Road traffic accident in Spain: how to claim compensation from the insurer

If you have been injured in a road traffic accident in Spain, the compulsory insurance of the vehicle at fault must compensate you for personal injury and damage to property. The procedure is set out in the Act on civil liability and insurance for motor vehicles: you first claim from the insurer, which has three months to make a reasoned offer, and only then, if there is no agreement, do you go to court.

In brief

• Claim first from the insurer of the vehicle at fault: this is compulsory before suing.
• The insurer has three months to make a reasoned offer or give a reasoned reply.
• Deadline: one year to claim; the claim interrupts that period.
• Personal injury is assessed using the statutory scale (death, permanent injuries and temporary injuries).
• If the vehicle is uninsured or the driver fled, the Insurance Compensation Consortium pays.

Who is liable

The driver is liable for personal injury caused by driving and is only exempt if they prove that it was due solely to the victim’s fault or to force majeure unrelated to driving; vehicle defects are not considered force majeure (Article 1). If the victim contributed to the damage, for example by not wearing a seatbelt or helmet, compensation may be reduced by up to 75%. The insurer of the vehicle at fault pays under the compulsory insurance, and the victim can claim directly against it (Article 7).

Step 1: the claim to the insurer

Before filing a lawsuit, you must notify the insurer of the accident and claim compensation. Under Article 7.1, the claim must include:

• The identity and details of the claimant.
• A statement of how the accident happened.
• The identity of the vehicle and the driver, if known.
• Any medical, expert or other information you have that allows the damage to be assessed.

You do not need to state an amount. The police or Guardia Civil officers who attended must provide victims with a free copy of the accident report on request.

Step 2: the reasoned offer or reply

The insurer has three months from receiving the claim to make a reasoned offer of compensation or, if it does not accept liability or the damage has not been quantified, a reasoned reply (Article 7.2). If it does not make the offer on time without good reason, it must pay late-payment interest (Article 9). If you disagree with the offer or the reply, you can use mediation or another out-of-court dispute resolution method (Article 14) or go to court.

Deadlines

The claim against the insurer is time-barred after one year. The claim interrupts that period and, when the reasoned offer or reply is notified, a new one-year period begins (Article 7.1).

How compensation is calculated

Personal injury is always assessed using the system in Title IV of the Act and the limits in its annex, known as the “baremo” (Article 1.4). It compensates death, permanent injuries and temporary injuries, each with its own table, which distinguishes basic personal losses, particular personal losses and financial losses, such as medical expenses or loss of earnings (Article 34).

If the vehicle is uninsured, the driver fled or the vehicle is foreign

• Unidentified vehicle: the Insurance Compensation Consortium compensates personal injury; damage to property only if there was significant personal injury (Article 11).
• Uninsured vehicle: the Consortium compensates personal injury and damage to property caused by an uninsured vehicle normally based in Spain.
• Stolen vehicle: the Consortium also pays.
• Accidents involving other European Economic Area countries: the law has specific rules. If you live in Spain and the insurer of the vehicle at fault does not give you a reasoned reply within three months, you can claim from the Spanish Motor Insurers’ Bureau, Ofesauto (Article 27).

How we help you

We prepare the claim to the insurer with all the medical documents, check whether the offer matches the statutory scale, negotiate and, if necessary, sue. We also help victims who live outside Spain or do not speak Spanish, at our Barcelona office or by video call. You can book your first consultation or see our service for road traffic accidents.

Legislation

• Royal Legislative Decree 8/2004, of 29 October, consolidated text of the Act on civil liability and insurance for motor vehicles (Articles 1, 7, 9, 11, 14, 27 and 34), as amended by Law 35/2015 and Law 5/2025.