Puerto Rico Auto Insurance & Crash Law

VictimsGuide’s Puerto Rico library organizes the rules that matter after a motor-vehicle accident: compulsory property-damage insurance (SRO), ACAA accident benefits, traditional liability insurance, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, claims handling, vehicle-owner and employer liability, government claims, comparative negligence, prescription periods, damages, settlement and controlling legal authority.

Puerto Rico rules to identify early

• SRO: Puerto Rico’s compulsory liability insurance is primarily a property-damage system and currently provides up to $4,500 per accident for damage caused to another motor vehicle; it does not cover bodily injury.
• ACAA: the Automobile Accident Compensation Administration separately provides medical-hospital services and statutory compensation for bodily injuries arising from motor-vehicle accidents, subject to filing and eligibility rules.
• Traditional liability insurance: serious bodily-injury claims require investigation of any traditional automobile, commercial, employer, umbrella or excess policy beyond the SRO structure.
• Comparative negligence: Puerto Rico’s Civil Code provides that a claimant’s concurrent negligence reduces compensation in proportion to the claimant’s degree of fault rather than creating a complete bar.
• Prescription: Puerto Rico tort claims are subject to comparatively short prescriptive periods, so interruption and accrual issues should be analyzed promptly.

Preserve the SRO information, ACAA claim records, all traditional insurance policies, crash report, photographs, video and electronic evidence, and investigate owner, employer, commercial, umbrella and excess coverage before signing a release.

Current-law review: September 17, 2026. Verify current Puerto Rico statutes, Office of the Commissioner of Insurance guidance, ACAA rules, Civil Code provisions and the policies actually issued before relying on this educational guide.