The Portuguese Insurance Regulator has published a report on uninsured drivers in Portugal, drawing on Fundo de Garantia Automóvel case files opened in 2024 and 2025 and police traffic enforcement data from 2023 to the first quarter of 2026. The report portrays uninsured driving as a persistent and growing issue, with the typical at-fault uninsured driver described as a Portuguese male aged 20 to 39, accidents concentrated in the Lisbon and Porto metropolitan areas, and passenger cars accounting for the largest share of vehicles involved. The underlying claims data show Fundo de Garantia Automóvel cases rising to 4,488 in 2024 and 4,873 in 2025, after 3,645 in 2023. Compensation paid reached EUR 12.5 million in 2024 and remained close to EUR 12 million in 2025, with bodily injury and death claims consistently making up the majority of payouts. Recoveries from responsible uninsured drivers were materially lower than compensation paid, at about EUR 3.14 million in 2024 and EUR 2.97 million in 2025. Separately, Police of Public Security enforcement data show the share of checked vehicles found without valid insurance increasing from 0.72% in 2023 to 0.93% in 2024, 1.33% in 2025 and 1.47% in the first quarter of 2026. On that basis, the report gives indicative estimates of about 85,000 uninsured vehicles using the 2024 ratio, 121,000 using the 2025 ratio and 134,000 using the early 2026 ratio. The regulator stresses that these vehicle estimates are approximate because they are derived from targeted police checks rather than a random sample and may therefore slightly overstate prevalence. It presents the findings as a basis for awareness campaigns, stronger enforcement and other public policy measures aimed at reducing uninsured driving.

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