Croatian Bureau of Insurance Joins the EU

Croatian organizations can enter the European Union even before the country itself, as demonstrated by the example of the Croatian Bureau of Insurance (HUB). The Information Center at the Croatian Bureau of Insurance has been accepted into the European system of bodies of the EU 4th Directive on mandatory motor vehicle insurance at the Council of Bureaux during the annual meeting of member countries.

The integration of the Information Center at the Croatian Bureau of Insurance into the System of Information Centers  of the member countries of the European Economic Area has enabled Croatia to become the only signatory of the Agreement outside the European Economic Area – EEA. Thus, before joining the European Union, it participates in the European Union’s insurance system.  The 4th Directive on mandatory motor vehicle insurance in the European Union has been in effect since 2003, and the articles of the Law on Mandatory Traffic Insurance, which transpose the 4th Directive into Croatian legislation, will begin to apply from the day Croatia joins the European Union. 

The 4th Directive system was established by the European Union with the aim of improving the protection of victims of traffic accidents occurring abroad, allowing them to resolve compensation claims arising from  traffic accidents that occur outside their country of residence – in their country of residence. Thus, with the accession of the Republic of Croatia to the European Union, citizens of the Republic of Croatia who are injured in traffic accidents occurring in any of the member countries of the European Economic Area will have an easier process for exercising their right to compensation, as they will have the option to submit a compensation claim in Croatian to the authorized representative of the foreign insurer of the liable party in Croatia – unlike the current practice which stipulates that a citizen of the Republic of Croatia who is injured, for example, in a traffic accident in Germany submits their compensation claim to the insurer of the liable party in Germany.  (T.B.)