Fidelidade denies refusing Glória elevator victims compensation as Lisbon mayor calls claims shameful

Insurer rejects refusal claim

Fidelidade, the insurer of Carris, said on 28 October 2026 that it categorically rejects claims it is refusing to compensate victims of the Glória elevator derailment in Lisbon, which happened on 3 September 2025. In a statement sent to the Lusa news agency, the company said some expressions taken from court filings may have caused additional suffering to victims and their families. It argued that the quoted passages belong to procedural pleadings that must be read as a whole, and that isolated excerpts can give an incorrect picture of its position. The company also said the gap between the amount it proposed and the amount claimed does not amount to a refusal to pay.

“Fidelidade categorically rejects that it is refusing to compensate the victims and their families.”

Disputed compensation figures

The most contested figure is 125,000 euros claimed by one victim's family for the damage of death, which the insurer considers very high under the standard used to value human life. Fidelidade says it made a proposal of several hundred thousand euros, based on legal and case-law criteria and validated by the Independent Technical Commission. A separate report by SIC Notícias describes a claim of about one million euros, split into several parts, relating to a woman employee of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa who was riding the elevator. In the Lisbon Administrative Court, the insurer argued that such a disaster could not have been considered wholly unforeseeable at the time. It also argued that the elevator could not be regarded as a highly reliable means of transport, since the victim used it daily, and that the accident and the suffering lasted less than a minute.

Lisbon councillors respond

At the public meeting of city councillors on 28 October 2026, Lisbon mayor Carlos Moedas (PSD) called the statements reported in the media 'shameful' and 'lamentable' and said he had notified the insurer of the city's discomfort. Ricardo Moreira of the Left Bloc, standing in for Carolina Serrão, questioned the PSD, CDS-PP and IL leadership about the excerpts, calling them an indignity and urging the mayor not to abandon the victims. Pedro Anastácio of the Socialist Party said the insurer's remarks showed a total lack of empathy and raised a graver issue: if the risk was widely known, the city council could also have known and had an obligation to stop circulation. He stressed that Carris is 100% owned by the Lisbon municipality. Moedas said it was sad to see politics reach a tragedy, and spoke of the politicisation of a tragedy.

“The information we heard, at least through the media, about the insurer, is shameful, is lamentable.”

Case status across the 16 deaths

Fidelidade says it has paid directly, or assumed responsibility for repaying, about 2.5 million euros in compensation and expenses linked to the accident so far. Of the 16 people who died, agreements have been reached with four families, eight cases are under negotiation, one is in court, one is being regularised under the workplace accidents regime with provisional pensions, and two are waiting for documentation. The 24 injured people continue to receive the necessary follow-up until their clinical condition is consolidated, which will allow a final assessment of damages.

Agreements reached4

Under negotiation8

In court1

Workplace accident regime1

Awaiting documentation2

Agreements reached

4 cases

Under negotiation

8 cases

In court

1 cases

Workplace accident regime

1 cases

Awaiting documentation

2 cases

Data from the article text

Nuno Pinto Coelho de Faria, the lawyer for the family of the widower of the employee, said the insurer's reasoning implies it accepts that the transport was not reliable. He said it is unusual for insurers to be asked to rule on compensation before the causes and responsibilities of an accident are established. He added that the insurer appears to be looking for grounds to exclude cover rather than accept liability.