Original (in Estonian): ""Impulss" kindlustushüvitistest: valu hinda on keeruline hinnata", ERR, 24 October 2023. Read and watch on ERR. Programme announcement: ERR, 24 October 2023.
Date note: the date of this post (24 October 2023) is the date of the original publication. This English summary was written for this website in 2026.
An ETV studio debate addressed compensation for non-pecuniary loss caused in road accidents. Olavi-Jüri Luik took part as an insurance law lecturer and lawyer.
Key points
In Luik's view the motor insurance system generally works and pecuniary losses such as medical costs are reimbursed, but non-pecuniary awards in Estonia are markedly lower than, for example, in Germany. He pointed to countries using compensation tables (Italy, France, Finland), which make outcomes predictable. Victims can obtain more than the amount presumed by statute (under LKindlS § 32(3) as then in force, EUR 100 to EUR 3,200 depending on the severity of the injury) even without a lawyer if they describe their suffering and its effect on their life concretely. He rejected the argument that higher awards in traffic cases would be inconsistent with other areas, citing amounts awarded in criminal cases.
What has changed since
The legislator later partly addressed the issue. The 2024 reform replaced the presumed amounts with minimum amounts: since 1 December 2024, § 32 of the Motor Insurance Act (liikluskindlustuse seadus, LKindlS) (RT I, 29.06.2024, 2) sets minimum amounts for non-pecuniary loss by injury severity (from EUR 200 to EUR 7,000), indexed annually to the consumer price index. A higher award is available where circumstances justify it (§ 32(6)), and the insurer must assess the amount considering, among other things, the degree of functional impairment, the length of treatment and the loss of quality of life (§ 32(7)). See also the related research by Luik and Age Värv.