Coverage and limits under "Third Party Liability" insurance„

What is insurance coverage?

Every insurance policy (including "Third Party Liability" for motorists) contains a description of the risks (events) that the insurer has undertaken to bear in return for the premium it receives. Therefore, insurers often speak of „"covered" and "uncovered" risk, by which they mean whether the event for which compensation is sought is provided for in the contract (or in some cases in the law) or not. 

What is an insurance limit?

The insurance limit is the maximum amount for which the insurer bears the risk under the insurance. In voluntary insurance (for example, under "Casco"), the limits are freely determined by the parties to the contract. However, there are cases in which the law determines the limit of liability.

Coverage of the compulsory motor third party liability insurance

General coatings

The coatings of the mandatory third party liability insurance“"However, unlike most other insurances, motorists' insurance is not defined in the policy.  

They are determined by The Insurance Code, thus aiming to guarantee that each insurer will be bound by uniform rules for the events covered under this insurance and will provide coverage of the same scope and content. This is also in the protection of consumers of the insurance service, who are the economically weaker party in their relations with insurance companies.

The motor third party liability insurance policy covers the insured's liability for damages caused to other people or legal entities related to the use or ownership of a vehicle. It does not matter how these damages occurred - while the vehicle was in motion or stopped.

Therefore, if I have a policy under this insurance, all events in which I have caused damage to someone else with my car will be covered. These damages are subject to compensation, and if the insurer has refused to pay you compensation or you believe that it is unreasonably low, you can always contact our team.

The insurance also covers the liability of the person who drove the vehicle, regardless of whether it was his property or not and regardless of whether he was authorized to drive the vehicle or not. The idea underlying the law here is that there should be no possibility of uncompensated damages from the possession or use of a movable property, a source of increased danger, such as any vehicle.

Special coatings

Next, some borderline situations are regulated, in which the law explicitly states that they are covered by civil liability insurance.

Such are the cases in which the driver did not have a driving license or any cases of damage caused by trailers, falling apart from movement, unsecured loads, deterioration of the driver's health condition etc.

In such situations, a dispute inevitably arises about who is responsible, and in this case the law has provided an answer to this question: the insurer is the one who must pay the compensation if the insurance contract is valid and the event is covered under the policy.

Limits on compulsory motor third party liability insurance

The limits for compulsory third party liability insurance for motorists are also set out in the Insurance Code.

The reasons for this are why the risks covered by the insurance are defined in the Code - primarily consumer protection as the weaker party in the relationship, thus all insurers are obliged to provide the same limits under "Third Party Liability" insurance. .

The limits are defined as follows:

• for non-pecuniary and material damages resulting from bodily injury or death – 10 420 000 BGN for each event, regardless of the number of injured persons;

Here, the law has determined that regardless of the number of victims, the maximum that the insurer can pay is 10,420,000 leva, this compensation is for non-pecuniary damages (find out more about these damages here) or for property damage (find out more).

For example, if I am the driver of a vehicle that hits a bus carrying 50 passengers and they suffer bodily injuries or some of them die, the insurer will pay compensation for this event up to BGN 10,420,000. If I have another accident during the validity period of the policy, the insurer will pay again up to this limit, and so on.

• for damage to property (items) – 2 100 000 leva for each event, regardless of the number of injured persons.

This only covers damage caused to property - items, regardless of whether they are movable or immovable.

So, for example, if the driver loses control and crashes the vehicle he is driving into a building, the insurer will be obliged to pay compensation for this event up to 2,100,000 leva, compensating the owners of the building.