Compulsory passenger insurance in Spain: what it covers and who takes it out

Spain's compulsory passenger insurance (in Spanish, seguro obligatorio de viajeros, SOV) compensates passengers, or their beneficiaries, when they suffer bodily harm in an accident during a journey on collective public passenger transport. The transport operator takes it out, as policyholder, with an authorised insurer, and it protects everyone travelling with a transport ticket, whether or not they paid for it. It is governed by Royal Decree 1575/1989, which approves the Compulsory Passenger Insurance Regulation.

Here is what it covers, whom, in which vehicles, what the company has to do and how to monitor policy dates in Bus Center.

What it is and who takes it out

It is an accident insurance that goes with each passenger. The regulation defines it as a form of private individual accident insurance, compatible with any other insurance arranged by the passenger. The transport law requires it for all public passenger transport: the harm passengers suffer will be covered by compulsory passenger insurance, on the terms of its specific legislation (our translation).

The company takes it out. The regulation says that every transport operator must have arranged, as policyholder, Compulsory Passenger Insurance with an insurer authorised to operate in the individual accident class (our translation).

It does not take the place of civil liability. The regulation itself clarifies that the SOV does not release transport companies, drivers or third parties from any civil liability they might incur, nor does what the insurance pays reduce that liability (our translation).

Its cost forms part of the price of the journey. The transport law says that the amount of these insurances will be treated as an operating expense and may be passed on in fares (our translation).

What it covers

It covers monetary compensation and medical care when, because of an accident, the passenger dies or suffers permanent disability or temporary incapacity. Compensation is paid according to the scale that the regulation carries as an annex.

The risks covered are the bodily injuries that passengers suffer as a direct result of collision, overturning, rear-end impact, leaving the road or carriageway, breakage, explosion, fire, reaction, external impact and any other breakdown or abnormality that affects or originates in the vehicle (our translation).

Medical care has time limits: up to seventy-two hours after the accident if the injuries do not require hospitalisation or specialist outpatient treatment; up to ten days if the passenger has it covered by other compulsory insurance, and up to ninety days in all other cases.

It covers accidents during the journey, and also those that happen before it begins, once the vehicle has been made available to passengers, and those immediately afterwards, provided the passenger is in the vehicle. Also those that happen when boarding or alighting at the proper place. It excludes anyone who causes the accident while intoxicated, under the effects of drugs or through wilful acts.

Whom it protects and in which vehicles

It protects any person who, at the time of the accident, holds a transport ticket, whether or not they paid for it. Also children who, under the rules of each means of transport, travel without a ticket, and company staff engaged in operating the vehicle.

It applies to users of collective public passenger transport, urban and interurban, while they travel within Spanish territory and on all journeys that start in it, with no limitation on destination. On the road, vehicles for public transport of persons with a capacity of fewer than nine seats are excluded.

What the company has to do

Besides taking it out, the regulation gives the transport operator three specific obligations:

• Pay the premium, the amount of which is passed on to the passenger by including it in the price of the transport.
• In the event of an accident, record in writing the claim notices and the data and circumstances that help to classify it.
• Report the accident to the insurer and do what is needed so that the insured can collect the benefits.

To record what happens on the road, it helps if the driver can report straight away. In Bus Center the driver does so from their portal, with a photo; we cover it in the driver's incident reports.

What happens if it is not taken out

Not having it is a very serious infringement. The LOTT (the Spanish Land Transport Act, Ley de Ordenación de los Transportes Terrestres) classes as very serious failing to comply with the obligation to take out the insurance required by its article 21.1, or having it with insufficient cover, and its article 143 penalises it with a fine of 2,001 to 4,000 euros (our translation).

That is why the policy renewal date is one that must not be missed. Which other dates are worth watching in the fleet we explain in expiry date tracking.

How to monitor policy dates in Bus Center

In Bus Center each coach's record holds its insurance details: the insurer, the policy number and the expiry date. The dashboard gathers whatever expires in 30 days or less, and the coaches' insurance is among what it monitors, alongside the ITV (Spain's mandatory roadworthiness inspection) and maintenance. Each alert shows as overdue, urgent if 15 days or fewer remain, or warning.

Policies and other papers can also be saved as vehicle documents, with their expiry date, and they also appear on the dashboard as they approach. What each policy covers is stated in your contract with the insurer: Bus Center does not check it, it only monitors the date you enter. More about the coach record in the Bus Center features (in Spanish).

Sources consulted

Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.

• Real Decreto 1575/1989, de 22 de diciembre, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento del Seguro Obligatorio de Viajeros (texto consolidado). BOE.
• Ley 16/1987, de 30 de julio, de Ordenación de los Transportes Terrestres (texto consolidado). BOE.