French Insurance Code
In forceThe guarantee fund may intervene, even before the criminal courts and even for the first time on appeal, with a view, in particular, to contesting the principle or the amount of the compensation claimed, in all proceedings brought between the victims of personal injury accidents or their beneficiaries, on the one hand, and the liable parties or their insurers, on the other. In such cases, the Insurer acts as the principal claimant and may avail itself of all remedies available by law. Under no circumstances may this intervention lead to a joint or several conviction of the guarantee fund and the liable party.
Subject to the provisions of the fourth paragraph of this article, the victim or his successors must send to the guarantee fund, without delay, by registered letter or by electronic registered letter, with acknowledgement of receipt, a copy of any document instituting proceedings whose purpose is to bring before the competent court a claim for compensation against a defendant whose civil liability is not established to be covered by insurance.
Any document instituting proceedings, a copy of which must be sent to the guarantee fund in application of the preceding paragraph, must contain the following details: date and place of the accident, nature of the vehicle or agent or instrument of the damage, authority which drew up the official report or the report referred to in article R. 421-3, amount of the claim as regards compensation for damage resulting from personal injury or, failing this, the nature and seriousness of such damage. It must also state, on the basis of the information contained in the aforementioned record or report or that obtained subsequently, in particular that provided by the insurer pursuant to the first paragraph of article R. 421-5 :
Either that the defendant's civil liability is not covered by an insurance policy ;
Or that the insurer, whose name and address must be given as well as the policy number, intends to contest its cover or to invoke the limitation thereof;
Or that the claimant does not have any of the above two pieces of information, with any information that may lead him or her to doubt the existence of insurance covering the damage for which compensation is being sought being mentioned.
The provisions of the two preceding paragraphs do not apply when the claim for compensation is brought before a criminal court. In this case, the victim or those entitled on his behalf must, at least ten days before the hearing, notify the guarantee fund by registered letter or by electronic registered letter, with acknowledgement of receipt, of their application to become a civil party or of the possibility of such an application. This notice must mention, in addition to the various information provided for in the third paragraph of this article, the surname, first names and address of the person responsible for the damage and, where applicable, of the person liable under civil law, as well as the court hearing the public action and the date of the hearing.
Even if the guarantee fund has not intervened in the proceedings, notifications made in accordance with the conditions set out in the previous paragraphs have the effect of rendering the decision on the claim for compensation enforceable against it. Any inaccurate information contained in the notifications is sanctioned, in the event of bad faith, by the forfeiture of any recourse the claimant may have against the guarantee fund.
