Hit and run compensation in Belgium: who pays?

Leaving the scene of an accident, commonly called hit and run (délit de fuite), does not only have criminal consequences. There is also a financial side: who pays for the victim’s loss, and what happens if the insurer then turns against the driver? When it comes to hit and run and insurance, a concept that many people are not familiar with also plays a role: loss of a chance (perte d’une chance).

In this article, we explain how the victim is compensated, why the flight itself can be a head of loss, and when your insurer can recover its outlay from you. What hit and run involves in criminal terms is covered in our overview of hit and run.

Who compensates the victim after a hit and run?

Every motor vehicle on the road must have civil liability (RC) insurance, in accordance with the Act of 21 November 1989. If the driver who fled is known, the motor liability insurer of their vehicle compensates the loss they caused. The victim can turn directly to that insurer.

If the person responsible remains unknown, the victim can turn to the Motor Guarantee Fund (Fonds commun de garantie automobile). The Fund then compensates personal injury first and foremost. It only compensates material damage if the same accident also caused significant injury.

If a person is injured as a pedestrian, cyclist or passenger, the automatic compensation scheme for vulnerable road users often also applies, regardless of the question of fault.

Does the flight prove that the person responsible was at fault?

No. This is a common misunderstanding. The Court of Cassation and the case law point out that a hit and run does not create a presumption of liability for the accident. Someone who fled may therefore perfectly well have been in the right in the collision itself.

The victim must therefore always prove that the other driver committed a fault that caused the loss. That is where the difficulty lies: precisely because of the flight, there are often no findings, no accident report form (constat amiable) and no witnesses.

What is loss of a chance?

The case law offers a solution here. The flight itself is a fault. That fault does not cause damage to the car, but a different harm: the victim loses the chance to prove that the other driver was at fault. That loss has a value of its own and can be compensated.

An important point: the judge then does not compensate the whole loss, but a percentage. That percentage depends on how likely it was that the victim would succeed. The judge assesses it on an equitable basis.

Decision	Share of the loss awarded
Brussels police court, 20 October 2016	30%
Brussels police court, 5 March 2018	50%
Brussels police court, 30 May 2011	80%
Brussels police court, 20 October 2020	95%

Not all of these cases concerned hit and run in the strict sense. Some involved a driver who refused to make the necessary findings at the scene, such as a bus driver who quickly drove off, leaving only an information form. The reasoning is the same.

What must the victim show?

On 6 June 2005, the Liège police court (tribunal de police) stressed that there must first be material evidence that the damage actually comes from contact with the other vehicle. Only then does the judge examine whether the flight caused the loss of a chance. So keep the photos, paint traces and witness statements. How your loss is calculated is explained in our article on compensation after a road accident.

For accidents on or after 1 January 2025, the new rules of Book 6 of the Civil Code (Code civil) apply. The decisions cited above pre-date them. It is best to have it checked which rules apply to your accident.

Can the insurer recover the money from the person responsible?

The motor liability insurer first pays the victim. Then, in certain cases, it can recover its outlay from the insured person. This is known as recovery (recours). The grounds for recovery are set out in the policy and in the Royal Decree of 16 April 2018 on compulsory motor liability insurance. That decree replaced the former standard contract of 14 December 1992.

The main grounds for recovery include:

causing the accident intentionally;
causing the accident while drunk or under the influence of drugs;
driving without a valid licence or during a driving ban (déchéance du droit de conduire);
failing to comply with the obligations under the policy, if the insurer suffers harm as a result.

Except in the case of an intentional act, the amount of the recovery is capped by law.

Hit and run is not in itself a ground for recovery

Hit and run does not appear on that list. But a driver often flees precisely to escape a breath test. The insurer can then no longer prove that the driver was drunk, and it loses its right of recovery.

Here too, the case law applies loss of a chance. The insurer then does not have to prove that the driver would certainly have been found to be drunk. It is enough that the flight deprived it of that chance.

On 14 February 2017, the Liège court awarded an insurer 60% of what it had paid. The court referred to a blood alcohol level of 1.74 g/l, which was not in itself enough to prove drunkenness.
On 27 August 2024, the Neufchâteau police court assessed the lost chance at two thirds of the amount the insurer could otherwise have recovered.

What exactly drunkenness is and how it is proved is covered in our article on drunkenness or alcohol intoxication.

And your own loss under comprehensive cover?

Comprehensive or own-damage cover is an ordinary contractual insurance. Anyone claiming a payout must prove that the incident is covered. Someone who, by fleeing, made any findings impossible is then in a weak position.

On 24 June 2005, the Antwerp police court ruled that an insured person who, by their hit and run, made any evidence impossible cannot hide behind the fact that the insurer cannot prove an exclusion. Such an attitude is in bad faith. In practice, fleeing therefore often means that you bear your own loss yourself. Also read the terms of your own policy: some contain additional exclusions.

Frequently asked questions

Does my motor liability insurance pay for the loss if I drove on?

Yes. Your motor liability insurer must compensate the victim, even after a hit and run. The victim can turn directly to the insurer. Then, in certain cases, the insurer can recover the amount from you, for example if you were driving while drunk or under the influence of drugs, or if you failed to comply with your obligations under the policy. Hit and run is not in itself a ground for recovery.

What does loss of a chance mean in a hit and run case?

It means that, because of the flight, the victim lost the chance to prove the other driver’s fault. The judge then does not compensate the whole loss, but part of it, depending on how significant that chance was. In the case law, between 30 and 95% of the loss has been awarded. The victim must, however, show that the damage comes from contact with the other vehicle.

Is someone who flees automatically liable for the accident?

No. A hit and run does not create a presumption that the driver who fled caused the accident. The victim must always prove fault. If the flight prevents that, the victim can, however, obtain compensation for the loss of the chance to prove that fault. That compensation is generally lower than the total loss.

Can the insurer recover money if it cannot prove I was drunk?

Sometimes yes, through loss of a chance. If you fled and no breath test or blood test was therefore possible, the insurer can argue that you deprived it of the chance to prove drunkenness. Courts have thus awarded insurers 60% or two thirds of the amount they could otherwise have recovered. The insurer must, however, put forward concrete evidence of alcohol consumption.

Will my comprehensive insurance pay for the damage to my own car after a hit and run?

Do not count on it. You must prove yourself that the incident is covered. Someone who, by fleeing, made any findings impossible is in a very weak position, and courts sometimes regard relying on that lack of evidence as bad faith. Also check for additional exclusions in the terms of your policy.

Have your case reviewed

Is an insurer claiming money from you after a hit and run, or has your own loss not been compensated because the other party fled? We examine the policy, the ground for recovery and the evidence. Contact us. Also read our article on defending a hit and run charge.

Law as at 30 September 2026. We update this article when the rules change.

Hit and run and insurance: who pays for the damage?