THE ESSENTIALS
Before you start
- Separate contracts do not require the injured party to divide the claim into halves.
- Under the legal conditions, one insurer can be asked to identify the other.
- Submitting the whole claim does not establish liability or the amount payable.
The law allows the whole claim to be submitted
Article 26-A(1) of Portuguese Decree-Law 291/2007, added in 2025, concerns an accident involving a towing vehicle and a trailer insured under separate liability contracts. It allows compensation for the whole loss to be requested under either contract, within that contract's sum insured.
Clara explains the practical consequence: Tiago does not need to invent an allocation of the loss before starting his claim. He describes the accident and submits the losses he wants assessed. This ability to claim does not decide who caused the accident, which losses are due or what the compensation will be.
Two insurers: ask about the other's identity
When the contracts were issued by different insurers, paragraph 1(a) also allows either insurer to be asked for information identifying the other. The rule helps the injured party clarify the two contracts; it does not require guessing an insurer from the trailer's make.
Tiago creates one entry for the towing vehicle, which pulls the combination, and another for the trailer. Each contains the identification and insurance details actually available. If he only has a partial photograph or an unconfirmed name, he marks the uncertainty. Clara asks him to keep the response about the other insurer.
There is another provision if only one insurer is identified
Article 26-A(2) provides for information to the injured party when only one vehicle is insured or only one insurer can be identified. It refers to article 51-A: the known vehicle's insurer is responsible for compensation due, up to its sum insured, when the other vehicle is unknown or uninsured. The Motor Guarantee Fund has a subsidiary role here, under the legal conditions. Article 26-A also provides for information about the Fund where the insurer can raise a valid defence against the injured party.
Those conditions must be verified in the claim. Do not turn 'I do not have the document' into 'there is no insurance', or conclude that any identification difficulty requires the Fund to pay. If the response invokes a defence or another route, ask for its basis and an explanation of the next step through the claim channel.
A consistent claim identifying the losses
As a preparation method, Clara helps Tiago maintain one loss schedule with the available supporting records. If he contacts both insurers, he identifies existing claim references and tells them what has been submitted and any payment received. He does not give incompatible accounts of the same accident to try to speed up the response.
This guide concerns the injured party's claim in these accidents, rather than choosing insurance before using a trailer or covering damage to the trailer itself. For an accident that has happened, use Claims support. To review future protection, select Motor in RMACHADO's 'Request a quote'; that request neither decides nor retrospectively insures the accident.
Sources: Portuguese Official Gazette — DL n.º 26/2025, article 3: insertion of article 26-A into DL n.º 291/2007; read 2 November 2026 ↗ · Portuguese Official Gazette — DL n.º 291/2007, 2025 wording, complete articles 26-A and 51-A; read 2 November 2026 ↗
KEEP THESE QUESTIONS
Your checklist for the next conversation
- Identify the towing vehicle, trailer and known contracts separately.
- Ask for the other insurer's identity where the contracts are with different companies.
- Submit the losses for assessment without inventing a division into halves.
- Keep responses, references and payments, and clarify the basis of uncertainties or defences.
FROM THE ARTICLE TO YOUR SITUATION
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Sources and transparency
Content updated on .
Consultation dates are stated in individual references when available.
Numerical examples are fictional and explain concepts. Editorial interpretations are identified in the text.
- Portuguese Official Gazette — DL n.º 26/2025, article 3: insertion of article 26-A into DL n.º 291/2007; read 2 November 2026 ↗
- Portuguese Official Gazette — DL n.º 291/2007, 2025 wording, complete articles 26-A and 51-A; read 2 November 2026 ↗
Information from RMACHADO GROUP. This is not an insurance offer or individual advice. Covers, acceptance, exclusions, sums insured and costs depend on the policy. The intermediary does not underwrite the risks.