Obligation to call the police in case of a traffic accident with damage to property and the exercise of insurance rights

Published on 2 February 2021

What does the Road Traffic Safety Act say?

Articles 174 – 182 of the Road Traffic Safety Act¹ lay down the obligations in the event of a road traffic accident, stating that, in the event of a road traffic accident causing only damage to vehicles, there is no statutory obligation to inform the police of the accident. This can also be found on the website of the Ministry of the Interior, describing the procedure for citizens in case of a traffic accident, and it reads, among other things:

“Drivers who are involved in a traffic accident in which only vehicles were damaged must, if possible, immediately remove the vehicles from the roadway, enable the flow of traffic to continue unimpeded, and fill out and sign the European Accident Statement or exchange personal and vehicle information in another way.”

Is the completed European Accident Statement sufficient evidence to exercise the rights from the compulsory traffic insurance?

Nevertheless, it is important to point out that the procedure for the exercise of insurance rights due to vehicle damage caused by a road traffic accident may sometimes be made difficult by insurance companies, if there is no police record/statement of a road traffic accident. The European Accident Statement is a unique form whose purpose is to establish the facts, but it does not necessarily mean that the drivers agree on who caused the traffic accident, nor does signing it actually stands for admitting the liability. This means that a signed European Accident Statement does not guarantee that the insurance claim for damage to a vehicle will be automatically justified as, despite its existence, insurance companies may consider it necessary to further demonstrate the origin of damage and the causal link for damage to vehicles. As a rule, in such situations it will be necessary to enable the insurance company to investigate damage to all vehicles involved in the traffic accident.

Furthermore, if the police have not been informed about the accident, it is advisable to, to the extent possible, document the damage at the accident site:

1. photograph the position of all vehicles immediately after the accident
2. photograph the site of the accident
3. photograph damage to vehicles, brake marks and other significant traces at the road accident site, on vehicles and on the pavement, from a distance and at close range
4. collect contact details of the witnesses to the accident.

Nonetheless, it is advisable to notify the police of a traffic accident:

1. where the other road accident participant refuses to provide personal or vehicle data or leaves the scene of the road accident
2. if there are conflicting opinions about liability
3. in the event of a collision with an unregistered vehicle
4. in the event of a collision with a vehicle with foreign license plates
5. if the driver is under the influence of alcohol, does not have a driver’s licence, etc.

¹ (Official Gazette, No 67/08, 48/10, 74/11, 80/13, 158/13, 92/14, 64/15, 108/17, 70/19, 42/20)

When to call the police in case of comprehensive car insurance?

The most important thing when concluding a comprehensive car insurance contract is to carefully read the terms and conditions of insurance, and to be informed on time about the rights and obligations under the contract being concluded. The terms and conditions for the comprehensive car insurance of various insurance companies regulate this issue in different ways, and it is possible that, in certain cases where there is no legal obligation to inform the police of an adverse event, certain insurance conditions may require differently.  Some insurance companies, in certain cases, stipulate the obligation to inform the police of the occurrence of the insured case and to present a police record/statement when submitting a damage report, an obligation to examine the intoxication of the driver etc., and define the consequences of failure to act accordingly. It should be noted that insurance companies define the terms and conditions of comprehensive car insurance independently, and they do not need to be authorised by Hanfa. In this regard, in its public announcement of 27 November 2020, Hanfa published a table setting out, among other things, a comparative overview of the provisions of the terms and conditions of comprehensive car insurance of the companies offering such insurance, namely the provisions relating to the exercise of insurance rights in the event of driver intoxication and the provisions relating to the obligation to report the occurrence of the insured case to the police. The public announcement can be found via this link: https://www.hanfa.hr/vijesti/preporuke-hanfe-društvima-za-osiguranje-uskladite-svoje- poslovanje-s-pravnim-okvirom-i-promjenama-u-pravnom-okruženju/.