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Each Member State shall establish or approve a compensation body responsible for providing compensation to injured parties in the cases referred to in Article 20(1). Such injured parties may present a claim to the compensation body in their Member State of residence:
(a)
if, within three months of the date when the injured party presented his claim for compensation to the insurance undertaking of the vehicle the use of which caused the accident or to its claims representative, the insurance undertaking or its claims representative has not provided a reasoned reply to the points made in the claim; or
(b)
if the insurance undertaking has failed to appoint a claims representative in the Member State of residence of the injured party in accordance with Article 20(1); in such a case, injured parties may not present a claim to the compensation body if they have presented a claim for compensation directly to the insurance undertaking of the vehicle the use of which caused the accident and if they have received a reasoned reply within three months of presenting the claim.
Injured parties may not however present a claim to the compensation body if they have taken legal action directly against the insurance undertaking. The compensation body shall take action within two months of the date when the injured party presents a claim for compensation to it but shall terminate its action if the insurance undertaking, or its claims representative, subsequently makes a reasoned reply to the claim. The compensation body shall immediately inform:
(a)
the insurance undertaking of the vehicle the use of which caused the accident or the claims representative;
(b)
the compensation body in the Member State in which the insurance undertaking which issued the policy is established;
(c)
if known, the person who caused the accident;
that it has received a claim from the injured party and that it will respond to that claim within two months of the presentation of that claim. This provision shall be without prejudice to the right of the Member States to regard compensation by that body as subsidiary or non-subsidiary and the right to make provision for the settlement of claims between that body and the person or persons who caused the accident and other insurance undertakings or social security bodies required to compensate the injured party in respect of the same accident. However, Member States may not allow the body to make the payment of compensation subject to any conditions other than those laid down in this Directive, in particular the injured party’s establishing in any way that the person liable is unable or refuses to pay.
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