Puerto Rico auto insurance: ACAA and the compulsory liability system

Puerto Rico splits car accident protection in two. A government-run program, the Automobile Accident Compensation Administration (ACAA, from its Spanish initials), pays medical and related benefits to people hurt in vehicle accidents, funded by a premium collected with every vehicle registration. Separately, every vehicle must carry compulsory liability insurance that pays only for damage to other people's vehicles, up to a low fixed limit. Anything beyond those two layers, such as a large injury claim, damage above the limit, or damage to your own car, depends on the traditional policy you choose to buy.

This article explains each layer using the island's statutes and the Commissioner of Insurance's published materials as they read in November 2026.

Two systems, two jobs

The easiest way to hold the structure in your head is to ask what each layer covers and who runs it.

The ACAA's compulsory insurance took effect in 1970 under Act 138 of 1968, according to the agency's 2025 benefits brochure. Act 111 of 2020, the "Motor Vehicle Accident Social Protection Act," repealed the 1968 law and continued the agency. The compulsory liability system is newer. It comes from Act 253 of 1995, the Compulsory Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance Act, whose consolidated text published by Puerto Rico's Office of Management and Budget was revised in April 2024.

Neither layer is a mainland-style state minimum (see minimum coverage). The government covers injuries to everyone, and the liability requirement is confined to vehicle damage.

What the ACAA pays

Act 111 sets a mandatory premium for every motor vehicle authorized to travel on public roads, in exchange for health services coverage for anyone who suffers bodily harm, illness or death from a motor vehicle accident. The coverage follows the injured person, not the car, so drivers, passengers and pedestrians can all qualify, subject to the exclusions below. It resembles mainland no-fault systems (see no-fault insurance and personal injury protection), but it is a government program, not a policy sold by an insurer.

The benefits, from the English text of Act 111 and the agency's 2025 brochure, are:

• Medical and hospital services. Emergency room, outpatient care, hospitalization, surgery, dental, medication, rehabilitation therapy, chiropractic care, nursing and convalescent care, and medical equipment are listed. The brochure says services run for up to two years from the date of the accident, and can be extended beyond that by a medical evaluation committee in cases of paraplegia, quadriplegia or severe trauma.
• Lost income. For an injured person who is disabled, the benefit is 50 percent of the weekly income not received, capped at $100 a week for the first 52 weeks. For the following 52 weeks the cap in the statute is $50 a week. A homemaker with no paid job receives $25 a week for up to 16 weeks, according to the brochure.
• Dismemberment and loss of sight. The brochure lists up to $10,000. The statute scales amounts by injury, for example $10,000 for loss of sight in both eyes and $5,000 for loss of one hand or one foot.
• Death. Up to $10,000 to eligible dependents, with the children's share set by a scale in the statute, plus up to $1,000 for funeral expenses.

These are modest figures next to the cost of a serious injury. The ACAA is a basic floor, not compensation for pain, suffering or a large wage loss.

A hypothetical. Say you earn $800 a week and cannot work for 26 weeks. Half your income is $400, but the cap is $100, so the lost-income benefit is $2,600 over those weeks. Recovering the rest from an at-fault driver is a separate question, covered below.

Who is excluded

Fault alone is not an exclusion. Article 6 of Act 111 and the brochure instead list people who are not entitled to the benefits: drivers who were under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any substance that limits the ability to drive, drivers without a valid license for that vehicle, drivers whose vehicle lacked a current registration and plate (the "marbete" is the registration sticker), people injured while committing a criminal act other than a traffic violation, people taking part in races or speed contests, anyone who gives false information to the agency, and people who abandon medical treatment for 90 calendar days or more without medical justification. Those excluded can still pursue claims through other insurance. A summary is no substitute for the statute, so read Act 111 if a claim hinges on one of the exclusions.

Reporting deadlines

The 2025 brochure sets two deadlines. Report the accident to the nearest police station within four hours and note the report number. Report it to an ACAA regional office within 15 calendar days, with documents such as the police report number, the driver's license, the vehicle registration, a photo ID for passengers and pedestrians, and any emergency room report.

What the compulsory liability policy pays

The compulsory policy is called the SRO, from "Seguro de Responsabilidad Obligatorio." Act 253 defines it narrowly. It answers for damage to other people's motor vehicles that results from a traffic accident for which the insured owner is legally responsible. It is a property damage policy, and it has a fixed limit.

The April 2024 text of the act sets the limit at $4,500 per accident. It also allows the Commissioner of Insurance to review and change the limit and the rate every two years, with a floor: the limit can never be below $3,500. Because the Commissioner can adjust it, confirm the current figure with the Office of the Commissioner or an insurer.

Four points about how the SRO behaves:

1. It does not pay for your own car. To insure your own vehicle you need a traditional policy with collision or comprehensive cover (see collision coverage).
2. It pays the other driver. If you cause an accident, your SRO insurer handles the damage to the other vehicle, up to the limit, through the initial liability determination system the Commissioner adopted by regulation. A "friendly report" from the drivers or the police report is used to assign fault, and an insurer cannot reduce its insured's liability to the injured party because the insured failed to file the friendly report.
3. Payment is fast once fault is settled. After the liability and the amount of damage are determined, by that system or by a court, the act requires payment within five calendar days or interest at the legal rate. Repair estimates are accepted only from shops registered with the Treasury Department's merchants registry that hold a current "certified shop" certification.
4. The claim clock is short. The act says the right to claim against an insurer under the compulsory policy lapses one year after the cause of action arose. Other claims, such as an injury lawsuit against a driver, follow different rules; a licensed Puerto Rico attorney is the person to ask.

A worked example of the limit

Say you rear-end a car in San Juan and the other car's repair estimate comes to $7,800. If your only coverage is the SRO, with its $4,500 limit, the policy pays up to $4,500 and the remaining $3,300 is a claim the other owner can pursue against you. If instead you carry a traditional policy with a $25,000 property damage limit, the policy pays the whole estimate. The gap between those two scenarios is the same one explained in our article on why property damage limits fall short in today's crashes: a low property damage limit meets a modern repair bill.

How you buy the SRO

You do not shop for the SRO on a quote form. When a vehicle is registered or its registration is renewed, the owner pays the SRO premium alongside the registration fee. Act 253 gives the owner the right to choose the insurer from a "selection form" that lists the Joint Underwriting Association for the compulsory policy (the association created by the act) and any private insurer that opted in. The order of insurers on the form is set at random, and private insurers that join the form cannot reject an applicant who selects them. The Commissioner of Insurance published a frequently asked questions sheet on the form that tells owners the following:

• The form is available at the authorized registration payment points: tax collection offices, official inspection stations, banks and cooperatives.
• The policy form is identical for every participating insurer.
• The premium is fixed. The sheet states it as $99 for a private passenger vehicle and $148 for a commercial vehicle. The statute describes those as the initial uniform premiums, and the Commissioner can revise them, so check the amount on your renewal.
• The policy can be cancelled only when the vehicle is scrapped or exported, or when you replace it with a traditional liability policy at least equal to the SRO.

The Commissioner's annual report for 2024.pdf) shows how the market uses this channel. It reports $215,678,863 in SRO premiums written in 2024, with official inspection stations the main sales channel by a wide margin and a new digital channel second. Its sales tables list the Joint Underwriting Association and private companies including Cooperativa de Seguros Múltiples, Point Guard Insurance, Universal Insurance Company, Multinational Insurance Company, MAPFRE Praico, Seguros Triple S, Guardian Insurance Company and Premier Insurance.

Skipping the SRO with a traditional policy

An owner who already carries a traditional liability policy at or above the SRO limit does not have to pay for the SRO. The insurer must issue a "certificate of compliance," which the owner shows at registration to be excused from the SRO payment. The act requires the insurer to send it at least two weeks before renewal or provide electronic access. If you paid the SRO for lack of a certificate, the FAQ says to ask your insurer for a refund. Issuing the certificate is the insurer's duty, and the act lets the Commissioner fine an insurer that fails to do it.

Traditional policies and optional coverages

The Commissioner's FAQ defines a traditional liability policy as coverage against loss or damage to persons or property from the ownership or use of the vehicle, as described in the Insurance Code. In practice you can buy higher property damage limits, bodily injury liability, and collision, comprehensive and other coverages with the usual deductible choices.

Three reasons to look past the compulsory minimum. The SRO limit is low, as the worked example shows. The ACAA does not stand in for liability coverage: if you injure someone and they sue, Act 111 lets the injured person bring a negligence claim, and the ACAA has statutory rights to be reimbursed from that recovery. And neither the ACAA nor the SRO repairs your own vehicle.

Two companies that appear in the Commissioner's SRO sales tables are Universal Insurance and MAPFRE Insurance (as MAPFRE Praico); other companies sell on the island too. Check that a company is licensed with the Commissioner before you buy, and see which legal entity actually insures you: reading your policy documents for how to find the legal entity behind a quote.

How the layers fit together after an accident

A typical sequence after a collision between two privately insured cars:

1. Call the police and get a report number. The ACAA requires notice within four hours, and the SRO fault determination uses the police report or the friendly report.
2. Get medical care for anyone hurt. Injured people use ACAA benefits, subject to the exclusions.
3. Report to the ACAA within 15 calendar days with the required documents.
4. Report the vehicle damage to your insurer. Act 253 requires the owner or driver to notify their SRO insurer, allow inspection of the vehicles and supply the documents the claim needs.
5. Fault is determined under the Commissioner's initial determination system, and the at-fault driver's SRO insurer pays the other vehicle's repair, up to the limit.
6. Larger claims continue elsewhere: damage above the limit, injuries beyond the ACAA's benefits, and your own car's repair go to traditional coverage or to the party who caused the loss.

When someone sues or settles

Act 111 gives the ACAA a stake in any recovery. If an injured person sues the driver, owner or insurer in a negligence case, the injured person must notify the ACAA and include the ACAA claim number in the complaint, and failing to do so can lead to dismissal without prejudice. Before a judgment is paid, the payer must get a certification from the ACAA that no debt remains for services it provided. Out-of-court settlements follow a similar rule: the person paying and their insurer must notify the ACAA in writing before paying, and a settlement paid without the ACAA's certification is declared invalid, with the ACAA entitled to twice the benefits it paid if it goes to court. The agency also holds subrogation rights (see subrogation), meaning it can step into the injured person's shoes against a responsible third party.

Involve an attorney before settling any injury claim in Puerto Rico, because getting these steps wrong can void a settlement.

Uninsured vehicles and penalties

Act 253 makes it unlawful to drive, or let someone drive, a vehicle on public roads without the compulsory coverage. The penalty is a misdemeanor with a $500 fine. The court also orders payment of damages caused to an insured vehicle, and the officer takes the license plate; towing costs fall on the driver or owner.

A second consequence surprises people. The owner of an uninsured vehicle damaged by an insured driver has no right to recover from the SRO, and the insured driver is excused from liability up to the SRO limit. Act 111 likewise excludes drivers whose vehicle lacks a current registration and plate from ACAA benefits, so skipping a renewal can strip the injury cover when you need it.

Complaints and regulators

The Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCS in Spanish) supervises insurers, including how they run the SRO. The act gives the Commissioner power to administer and regulate it, to set the criteria insurers may use to reject SRO applicants outside the selection form, and to fine insurers that break the law. The OCS website lists a main line of 787-304-8686, a toll-free line of 1-888-722-8686 and an office on Muñoz Rivera Avenue in San Juan; its home page does not lay out complaint steps, so ask the office what it needs before you file.

A dispute over an ACAA benefit starts with the ACAA, which has regional offices listed in its brochure. For how regulators handle complaints on the mainland, see what your state insurance department does; Puerto Rico's structure is its own.

What to change when you move

Mainland to Puerto Rico. Register the vehicle in Puerto Rico, where the ACAA premium and the SRO are collected, and decide whether the SRO alone is enough (for most drivers it is not). Ask your mainland insurer in writing whether its policy continues once the vehicle is garaged on the island, because a policy is written for a garaging address and coverage may not follow you. If you keep a traditional policy that meets or exceeds the SRO, get its certificate of compliance so you are not charged for the SRO as well.

Puerto Rico to the mainland. The ACAA and the SRO do not follow you. Your new state's rules apply, and most require liability limits for bodily injury and property damage; use the state car insurance requirements lookup and read moving to a new state: how to switch your car insurance. Ask the SRO insurer and the Commissioner how cancellation is treated when a vehicle is exported, and tell your new insurer about your prior coverage.

The general mover's checklist is in moving to a new state: insurance, registration and license deadlines. Puerto Rico is a territory, not a state, so confirm registration deadlines with its Department of Transportation and Public Works rather than assuming a mainland state's rules.

Common questions

Is auto insurance required in Puerto Rico?

Yes. Every vehicle on public roads must carry the compulsory liability insurance or a traditional liability policy at least as large, and the ACAA premium is collected with the registration. The compulsory policy covers only damage to other people's vehicles.

Does the ACAA pay if I caused the accident?

Fault by itself is not an exclusion in Act 111. The ones that matter to drivers include driving under the influence, driving without a valid license and driving a vehicle without a current registration. The ACAA can be reimbursed by a responsible party or that party's insurer. Whether a claim qualifies depends on the facts, so ask the ACAA.

Can I sue the other driver for my injuries?

Act 111 contemplates negligence lawsuits by injured people against the responsible party, and it tells the plaintiff to notify the ACAA, which has reimbursement rights. How much you can recover, and when a claim must be filed, are questions for a licensed Puerto Rico attorney.

Key takeaways

• Puerto Rico splits accident cover: the ACAA pays injury benefits regardless of fault, and the SRO pays only for damage to other people's vehicles.
• Both are collected with vehicle registration: the ACAA brochure says its insurance starts from $35 a year, and the Commissioner's FAQ gives $99 for the SRO on a private passenger vehicle.
• As revised in April 2024, the SRO limit is $4,500 per accident, with a $3,500 statutory floor. Confirm the current figure, because the Commissioner may adjust it every two years.
• Report an accident to the police within four hours and to the ACAA within 15 days, and notify the ACAA before settling any injury claim.
• The SRO does not repair your own car and does not replace bodily injury liability. A traditional policy fills those gaps.