Morocco Overhauls Road Accident Compensation: Victims to See 54% Increase

The Council of Government has recently approved the bill on the reform of the compensation system for victims of road accidents. "The bill presented by the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Ouahbi, aims to modernize a system long criticized for its complexity and slowness," writes the daily L’Economiste. Nearly 655,360 road accidents were reported to insurance companies in 2024, of which 143,293 were personal injury accidents resulting in 4,024 deaths. These victims received 7.9 billion dirhams in compensation, with a maximum out-of-court settlement rate of 26% in some companies.

Given these figures, it has become urgent to ensure better protection for victims, but also for their loved ones under well-defined conditions. The bill provides for the coverage of dependent children, spouses unable to meet their needs and categories without regular income, such as students and interns. A first. Another innovation, "the overhaul of the calculation of compensation". The text includes funeral expenses and moral compensation for accident victims, and also establishes the freedom of proof concerning the victim’s salary or professional income, thus allowing vulnerable categories to benefit from compensation based on their actual income and not on the minimum wage.

Furthermore, the minimum and maximum thresholds of the salary taken into account in the calculation of compensation will now be reviewed every five years, and not indexed on the civil service system. Concretely, the minimum wage will gradually increase from 9,270 dirhams to 14,270 dirhams in 5 stages, an increase of 54%. This measure aims to allow victims to receive compensation in line with the cost of living, explains the Ministry of Justice. The bill also intends to promote conciliation as a means of amicable settlement of disputes. It also provides for the establishment of unified models for medical certificates and the option of joint medical expertise.

In total, the objective of the reform is to make the process faster and more transparent, and to guarantee better access to compensation. The text also provides for the expansion of the reimbursement of certain expenses, such as medical devices made unusable by the accident or specific medical analyses, as well as the removal of the 50% ceiling for compensation when the capital is not fully consumed.