Insurance compensation in case of accident with victim

Are you looking for comprehensive auto insurance? Then understand how insurance compensation works in the event of an accident with victims and how to guarantee this coverage.

Every day, millions of vehicles travel on roads and urban streets in the country, which means that the risk of accidents with victims is very high in Brazil.

Therefore, ensuring the safety of the occupants of your vehicle and/or third parties is essential when taking out car insurance.

According to a newsletter published by Seguradora Líder, the company responsible for managing DPVAT – Insurance for Personal Injuries Caused by Land Motor Vehicles, which is mandatory in Brazil.

In the first half of 2019 alone, more than 155,000 compensation payments were made to victims of traffic accidents.

This shows that the risk of an accident, which we all face in traffic every day, is very high.

Therefore, it is possible to count on other forms of contracted coverage that help the driver, passengers and other accident victims, in addition to DPVAT.

Follow this article and find out how to guarantee insurance compensation in the event of an accident with victims on your insurance and how this type of coverage works.

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What insurance coverage is available in the event of accidents involving victims?

In addition to DPVAT, which is a national and mandatory insurance, there are some insurance coverages offered by private companies that guarantee compensation in cases of accidents with victims.

These coverages are:

1. Passenger Personal Accident Insurance Compensation – APP

This modality aims to provide insurance compensation to passengers who were being transported in the insured vehicle that was involved in an accident, or their beneficiaries, if they suffered serious injuries or death.

The value of this coverage is generally chosen by the insured and must be stipulated in the contract.

This is an additional insurance, which can be purchased when purchasing vehicle insurance.

There are different types of contracts, where the guarantee options apply to material damage, bodily injury and damage to passengers.

2. Third party insurance – RCF or Optional Civil Liability

This type of coverage guarantees compensation for material damages caused to third parties in the event of an accident, caused by the insured.

Generally, this coverage only covers cases of material and bodily damage, including reimbursement of medical and hospital expenses in the case of victims.

Bodily injury coverage usually also includes compensation caused by partial or total disability caused to a third party and compensation for death in transit, for which the insured is responsible.

In addition, some insurance companies still offer moral damages coverage within their third-party insurance coverage.

This includes expenses for legal fees and possible legal proceedings.

Compensation will be paid within the amount contracted in the policy.

Generally, the minimum amount, which attracts the largest number of hires, is R$50,000.

However, this is a low value in the case of a serious accident with a victim.

Why take out insurance like this if I already have DPVAT?

The answer to this question is simple, the compensation paid by DPVAT is relatively low, often becoming insignificant depending on the victim's needs.

These private insurance coverages are included in the complement to the mandatory DPVAT insurance.

In the event of an accident requiring complex surgery or if the victim dies, these amounts are insufficient for compensation.

It may happen that the death insurance compensation, for example, stipulated via court, is much higher than the maximum limit offered by DPVAT, which is R$13,500.

In this case, the insurance coverage for Bodily Injury to Third Parties will complement the DPVAT coverage.

Payment for this type of coverage is made after the victim requests and receives compensation from the mandatory DPVAT insurance.

And, it is worth remembering that these compensations provided by DPVAT do not include aesthetic damages or medical and hospital expenses for psychological treatment.

These situations can be covered by private insurance.

It is important to note that insurance coverage does not pay compensation if the insured is driving in situations prohibited by law, such as being drunk or taking part in illegal races.

It is essential that insurance companies, through their brokers, inform about all the conditions of the APP and RCF modalities, so that the insured has no doubts about them.

Knowledge about the types of insurance for bodily injury to third parties and material damage to third parties is still very scarce.

Perhaps that is why this type of insurance is so rarely purchased.

What is DPVAT insurance and how does it work?

The mandatory DPVAT insurance is paid annually, together with the first installment of the IPVA, if this is paid in installments or in full.

The DPVAT aims to compensate victims of traffic accidents, without being linked to the identification of the person responsible for the accident, and is valid throughout the country.

There are thousands of points for this service, in all municipalities, such as post offices.

According to Susep – Superintendence of Private Insurance, the body responsible for creating and monitoring vehicle insurance laws, there are several doubts about DPVAT Insurance.

Therefore, we have separated some important information to clarify the most common questions:

1. Deadline for compensation

DPVAT came into effect on January 11, 2003, since then the deadline to claim compensation for a traffic accident, whether you are a driver, pedestrian or cyclist, is 3 years.

When we talk about the deadline for receiving compensation, the deadline for receipt is up to 30 days, after delivery of all documents requested by the company.

2. Material damage

DPVAT Insurance does not cover theft, collision or fire, only personal injuries, such as permanent disability, death and medical expenses.

With values ​​that have a compensation limit.

3. Who can receive compensation?

Any victim of an accident involving a land vehicle, the driver and his passengers, his beneficiaries in the event of death and victims of a run over.

No matter how many victims were affected by the accident, the insurance compensates them all individually.

Even if the vehicle has not been identified, the victims and their beneficiaries must be compensated.

4. Insurance beneficiaries

In the case of permanent disability, the beneficiary is the victim himself.

In the event of death, the beneficiaries will be the spouse, who will receive 50% of the insured capital, and the victim's heirs, according to the degree of kinship.

When there are no heirs, anyone who proves that their livelihood was affected by the death of the victim can claim to be a beneficiary.

The victim who claims insurance compensation also receives reimbursement for medical and hospital expenses.

The victim may opt for private medical care if it is provided by an individual or legal entity that has an agreement with the SUS – Unified Health System.

If the victim is under 16 years of age, the insurance compensation will be paid to their guardians, such as parents or guardian.

After the age of 16 and before the age of 18, compensation will be paid to the victim, with the assistance of their legal guardians or judicial authorization.

How to receive and what are the DPVAT compensation amounts?

To receive DPVAT, interested parties must make their request at one of the service points, taking the necessary documents, which vary according to the type of compensation desired.

The victim or their beneficiaries can request compensation, without the need for third parties to be involved, such as lawyers, for example.

If there is an attorney responsible for representing the victim, a duly signed and notarized power of attorney must be presented.

As mentioned, DPVAT compensation amounts vary according to the injury and its degree, however, they all have a ceiling, a maximum amount to be paid to victims.

These values ​​are:

• Death compensation: intended for the victim's family or heirs, it has a value of R$13,500 per victim;
• Disability compensation: intended only for victims who suffer partial or total disability, the value of this type of compensation can reach up to R$13,500 per victim. Depending only on the type of disability and degree.
• Compensation for medical expenses: also intended only for victims, this compensation serves to cover medical and hospital care and the purchase of medicines and can reach a maximum value of R$2,700 per victim.

It should be noted that accident victims must always properly report the incident to the police.

This document must include the name of the hospital where the care was provided and the name of the doctor in charge.

Furthermore, it is important that any medical expenses that have been incurred are documented.

What are the rights of third parties in the event of an insurance claim?

If you have car insurance, or have been the victim of an accident where the person responsible has insurance, there are some important things about third party rights in a claim that you should know.

The first is that, as already mentioned, in addition to receiving compensation provided by the insurance of the person responsible for the accident, you, as a victim, can also request compensation from DPVAT.

The second is that all expenses for repairing damage caused to the vehicle and bodily harm, whether minor injuries or cases of disability or death, must be compensated by the insurer.

Furthermore, depending on the third-party insurance coverage that the person responsible for the accident has, you may also be entitled to moral compensation, being reimbursed for emotional problems arising from the accident, and even receiving compensation for lost profits, if the accident causes you professional harm.

It is also important for you to know that, as the victim of the accident, you can follow the claim process, even if you do not have insurance with the same company as the person responsible for the accident.

To this end, insurance companies usually provide an area where third parties can check the progress of the claim by simply having the claim number.

Now that you know more about how insurance compensation works in the event of an accident with victims and even how car insurance works in the event of the death of third parties, it will be much easier to understand the importance of having the coverage mentioned in this article, in addition to DPVAT and knowing what to do in the event of an accident.