Claim against the at-fault driver’s liability insurer: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. This is a claim against ANOTHER PARTY’S liability insurer: the liability insurer covers the policyholder’s obligation to a third party (Civil Code Art. 839); the liability insurer must compensate the damage directly to the injured party at its demand (Civil Code Art. 840) — the idea that you must “sue the driver first” does not match the law.
2. Foreign-registered vehicles (compulsory insurance): a written claim to the Centre or the insurer — no later than 60 calendar days from the date of the accident, otherwise the claim is refused (Law on Compulsory Insurance of Foreign Vehicles Art. 8); payment — within 15 days after agreement on the amount, refusal — within 10 working days (Law on Compulsory Insurance of Foreign Vehicles Art. 9). In other cases the deadlines are set in the policy; limitation — 3 years from when you learned of the damage or the liable person (Civil Code Art. 1008).
3. Refusal: the law releases the insurer only if the policyholder caused the harm intentionally (Civil Code Art. 842); check any other grounds against the policy and demand a written, reasoned refusal.
4. Amount: payment is made once the event and the amount of damage have been established (Civil Code Art. 814); compensation must restore the prior position (actual repair cost) (Civil Code Art. 408); plus lost income (Civil Code Art. 411); payment is made only within the sum insured (limit) (Civil Code Art. 821). If the estimate is understated, obtain an independent assessment or a service-station estimate.
5. Procedure: claim (the insurer must have a written claims procedure (Supervisory Service Instruction Art. 6)); an injured party under liability insurance is a “consumer” of insurance services (Law on Insurance Art. 2), so if its rights are violated, file a complaint with the Insurance State Supervision Service (Law on Insurance Art. 20¹). Money is recovered through the court — from the insurer; any excess above the limit — from the owner: the vehicle owner is itself liable for harm from its operation (Civil Code Art. 999); above the limit — from the responsible person (Law on Compulsory Insurance of Foreign Vehicles Art. 9).
6. Court: you may commission your own expert assessment without a court, but the report is submitted with the claim or at the case-preparation stage (Civil Procedure Code Art. 162).
7. Where to apply: at-fault driver’s insurer → Insurance State Supervision Service → district (city) court.
8. Evidence: at-fault party’s policy and insurer details, police resolution and sketch, photos, insurer’s estimate, service-station estimate, independent expert assessment, claim and response.
9. Pitfalls: signing an agreement on the amount or a “no claims” statement for an understated sum; repairing before the insurer has inspected; believing that compulsory liability insurance applies to Georgian-registered vehicles (this regime applies only to foreign-registered vehicles); complaining to the consumer protection authority instead of the Insurance State Supervision Service.

Be sure to check

• a direct claim against the at-fault party’s liability insurer (no need to sue the driver first)
• contesting the valuation — full compensation, independent assessment, written claim
• the sum-insured limit and recovery of any excess from the owner or the at-fault party
• procedure: claim → Insurance State Supervision Service → court; limitation period
• for foreign-registered vehicles — a strict 60-day deadline for the written claim