The Victims’ Guarantee Fund, which takes care of the situation in the event of a lack of insurance, warns in its annual barometer of the number of drivers who drive without insurance. In 2023, nearly 8,000 people were victims of an accident involving an uninsured driver or an unidentified driver (hit and run). In this case, the Guarantee Fund advances the payment of compensation to the victim or their loved ones when they die.
However, the number of victims compensated is lower than in 2022. The Guarantee Fund attributes this in part to the 8.3% reduction in bodily accidents between 2019 and 2023 recorded by Road Safety and the impact of its prevention campaigns.
137.4 million disbursed in 2023 to compensate victims
However, for 2023, the Guarantee Fund disbursed €137.4 million to compensate victims, an increase of 28% compared to 2022. An increase in costs attributable to the large number of seriously injured victims compensated and the ever-increasing amounts awarded by the courts.
The organisation is sounding the alarm and warning of the “worrying level” of road safety. The three departments with the most accidents involving uninsured drivers are in the Ile-de-France region: Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne and Paris.
This lack of insurance is not without consequences for the driver involved. Once the advance payment has been secured, the Guarantee Fund turns against the uninsured driver to obtain reimbursement of the sums paid, and the amounts are increased by 10%. As the press release notes: “Depending on the severity of the accident, these amounts can reach hundreds of thousands, even millions of euros.”
The authors responsible were in debt to the Guarantee Fund for many years, even for life,” the barometer notes.
The Fund is pursuing 15,000 delinquent drivers to recover their advances.
Mandatory civil liability insurance for all drivers
To combat this “scourge”, the Fund is carrying out awareness campaigns and reminding people that taking out liability insurance, also known as third-party insurance, is mandatory for all drivers. Obviously, if it is already possible to drive without the famous insurance sticker removed last April, the obligation to take out at least liability insurance remains the same. Insurance control is now carried out electronically, via the file of insured vehicles. This insurance obligation also affects drivers of electric scooters.
According to the Guarantee Fund’s barometer, workers, students and unemployed or inactive people make up the majority of uninsured drivers. They are mainly young people: 60% of uninsured drivers are under 35 years old. The high monthly fees for young drivers who pay a high price to start driving are particularly noteworthy.
Lack of insurance is punishable by a fixed fine of 750 euros. In the event of a repeat offence, the fine can reach 3,750 euros, accompanied by additional penalties.
Source: BFM TV
