Bulgaria drafting law on insurance compensation for monetary and non-monetary damages

Following changes to the Insurance Code in December 2018 on third-party insurance claims, the Bulgarian Financial Supervision Commission is currently drafting a bill on the methodology to be used for determining the value of third-party compensation for monetary and non-monetary damages resulting from car accidents.

The 2018 changes to the Insurance Code that the bill will be based on include an increase in the number of people able to claim third-party insurance compensation in case of car accident fatalities, and limits on compensation.

The following groups of people are entitled to insurance compensation in the event of death by car accident:

• a spouse, a person with whom the deceased person cohabitated as a spouse, a child (including an adopted or raised child) or a parent (including through adoption);
• a person who suffers non-material damages based on a permanent and deep emotional connection with the deceased that causes long-term pain and suffering.

The methodology will regulate the following:

• the legal definition of terms such as “pain and suffering”, “damage”, “tort”, “car accident”;
• rules for determining monetary and non-monetary damages in case of bodily injury and compensation for medical treatment and recovery and loss of income;
• rules for determining monetary and non-monetary damages in case of death by car accident and for compensating lost profits and non-monetary damages.

The methodology to be included in the bill will be approved in early December 2019. When passed into law, the regulations will be obligatory for all insurers and liable persons when determining and paying compensation for monetary and non-monetary damages related to car accident fatalities.

For more information on this bill and Bulgaria's insurance industry, contact your regular CMS source or local CMS expert Antonia Kehayova.