Insurance problems:the right information, the right step.
Four rules worth knowing when you make a claim
Report the accident or loss to your insurer at once, and at the latest within the period set in the policy, in writing. In compulsory motor insurance that period is 8 days, and court documents you receive must reach the insurer within 48 hours. Late notice is not on its own a ground for refusal: the insurer may only reduce its payment by the loss the delay actually caused it.
RD 16.4.2018 annex art. 32 ↗ · Insurance Act art. 74, 76 ↗You have 3 years from the day you learn of the event to sue your own insurer, and at most 5 years from the event. After an accident, the direct claim against the other party's insurer must be brought within 5 years. For workplace accidents the period is 3 years; for the accrued value of a life policy it is 30 years. A complaint to the Ombudsman suspends the limitation period.
Insurance Act art. 88 ↗ · Deadlines guide ↗If you were a pedestrian, cyclist or passenger, your bodily injury is paid by the insurer of the vehicle involved, even if you were at fault (unless, over 14, you caused it on purpose).
Act of 21.11.1989, art. 29bis ↗If the insurer disputes your claim, it must give a reasoned reply within 3 months. If not, it owes you €300 automatically, and €300 a day if your reminder goes unanswered for 11 days. The rule applies both to your own insurer (comprehensive car, home, health, legal expenses, etc.) and, after a road accident, to the other party's liability insurer.
Insurance Act art. 73/1 (claims 1.10.2024+) ↗ · 1989 Act art. 14 (accidents 12.4.2024+; before: €250/day) ↗Use our free apps to assess your situation after an insurance problem or road accident and to learn about your possible rights.
Accident Report Simulator
Enter the boxes ticked on your accident report or choose the scenario that matches your case, and get a preliminary assessment of how fault may be shared. Review the rights and responsibilities of drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and passengers.
Open the Fault Assessment App →Decision Search
Explore Belgian court decisions on insurance and road accidents. Search by topic, court, year of decision or keyword, and access case summaries and full texts.
Search the rulings →What were Belgium's most common insurance disputes?
The Insurance Ombudsman received 9,429 requests in 2025, the highest since 2013 (+13% on the year before). The lines with the most complaints and the issues that stood out:
Complaints about car theft more than doubled. A lost key or a spare key left in the car, suspected fraud and misstatements when taking out the policy are among the most common reasons for refusal.
Requests about legal expenses insurance rose by 36% in one year (from 772 to 1,047), the fastest increase of any type of insurance. Most complaints concern premium rises, the end of the tax reduction for this insurance and the payment of lawyers' fees.
About one complaint in four is about delays or not being able to reach the insurer. Delay, not refusal, is the biggest single reason for complaints: the share was 27% in 2023 and 29% in 2024. In cancellation and assistance insurance it was about one in three in 2025.
A quarter of the requests about general liability insurance concern refusals based on the "entrusted goods" exclusion. This exclusion leaves out damage you cause to something lent or entrusted to you (e.g. the hob in a holiday home you rented).
Whatever the amount, claims for damage from a road accident go to the police court (Judicial Code art. 601bis).
Sources: Ombudsman annual report 2025 [Sector] ↗Police court statistics 2025 [Official] ↗Courts of first instance statistics 2025 [Official] ↗Vias road safety barometer 2025 [Sector] ↗Vias: two-wheeler accidents, first 9 months of 2025 [Sector] ↗Vias: e-scooter accidents 2024 [Sector] ↗
Useful to know
In 2025, 56% of the requests the Insurance Ombudsman examined on the merits were resolved in the consumer's favour. Applying is free and suspends the limitation period.
Ombudsman des Assurances, 2025 annual report ↗In 2025 the Ombudsman closed a request in 88 days on average. The rule is 90 days, at most 180 days for complex files. You are expected to write to the insurer's complaints service first.
Ombudsman des Assurances, 2025 annual report ↗ · Deadlines guide ↗If you have legal expenses insurance, you choose your lawyer freely. If the insurer thinks pursuing the case is pointless, you can ask for an independent lawyer's opinion; if that lawyer agrees with you, the insurer covers the costs within the policy limits.
Insurance Act art. 156–157 ↗Your motor insurer must give you your claims history certificate within 15 days of your request. You need it when you take out new motor insurance.
Act of 21.11.1989 art. 7 §2 ↗Benefits and compensation after an injury accident
An injured person can draw on two separate kinds of support: a benefit from their own health insurer (mutualité) that replaces part of the salary while they cannot work, and compensation from the liable party's insurer. The figures below summarise both.
Your health insurer (mutualité) pays 60% of your gross salary. After one year the rate depends on your family situation: 65% if you support a spouse, partner or child with no income, 55% if you live alone, 40% if you live with someone who has an income. The benefit is capped by law.
INAMI, benefit calculation (2026) ↗If the accident leaves lasting harm (e.g. a stiff knee, constant pain), the medical expert expresses it as a percentage: the permanent disability rate. Compensation is based on that rate. In the indicative table used by judges, each point of the rate is worth about €2,970 for a 30-year-old. Example: if the expert says 10%, that is 10 × €2,970 = €29,700. The value per point is higher when you are younger and lower when you are older. Loss of income and household work are calculated separately.
Tableau indicatif 2024 ↗The disruption of your daily life until you recover is compensated too: €39 for each day in hospital, €32 for each day fully unable to work at home (pro rata for partial incapacity, e.g. 50% → €16). Medical costs and loss of income come on top.
Tableau indicatif 2024 ↗The liable party's insurer must make a reasoned offer within 3 months of your claim. If the damage is not yet fully known, it must at least offer an advance covering your costs and the undisputed part. The advance may not say "full and final settlement"; if late, the insurer owes legal interest.
Act of 21.11.1989, art. 13 ↗Legal help tailored to your case
We follow your file from the first conversation to court, if it comes to that. If you have legal-expenses insurance, you choose your lawyer and the costs are often covered.
- Free first assessment
- Advice, case review and document check
- Complaint to the insurer
- Ombudsman complaint and follow-up
- Negotiation
- Litigation
Frequently asked questions
Find answers to your questions here: the most common questions about accidents, refused claims, deadlines and legal-expenses cover.
All questions →I've had an accident. What should I do?
First make the scene safe; call 112 if anyone is injured. Fill in the European accident statement together with the other party: tick the boxes, draw the sketch and take photos. The statement records facts; signing it does not mean you accept fault. Write any point you disagree with in your own “Remarks” section. Report the accident to your insurer in writing immediately, and within 8 days at the latest.
Accident report guide →Accident Report Simulator →My claim was refused. What should I do?
Don't give up straight away. First check whether the refusal is properly reasoned and ask in writing which policy clause it relies on. Then write to the insurer's complaints service; if that fails, you can apply to the Insurance Ombudsman free of charge. If you have legal-expenses cover, use it, and don't miss the deadline for going to court.
Refusals, adjusters and delays guide →How long do I have to take my insurer to court?
Against your own insurer, the period is 3 years from the day you learned of the event, and at most 5 years from the event itself (Insurance Act, art. 88 §1). A direct action against the other party's insurer must be brought within 5 years (art. 88 §2). A claim reported in time interrupts the period until the insurer notifies its decision in writing (art. 89 §3); an application to the Ombudsman suspends it. Special regimes such as workplace accidents have different periods.
Deadlines guide →What is the Insurance Ombudsman, and is it free?
It is a free, out-of-court route when you cannot reach agreement with your insurer. You apply in writing; no lawyer is needed. A complete application suspends the limitation period against your insurer (Insurance Act, art. 322). The opinion is not binding, but companies very rarely go against it: in 2025, 56% of cases examined on the merits were resolved in the consumer's favour.
Refusals, delays and Ombudsman guide →How can I find out whether I'm on the Datassur (RSR) register?
Datassur keeps the insurers' shared risk register (RSR); being listed can make it harder to take out new insurance. You have a right of access to your personal data (GDPR art. 15): send Datassur a written access request to find out whether you are listed. If the entry is wrong or out of date, you can ask for it to be corrected or erased (GDPR art. 16 and 17), and if that fails you can complain to the Data Protection Authority (GDPR art. 77).
Is the first assessment free?
Yes. The first assessment is free and is done by email or phone. We check whether your legal expenses insurance can cover the costs and tell you which route suits you. If you have legal expenses insurance, it often costs you nothing.
First assessment form →A free first assessment of your case
Fill in the form; we'll review your case and tell you what you can do next.