The story of the charter
The Charter of Road Traffic Victims’ Rights was born out of an ambition. An ambition to support road traffic victims.
It is a Code of Conduct for those involved in managing the compensation of road traffic victims, aimed at providing those victims with the best possible assistance.
The Charter does not legislate in whole or in part.
It is but a set of principles on how the insurance industry should treat those who are the victims of road traffic accidents, to ensure they receive the care and compensation they are due.
The idea of the Charter emerged many years ago. Given the existence of the UN Charter on Human Rights, it seemed evident that a similar mechanism for promoting victims’ rights would be beneficial for the many thousands of people who find themselves the victims of road traffic accidents each year.
That concept led to the three founding organisations behind the Charter – the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the Institute for European Traffic Law (IETL) and COB, coming together to prepare a document that would enshrine 10 core principles all aimed at providing an ethos of care and clarity to the victims of road traffic accidents.
The Charter builds on many common practices that have shaped much of the claims handling processes across Europe.
The Charter brings these ideals together and makes them clear for all those involved in the handling of road traffic victims' claims.
After years of preparation, the Charter of Road Traffic Victims’ Rights was first published in September 2021.
Through this dedicated website we hope to bring the Charter to life, encouraging more of those active in the provision of compensation to road traffic victims’ to adopt these principles in their day to day operations, while also providing people interested in victims’ rights with a sense of how victims should be treated.