Since April 2017, the priority way to receive compensation under MTPL is to repair the vehicle at a service station. You can also receive a cash payment, but under a number of circumstances established by law. Car repair under MTPL is regulated by the provisions of the Central Bank, the MTPL Rules and the federal law on compulsory motor vehicle insurance. How is a car sent for repairs after an accident? What is the insurer's workshop? What is the period for repairing a car under the MTPL policy? What difficulties may an injured car owner encounter when paying compensation in kind? We will try to answer these and other questions in this article.
After an insured event occurs, the car owner must write an application to the insurance company to receive compensation. If his situation does not fit any of the provisions of the law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” (clause 16.1 of Article 12), then insurance payment is made in kind. Under the law, payment in kind means restoration repairs of damaged vehicles under compulsory motor liability insurance. In order to receive a referral for car repair, you must follow the following algorithm:
After receiving all the documents, after assessing all the circumstances of the incident specified in the protocol or notification of the accident, after inspecting the car and an independent examination, the insurance company issues a referral for repairs within the time limits provided for by the MTPL Rules - 20 or 30 days. The repair order issued must contain the following information:
If contracts have been concluded between a number of service stations and an insurance company, then the policyholder himself can choose a specific car service from the list offered by the insurer. According to the terms of the agreement concluded between the parties, a certain car service may set restrictions on accepting cars, so the insurer’s client must carefully approach the choice. The insurance company that provided the direction for repairs under compulsory motor liability insurance is, according to the rules, responsible for its quality and compliance with deadlines, as well as for the timely transfer of money for repairs to the account of the service station.
According to clause 4.17 of the OSAGO Rules, the repair time is determined by the car service center after inspecting the car. They can be agreed upon by the service station and the injured client of the insurer and indicated in the repair order or another document that the policyholder receives in hand after presenting his car to the service station. The same paragraph of the Rules indicates that the client has the right to change the time frame for repairing the car - to do this, he must contact the service with a written application.
The Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” in paragraph 15.2 of Article 12 establishes clear requirements for restoration services. They also relate to deadlines. Repairing a car after an accident cannot take more than 30 days from the moment the victim brought the damaged car to a service station or handed it over to the insurer for further transportation to a service station. If repairs under compulsory motor liability insurance took longer, the vehicle owner can send a complaint to the service station and the insurance company, which are obliged to consider it within 5 days.
The Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” in Article 12 indicates that the repair service must be located within accessibility of the scene of the accident or the victim’s place of residence - the distance cannot exceed 50 km. If the insurer is willing to pay for the delivery of the vehicle to the service station, then the distance can be any. Repairs under compulsory motor liability insurance in 2018 can be done either at an official dealer or at an insurer’s service station or station of the personal choice of the victim.
If more than two years have not passed since the date of release of the car from the assembly line and it is subject to warranty obligations of an organization that has an agreement with the manufacturer or official distributor of this car brand, then the repairs are carried out by such an organization (dealer). But only on condition that an appropriate agreement has been concluded between her and the insurance company.
If the list of service stations of the insurer does not include an official dealer of the brand of car that was damaged in an accident, then in accordance with the law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” (paragraph 6, clause 15.2 of Article 12), the insurer, with the consent of the client, can issue a referral for repairs under Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance from an official dealer . If there is no such consent, then the car owner can withdraw the insurance compensation in the form of a cash payment. The insurer must pay compensation within the legal limit of insurance payments - 400 thousand rubles or 100 thousand rubles if the accident was registered between the victim and the culprit according to the European protocol.
If the car owner chooses a service station from the insurance company’s list, then a contract is concluded between the three parties. It indicates the terms of free repairs, prices of spare parts, calculation of all repair work, and a list of them. If the cost of car repairs was estimated to be more than 400 thousand rubles of the insurer's liability limit, then the car owner himself will have to pay the remainder. Repairs must be carried out only using new parts; refurbished and used parts are not allowed.
The warranty for restoration repairs is six months, for body work and painting - 1 year.
After completing the repair, the service station hands over the vehicle to the car owner and gives an acceptance certificate for signature. The policyholder must carefully examine his car for uncorrected damage and restoration defects, and only then sign the document. If the repair turns out to be less than perfect, the car owner must resolve the issue through a claim procedure with the insurance company, since it is responsible for this work. If the car acceptance certificate is first signed, and then it is discovered that the repair of the car under compulsory motor liability insurance was carried out with deficiencies, claims to the service station or the insurance company will become meaningless. The claim must have the following content:
To his claim, the car owner must attach copies or originals of his passport, traffic police report, notification of an accident, compulsory insurance policy, documents certifying ownership of the car, PTS, STS. The insurer must arrange an inspection of the vehicle within 5 days. If as a result it becomes clear that repeated repairs are necessary, then a new referral to a service station is issued with the consent of the insured. If repeated repair is impossible or the client does not agree with it, then the insurance company is obliged to compensate for the damage through an insurance payment.
An insurance organization may leave a claim unsatisfied if not all documents are submitted, if the person filing the claim is not a victim and does not have a power of attorney to represent the rights of the victim, if the claim requires the payment of monetary compensation but does not provide details for the transfer of funds, and also if the car is not provided for inspection and recording of poor-quality repairs performed by a service station.
Clause 15.3 of Article 12 allows the victim to independently choose a service that is not included in the list of service stations-partners of the insurer, if none of them meets the requirements of the law. To receive a referral for repairs from a third-party service, you must obtain written permission from the insurance company. To speed up the process, the injured car owner must indicate the following in his application for insurance compensation:
If the insurance company agrees to send the damaged car for repairs under compulsory motor liability insurance to such a service station, it will cover all costs without taking into account wear and tear of spare parts. It is in the case that the car is sent for repair to a service not from its list, the insurer has the right to consider the policyholder’s application 10 days longer, that is, 30 days. If everything is agreed upon, but after a month the direction for repairs has not been received, the policyholder has the right to receive a penalty from the insurance company in the amount of 1% of the total amount of certain compensation for each overdue day in accordance with clause 4.22 of Central Bank Regulation No. 431-P dated 19.09 .2-14 g.
The insurance company assesses the damage caused to the car using a unified methodology developed and approved by the insurance market regulator - the Central Bank. In some situations, during a vehicle examination, hidden damage or other defects may not be taken into account. Then the amount of compensation will be unfairly underestimated and the policyholder may be asked to cover the remaining costs of restoration repairs with personal money. The obligation to pay extra is not illegal in itself, but the main thing for the policyholder is to make sure that the insurance company’s calculations were correct.
The car owner can hire an independent expert to determine the cost of restoring his car and proceed further depending on the results. If an independent examination has confirmed the amount of the cost of restoration repairs determined by the insurance company, then there will be no other way but to pay extra money. If the examination report shows that the insurer’s calculation turned out to be incorrect, then the policyholder can refuse the additional payment and write a claim to the company and, if the company refuses to pay money, go to court with a claim. Judicial practice shows that if there are reliable results of an independent examination, the courts will satisfy such claims.
The driver of the car injured in the accident filed a claim in court, demanding to recover monetary compensation from Rosgosstrakh PJSC under the MTPL insurance policy. In support of the claims, it was stated that the insurer, after calculating the cost of repairs, sent him to a service station, transferring 86,300 rubles to its account. The victim did not agree with the amount and the need for additional payment for repairs and sent a claim to the insurer, which was not satisfied, and then went to court.
The court conducted a forensic examination, which showed that the amount of damage, taking into account wear and tear of parts, amounted to 101,577 rubles, the cost of repairs without taking into account wear and tear of parts was more than 140,000 rubles. Based on the difference in calculations, taking into account the partial fulfillment of obligations by the insurer and guided by current legislation, the court ordered Rosgosstrakh to pay part of the compensation, money in the form of a fine for failure to fulfill obligations on a voluntary basis and other legal expenses of the injured driver.
An injured driver may receive money in lieu of repairs in a number of situations. These include total loss of the car, death of the policyholder, personal injury, as well as cases where the victim is disabled. Another option for obtaining funds is to delay repairs. In this case, the victim may demand that the insurance company replace the type of compensation due to non-compliance with the provisions of the law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” (Article 12). The insurer, as the person responsible for the repairs, is obliged to pay the client money. The next option is related to the distance to the service station - if it is more than 50 km, and the insurer cannot transport the car there on its own, then compensation will also be paid in money.
Clause 16 of Article 12 of the same legislative act states that if damage as a result of an accident is caused to other property of the insured (except for a car), then the damage is compensated by money by transfer to a bank account or issuance at the cash desk of the insurance company. If a truck is involved in an accident, the insurer cannot insist on repairs and the question of the compensation option is decided by the injured driver - he can choose repair work at a service station or money.
As you know, in 2017, MTPL introduced a priority for compensation in kind (hereinafter referred to as repairs in the text) over cash payments. A number of questions arise in connection with the innovation.
In simple words, the priority is that instead of a cash payment, you receive a referral for repairs, which are paid for by the insurance company. At the same time, it is now impossible to choose money instead of repairs as it was before, with the exception of a small list of cases.
Let's take a look at the various issues.
To determine whether you can get money under the old rules, you need to look at the policy of the person at fault for the accident.
The priority of repairs over payment was introduced by the Federal Law of March 28, 2017. No. 49-FZ. It came into force on April 28, 2017. This means that if the person at fault for the accident was issued a policy before this date, then the old rules apply to you, when the victim had a choice: money or repairs.
What makes up a simple calculation. The last day when an accident can occur, and you will have the right to choose if you have an old policy, is April 27, 2018.
The insurance company issues a referral to the service station with which it has an agreement. The list of service stations with which the insurer has such agreements must be indicated on its website.
A citizen can carry out repairs at any other service station only if there is an appropriate agreement with the insurance company. In other words: the choice is only within the limits provided by the insurer.
The law obliges the use of new parts when carrying out repairs and prohibits the installation of used ones on a car. Therefore, wear and tear is not taken into account. By the way, they can supply new non-original (Chinese) spare parts.
Additional payment for repairs is provided only if the culprit has an old policy and you chose repairs instead of money (see answer to question 1).
A mandatory requirement for a service station with which the insurer has an agreement is that it has its own agreement with the manufacturer or distributor of cars of the corresponding brand. In other words, it must be a service station of an official dealer.
This requirement is mandatory if your car is no more than two years old (from the date of manufacture). The warranty does not expire if it itself does not exceed this period. Otherwise, if the guarantee is given for a longer period, it will be void.
After inspecting the vehicle, the insurer is obliged to issue a referral to a service station within 20 days from the date you submit an application for an insured event with a full package of documents.
Repairs must be carried out within 30 days from the date you hand over the car to the service station. This is a mandatory requirement that cannot be changed by any agreement. Pay attention exactly after the car is handed over for service! If you don’t hand over your car for service, but continue to drive it, then the 30 days don’t even begin to count.
The insurer is responsible to you.
For violation of the deadlines for issuing a referral to a service station, the insurer will pay you a penalty in the amount of 1% of the amount of insurance compensation for each day of delay.
In case of violation of the repair deadlines, the insurer pays a penalty in the amount of 0.5% of the same amount, respectively.
In case of poor-quality repairs, you also submit a claim for compensation of losses to the insurer.
There are several such cases. Let's look at the general principles first:
Now let's move on to the mandatory requirements for service stations:
If none of the service stations with which the insurer has an agreement meets the specified requirements, money is paid.
If the Central Bank has limited the insurer’s right to refer victims for repairs, repairs can only be carried out with your consent. Information about the Central Bank making such a decision is contained on its official website.
Taking into account wear and tear according to the Unified Methodology approved by the Regulations of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
It is assumed that the owner of a damaged car makes no difference how to receive insurance compensation. All he essentially wants is for the car to be repaired and to be drivable.
If the insurer chooses the station himself, pays for the repairs himself, old parts are replaced with new ones, then the citizens only benefit. At least, this is how the amendments to OSAGO were announced.
Meanwhile, real life brings surprises.
The stations are also not punctual and a 30-day repair turns into a sluggish process for several months. At the same time, some service stations, after 2-3 months, even refuse to do repairs due to their high cost or the impossibility of ordering the necessary spare parts.
It is important to note that the quality of repairs is also questionable. If your car is more than two years old, then you cannot be sure that the insurer, in an effort to save money, will not send you to a service station where the repairs will be carried out cheaply and of poor quality.
Some insurance companies do not issue referrals for repairs at all due to the high cost of repairs and the desire to save money. It is cheaper to pay taking into account wear and tear than to pay for a full repair with replacement with new parts. That is, the very idea of the priority of natural compensation loses all meaning.
As of January 2018, the situation in St. Petersburg is as follows.
You can file an insurance claim for damage to vehicles and other property as a result of an accident at the offices of independent experts - partners of Ingosstrakh.
You can find a list of independent technical expertise that accepts clients under compulsory motor liability insurance in Moscow and the Moscow region in the section “Settlement Offices”.
Compensation for damage caused to the victim’s vehicle can be carried out by organizing and paying for restoration repairs at a service station (STS), from among those with which Ingosstrakh has concluded relevant agreements, taking into account the criteria for accepting vehicles for repairs for each service station .
In case of damage to vehicles and other property as a result of an accident.
You can file an insured event at the offices of independent experts - partners of Ingosstrakh:
Submitting an application to the office of independent examination will allow you to:
You can find a list of independent technical expertise that accepts clients under compulsory motor liability insurance in Moscow and the Moscow region in the “Settlement Offices” section.
A natural form of compensation for harm.
Compensation for damage caused to the victim’s vehicle can be carried out by organizing and paying for restoration repairs at a service station (STS), from among those with which Ingosstrakh has concluded relevant agreements, taking into account the criteria for accepting vehicles for repairs for each service station .
Terms of payment of insurance compensation: The victim's application for insurance payment is considered within 20 calendar days (excluding non-working holidays).
IMPORTANT! To receive insurance compensation up to 400 thousand rubles. for road accidents that occurred in Moscow, Moscow Region, St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region, as well as in order to receive insurance compensation in the event of disagreements, data on the road accident must be recorded by its participants and transferred to the AIS OSAGO through the RSA mobile application “DTP.Europrotocol”. The fact of using the RSA mobile application “DTP.Europrotocol” when registering an accident under the Europrotocol should be indicated in the application for payment of insurance compensation.
A set of documents to be completed when applying to Ingosstrakh:
A memo on the procedure at the scene of an accident to claim a loss under the Euro Protocol -.
When contacting Ingosstrakh, you must submit.
More detailed information on the Europrotocol can be found on the RSA website.
When contacting Ingosstrakh, you need to provide the following.
Payments under compulsory motor liability insurance have been replaced with repairs since 2017 - this rule came into force after the President of the Russian Federation signed amendments to the previously existing law on compulsory motor liability insurance. The new amendments are effective from April 28, 2017 and apply only to those compulsory insurance policies that were issued after this date.
Before the law came into effect, car owners had the choice of receiving a refund or making repairs. Now he's gone. If the culprit in the accident signed a compulsory motor liability insurance agreement after April 28, in most cases you will have to forget about the monetary payment. After another six months, direct compensation will be relevant even in the event of an accident involving 2 or more cars.
Before the new law, the car owner had two options for compensation:
As you can see, the injured party retained the right to refuse repairs at the service station and take the money. This loophole was used by various lawyers, helping participants in road accidents to sue the insurance company for the required funds and in this way receive additional income. The presence of cash payments led to the emergence of scammers who substituted their cars on the roads in order to receive money under compulsory motor liability insurance.
With the new law coming into force, there is no room for choice, and car owners are forced to repair their car at a service station.
With the entry into force of the new amendments, the algorithm of actions is as follows:
Cash payments have not been canceled for everyone, but only for owners of passenger cars registered in the Russian Federation and owned by citizens of the country.
In the event of an accident, a representative of the insurance company inspects the car and issues a referral for repairs. During the car restoration process, only new parts are used. Installation of used spare parts is possible upon concluding an agreement with an insurance company. By the way, the insurer may not give its approval.
Repair costs are calculated using the Central Bank method, which takes into account various indicators. When this method is used, the cost of painting parts is not always included in the total amount or is partially painted.
Payment for installed parts is made not according to a receipt from the store, but taking into account the average statistical information given in a special reference book. The same approach is used when determining costs for service stations. If the money allocated by the insurer is not enough for repairs, the difference will have to be made up from your own money.
A referral for vehicle restoration is issued within 20 days from the date of acceptance of the application by the insurer. If the work is planned to be carried out at a third-party service station, which is not included in the list of the insurance company, there may be a delay in issuing a referral - up to a month.
30 working days are allotted for repair work. The countdown starts from the moment the vehicle is accepted by the service station. An increase in the established period is possible for more complex repairs and with the consent of the injured party. If repairs are delayed, the insurance company pays a penalty.
Many people are interested in whether the service station provides a guarantee. If we are talking about body restoration work, it is 1 year, and for other types of repairs - 6 months.
Where the vehicle is restored depends on the insurance company. Each insurer has its own list of service stations with which contracts have been concluded. There may be many options, but each time the decision is made individually. According to the law, a car service must be located no more than 50 km from the scene of the accident or the place of residence of the injured party.
If the insurance company pays for a tow truck to deliver the car to the service station, you can choose any option from the list. What does it mean? If the accident occurred at a distance of 200 km from the car owner’s house, the insurer has the right to send a tow truck. In this case, the transport takes the car for repair to the nearest service station or to any other service station. It is worth knowing that the task of the insurance company is to deliver the car not only to the service station, but also to its original location.
By law, the insurance company is obliged to send the car to a service that has the right to service cars of a certain brand (this must be confirmed by an agreement with the dealer or manufacturer). If such a service station is not on the list, the car is sent for repair at any other service offered by the insurer, but subject to the consent of the car owner. If the owner refuses the proposed option, he is allowed to take the money.
This condition applies if the car is under 2 years old. This is a big minus, because many manufacturers provide a warranty of 3-5 years. If the insurer does not have suitable options on the list, it has the right to send the car for any service. In this case, no compensation will be issued.
When applying for a compulsory insurance policy, the car owner has the right to indicate a specific service to which the insurer must issue a referral in case of direct compensation for damage. Most often you have to choose from the list of an insurance company, but by agreement it is possible to indicate another service station (even if it is not on the list).
If any agreements are reached, the latter must be recorded in the statement. In this case, the consent of the insurance company must be in writing. If the insurer cannot pay for repairs at the agreed service, the owner has the right to demand monetary compensation.
If the car was transferred to a service station, which delayed the delivery of the car or poorly completed the task, the owner files a claim with the insurance company with a request to remove the existing defects. If the problems have not been eliminated, you can demand compensation, and in case of refusal, go to court.
Cash payments are made in the following cases:
Some car owners decide to repair their cars themselves. It is worth considering here that receiving money at will is no longer possible. Compensation is paid only in one of the above cases. The easiest way is to try to negotiate with the insurer about monetary compensation. In case of refusal, it will not be possible to somehow influence the insurance company. The car will have to be sent in for repairs and, perhaps, some of the funds will have to be spent on spare parts.
It was noted above that the calculation of the amount of payments is made using the Central Bank method, which takes into account many indicators, starting with the area of damage and ending with the volume of leakage of consumables during the repair process. The owner of the car cannot demand to fill in the usual oil or install spark plugs from a specific manufacturer. The insurer takes into account data from a special directory and takes into account information received from an expert. This is why sometimes there is not enough money for repairs, and the car owner is forced to pay extra out of pocket.
To reduce costs, you can agree to install used parts, but such an agreement must be in writing. Even in the absence of fault, compulsory motor liability insurance rarely covers the cost of repairs, but according to the law, the injured person has the right to demand additional payment from the guilty party.
In this case, you can use the old contract and, in case of an accident, choose one of the available options - payment of money or payment for repairs. Once the policy expires, it is important to carefully select an insurer. Pay attention to the list of services that the insurance company works with. This list can be found on the official website of the insurer. There should also be other information here - the addresses of the service station, the timing of repairs, as well as the brands of cars being serviced.
Before concluding a contract, contact a trusted service station and find out which insurance companies it works with. Then select the appropriate option from the list.
If you replace parts yourself, collect receipts for spare parts, as they may be required for examination or legal proceedings. If an accident occurs, make sure that the paperwork is completed correctly. This will preserve the possibility of direct coverage of losses with the insurance company.
If you are just planning to buy a car and want to maintain the warranty, make a request from an authorized service station dealer. Select the company that works with the service center you are interested in. If the insurer of the guilty party does not have an agreement with this service station, demand a referral here or monetary compensation.
If you are buying a used car, ask the seller for paperwork for the parts they recently purchased. If you purchase an expensive car, consider whether you can pay the difference yourself when repairing the car under compulsory motor liability insurance. It will no longer be possible to receive a payment and then make repairs in a friend’s garage.
At the end of April 2017, changes in the field of motorist liability insurance came into force. Particularly important innovations affected the procedure for compensation of damages. Now drivers who purchased a policy after April 28 will not be able to receive cash payments. Changes do not apply to contracts concluded before this date. And if they are involved in an accident, the old rules will apply.
The law establishes the right of a driver who is not guilty of an accident to choose the type of insurance compensation.
Clause 15 Art. 12 of the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance:
With regard to passenger vehicles of Russian citizens, which are registered in the country, a different condition applies, with some exceptions:
Art. 15.3 of the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance:
While most drivers still have the opportunity to choose, it is important to understand which compensation option is beneficial to the motorist and not to the insurance company. The introduction of repairs as a reimbursement option was made with great reserves for the future. The reform process in this area has not yet been completed, so it is not yet possible to talk about any serious advantages. The obvious advantages of repairs at the insurance company’s service station include:
Meanwhile, until this process is fully debugged, you can agree to this option if minor repairs are required. For example, if only the body or external elements are affected, and the list of service stations offered by the insurer includes worthy representatives of their profession. In other cases, repairs can result in even bigger problems.
The main innovation is that monetary compensation has been replaced by repairs. In some cases, compensation will still be paid, but these are few.
Before the introduction of the changes, the opportunity to choose the type of compensation (money or repairs) was retained for all motorists who were involved in an accident and were innocent of the incident.
It has been established that everyone can choose insurance compensation, except for Russian citizens who have a car registered in the Russian Federation.
The innovations do not affect those who purchased a policy before April 28, 2017. Therefore, if they get into an accident under the old policy, they will also be able to choose the type of compensation.
Payment will be made in the following cases:
In all of the above situations, car repair is impossible: the insurance company must pay the car owner money.
Costs for spare parts are calculated according to the level of wear and tear. It is determined by experts when inspecting the car and preparing a conclusion. The maximum level of wear is defined as 50%.
After the new rules come into force, before purchasing a policy, it is recommended to study the list of services that different insurance companies work with. They are available on insurers' websites.
You should also pay attention to the quality of the work performed, reviews, and the popularity of these services among motorists.
Only after choosing a potential service station for possible repairs can you conclude an insurance contract.
If an insured event occurs, the following documents must be submitted to the insurance company within 5 days:
The insurer accepts the driver’s application, reviews it and recognizes the case as insured. The appraiser inspects the vehicle and determines the cost of repairs.
After this, the car owner decides which service station will carry out the repairs, and the insurance company prepares an agreement. It indicates the deadlines for completing the work, the list of actions and the cost. The agreement is signed by everyone: the insurer, the car owner and the service station.
Next, the motorist is given a direction for repairs, which must be carried out within a certain time frame. Next comes the actual repair work. However, the car owner cannot control the service station workers; all issues are resolved through the insurance company.
When filing an insurance claim, the insurance company must also provide the motorist with a complete list of organizations that carry out repairs.
In addition to these service stations, a motorist can repair his car:
Thus, the choice of the service station that will repair the car remains with the motorist.
