A quarter million cars uninsured in Poland
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
25.09.2015 12:12
As many as 250,000 Polish drivers have not insured their cars, which is a legal requirement in the country.
Rush hour traffic in Warsaw. Photo: PR
Just last year, more than 6,000 accidents were caused by uninsured drivers or those who fled the scene.
For the victims, this often means a long battle for compensation.
Accidents caused by drivers who do not own compulsory third party liability insurance account for nearly one-fifth of all traffic violations.
According to Damian Kuraś from the European Compensation Centre – the Insurance Guarantee Fund – which should provide compensation in these cases, this high number of uninsured drivers not only delayed payments in many cases, but decreased the actual amounts paid.
There are also cases in which the Fund assumes that the victim contributed to the accident, which further reduces compensation.
It is illegal to drive an uninsured car in Poland, with drivers paying fines if they are caught using such a car on public roads. (rg/rk)