.. Provide your name and address to any participant of the traffic accident who ask you for it.

You should contact the relevant MTPL insurer of the offender with your claim for compensation and with all relevant documentation which could prove the liability of the driver or operator of other vehicle for the damage. In case the damage was caused by the operation of an unidentified vehicle or by a person without the MTPL insurance the injured party can contact the Czech Insurers' Bureau which provides compensation from the guarantee fund. The insurer or the Czech Insurers' Bureau will investigate announced loss event within 3 months from the date of filing a claim and inform about amount of insurance cover or provide an explanation of rejected or reduced claims.

If the offender of a traffic accident is a driver of a vehicle registered abroad apply the same rules and procedures as in case of an accident involving Czech citizens. Search out the information on a claims representative appointed by offender‘s MTPL insurer in an information centre on the website of The Czech Insurers' Bureau. The claims representative will handle your claim for compensation and ensure payment of compensation. In case no claims representative is appointed notify the Czech Insurers' Bureau which is under an obligation to provide compensation.

Minimum insurance coverage

Indemnity limits represent the maximum amount paid in case a loss event occurs. The minimum statutory insurance limit is CZK 35.000.000 per injured or killed and CZK 35.000.000 for damage to property for all injured. Practically, it means that in case of a traffic accident the insurance undertaking will pay to the injured party the actual amount of damage up to the maximum agreed insurance limits.

The Motor Liability Insurance covers namely (for details see Section 6 (2) Act No. 168/1999 Coll.):

• damage caused by bodily harm or by killing
• cost of caring for an injured animal and costs caused by damage, destruction or loss of the object, or theft of the object
• loss of profits
• legal representation costs for the above claims etc.

The Motor Liability Insurance does not cover namely (for details see Section 7 (1, 2, 3) Act No. 168/1999 Coll.):

• damage caused to the traffic accident offender
• damage caused to the offender’s vehicle and to objects transported by offender’s vehicle
• treatment costs, sickness insurance benefits and pension insurance due to personal injury or death caused to the offender of the traffic accident etc.

If the injured party disagrees with the amount of compensation

The injured party claims compensation from the relevant insurer of the traffic accident’s offender.

The injured party's right to compensation will be investigated within 3 months from the date of claiming and the insurer will notify the amount of indemnity or provide an explanation of rejected or reduced claims. If the injured party does not receive this notification within 3 months, he/she has an opportunity to complain to the Czech National Bank about the procedure of the insurance undertaking. The Czech National Bank is an insurance supervisory authority in the Czech Republic. If the injured party is not satisfied with the amount of compensation, he/she can send a complaint to address of the registered office of the insurer. The insurer will notify the complainant without undue delay of the receiving of the complaint and of the manner and period to settle the complaint. In case the required compensation has not been achieved, the injured party has a possibility to turn to the competent court.

Emergency telephone number 112

Emergency telephone number 112 is a common emergency telephone number available in all EU Member States and also in Lichtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and Iceland. The number 112 can be dialed free of charge from most mobile telephones and, in some countries, from fixed telephones in order to reach emergency services (ambulance, fire brigade, police). A specially trained emergency operator will recommend a suitable procedure in Czech, English or German.

Assistance services

Arranging for assistance services is strongly recommended. The insurance undertaking provides supplementary assistance services together with the MTPL insurance or motor hull insurance. Basic assistance is used in case of a vehicle accident and it is advisable to extend it to a vehicle breakdown.

Determination of the amount of premium and taking into account the history of claims

In the Czech Republic the insurer is obliged to take into account the history of claims of MTPL Insurance so-called Bonus/Malus system while determining the premium. The insurer provides a discount on premium in case of no traffic accidents. If a loss event has occurred, the premium increases. If the policyholder asks the insurer to provide him/her with a statement of all previous claims, the insurer is obliged to provide it within 15 days. Other criteria influencing the premium are e.g. vehicle category, engine capacity or engine power, selected limit of indemnity and the segmentation criteria (age, residence of the vehicle owner, age of the vehicle, etc.).

Where to obtain detailed information

• The relevant insurance undertaking, eventually its claims representative
• The Czech Insurers’ Bureau, which:
  •  runs the information centre for the injured parties, operates the list of claims representatives of Czech insurers placed in other EU Member States and the list of foreign claims representatives appointed in The Czech Republic - website www.ckp.cz
  •  operates the guarantee fund, carries on frontier insurance and operates the driver assistance line 1224
• The Ministry of Transport - the form „European Report of a Traffic Accident“ can be downloaded

Where to dispute a decision taken by the insurance undertaking

• The responsible court in the Czech Republic
• The Czech National Bank as an insurance supervisory authority - in case of complaint about a procedure of the insurance undertaking (www.cnb.cz)