Despite the gravity of indicators related to road accidents, the provisions governing compensation in the event of death in the Insurance Code have not undergone any substantial revision since the promulgation of Law No. 86 of 2005, that is, for more than twenty years. This situation persists in spite of cumulative inflation, the erosion of purchasing power, and the sharp rise in the cost of living.
According to the text currently in force, the compensation awarded to the spouse in the event of death is limited to two and a half times the annual income of the deceased. A ceiling that no longer reflects the current economic reality and that does not guarantee a fair and proportionate remedy for the harm actually suffered.
A group of deputies has presented a bill aimed at modifying certain provisions relating to the compensation for bodily injuries suffered by road accident victims. In the statement of motives, the initiators of the text indicate that this proposal aims to enshrine the principle of fair and proportionate compensation for the injury, to update the compensation ceilings by taking inflation into account, to protect families from the risk of falling into poverty, and to restore the balance between the social function of insurance and its legitimate profitability.
In this framework, the Finance and Budget Committee will hold, on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at 9:00 a.m., in Room No. 2, a meeting devoted to continuing the examination of the budget bill of the Assembly of the People’s Representatives for the year 2027. The hearing of the authors of the initiative concerning Bill No. 21/2026, relating to the modification of certain provisions on the compensation for bodily injuries of road accident victims, has, however, been postponed.
The text proposes to amend Article 146 of the Insurance Code in order to raise the compensation awarded to the spouse to five times the net annual income of the deceased, i.e., nearly double the current ceiling.
In the absence of proof of a stable income, the compensation would be calculated on the basis of ten times the guaranteed annual minimum wage in effect at the date of the pronouncement of the judgment. The modification also provides that the later remarriage of the spouse would not cause them to lose their right to compensation.
The proposal also introduces Article 146 bis, providing that, when the deceased person was the sole or main financial supporter of the family, an amount equivalent to three years of the guaranteed annual minimum wage, in effect at the date of the judgment, would be added to the base compensation.
This measure rests on an objective assessment of the gravity of the loss of the only breadwinner and the consequences it can entail, notably a deep financial imbalance within the household.
The text also provides for a mechanism to revise compensation ceilings every five years, based on the official inflation rate announced by the National Institute of Statistics, and this, by government decree.
This provision aims to avoid the legislative stagnation that has lasted more than twenty years and that, over time, has led to an erosion in the real value of the compensations.
