What is included in CASCO insurance: everything you need to know about insured events

What to choose: CASCO or OSAGO?

In fact, modern motorists do not have such a choice, since OSAGO is a compulsory type of insurance. Without such a policy, according to the law, it is prohibited to drive a vehicle.

This is the first key difference between OSAGO and CASCO. The latter refers to voluntarily executed contracts at the discretion of the driver. That is, the car owner may not have CASCO insurance, but compulsory motor liability insurance must be issued.

How much will you have to pay for driving without insurance? Read the article on fines for lack of MTPL insurance

Also, these policies differ in the principle of operation. OSAGO covers the driver's civil liability. For the damage caused, the insurance company will pay compensation to the injured party. CASCO protects the interests of the vehicle owner, allowing him to receive compensation in the event of theft or damage.

Therefore, it is difficult to say which is better - OSAGO or CASCO, each of them serves its own purposes. In this case, the first type of insurance is mandatory; its absence entails penalties.

In the video we compare MTPL, DSAGO and CASCO insurance policies:

Breakdown insurance

Most often, insurance companies offer to insure a car in case of breakdowns on the roads. This option may be offered as an additional service.

Typically, additional services include starting the engine, troubleshooting battery problems, locking problems, or refueling.

Some insurance companies also offer wheel insurance, which means they can be repaired in case of a puncture or other damage. There are even offers on the market to insure wheels against theft, which also happens sometimes.

Some insurers have the option to purchase insurance for alarms. At first glance, this option may seem ridiculous. However, in the event of a breakdown, various alarms can, for example, block the movement of the car, which leads to significant costs.

As additional services, you can order, for example, calling a tow truck. True, here you need to pay attention to the conditions for the provision of the service: some insurance companies stipulate the cost of the service or mileage. In this case, if the car breaks down on a highway remote from the city, you will have to pay extra.

Large companies offer insurance against unexpected breakdowns for cars whose warranty period has already expired. True, here you need to carefully study the terms of the contract, since insurance does not cover all types of breakdowns.

What does a CASCO policy look like?

The forms may differ from one insurance company to another, but there are a number of required elements:

• security holograms or barcodes containing important information about the driver and vehicle;
• personal data of the holder;
• detailed information about transport;

• 
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  coverage area;

• list of risks;
• the amount of the insured amount;
• validity.

The agreement is confirmed by the signatures of both parties and the company seal. The image shows an introductory sample of a CASCO policy from, which is one of the best insurers in Russia.

How to check the policy?

After registration, the representative is obliged to hand over to the car owner the original document, a receipt for payment for services, and insurance rules. You can check the authenticity of CASCO by contacting the official representative office of the company and indicating the vehicle number. If the registration took place outside the office, it is advisable to do this in the presence of an employee immediately after the conclusion of the contract.

How to check the authenticity of a compulsory motor liability insurance policy is described in this article.

Repair without certificates from the traffic police

Insurance often provides for the possibility of repairs without certificates. In some cases, this increases the cost of insurance and is an additional service. Sometimes this option is included in the package offered by the insurer or is a gift from it.

Insurance may include repair of a certain number of parts without a certificate. Most often, the insurance company immediately stipulates the maximum cost of such repairs. For example, without a certificate it will be possible to repair one part for no more than 25 thousand rubles.

The insurance company can also offer the client replacement of glass elements without certificates. Here again there may be a choice to replace a limited or unlimited number of times.

This is a rather useful option, since if a stone on the road bounces into the car and the glass cracks, the driver is unlikely to immediately call the traffic police. The same applies to chips or small scratches that the car received while parking.

Here you need to take into account that applications without certificates are often considered by the insurance company as a risk factor: for a driver who applied too often, the coefficient when applying for insurance next time may increase.

What documents are needed for CASCO?

To issue an insurance policy of this type, you must provide the company with the following package of papers:

• vehicle passport;
• certificate of state registration of transport;
• passport of the policyholder (if he is not the owner, it is also required to provide a power of attorney in his name);
• driver's license of everyone who will be included in the insurance policy.

Documents for application in the event of an insured event

In case of an accident or other situation included in the list of risks, in order to receive compensation you must provide:

• a statement describing the event (in writing);
• insurance policy and driver's license of the person driving the vehicle at the time of the incident;
• documents prepared by a traffic police specialist;
• medical examination protocols (if it was required by the situation and was carried out).

Is it worth paying extra for repairs at the dealer or service from the insurance company?

Insurance companies often offer to pay extra for repairs at a service station - this is a repair point from an official dealer. Insurance that involves repairs at a technical center that is an insurance partner will cost a little less.

Repairs at an authorized dealer are required for new vehicles covered by a factory warranty. If the vehicle is repaired at another center, it may be void of warranty.

There is no point in repairing a car that is not under warranty from the dealer.

However, repairs from an insurance partner may be beneficial. In this case, the insurance company pays for the repairs, and does not pay the owner the amount of damage that takes into account depreciation. In addition, the services may turn out to be of quite high quality.

The issue of depreciation as a whole can be resolved by insurance, which is paid without taking it into account. This is a special type of insurance that will cost a little more. But in the event of a serious accident, the car owner will generally be insured.

How to calculate the cost of CASCO?

The price of the policy depends on many factors. In particular, these include the cost and age of transport, and coverage features. The CASCO calculator will help you make calculations in each specific case.

What is included in the insurance case?

The main risks that may be included include damage, death, theft or theft of the car. However, the specific conditions of the circumstances that may lead to situations considered compensable differ depending on the type of policy and the organization.

When can a CASCO payment be denied?

Refusal to compensate for losses is possible if the insurer is ready to prove that the situation does not correspond to the list of risks from the contract. Companies can definitely avoid insurance payments by:

1. Availability of overdue insurance premium.
2. Serious violation of traffic rules by the driver.
3. Notification of the occurrence of an insured event later than the period established by the contract (often no more than 2-3 days).
4. Driving while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
5. Lack of documents confirming the occurrence of an insurance situation.
6. Driving a vehicle with tires that are out of season.
7. Attempts at self-repair before contacting the insurance company.

When should companies make insurance payments?

Unlike compensation for damage under OSAGO, time limits under CASCO are not established by law. Therefore, the exact payment period will differ from one insurance company to another. You can find out in the terms of the contract.

According to statistics, on average, CASCO owners receive compensation in the period from 15 to 30 days after notifying the company about the incident. This period may increase if any documents were not provided on time or there was a delay in drawing up a conclusion on damage assessment.

If the insurance company deliberately delays payment, a pre-trial claim should be filed. In this case, you can rely on the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which states that the terms of compensation for damage must be within reason. After such a statement, the organization must often fulfill its obligations within seven days.

Additional services

Modern insurance companies allow you to include many additional services in your policy. The specific set depends on the insurance company itself, as well as on the car owner’s willingness to pay for them.

Such services include calling a taxi in case of a breakdown or accident, calling an emergency commissioner who will help you register an accident on the spot and collect all the necessary certificates, or renting a car during repairs. In the case of a taxi or rental, insurance companies most often stipulate the amount they are willing to spend on it.

What is a CASCO franchise?

This type of policy allows you to significantly reduce the price of car insurance due to the fact that when signing the contract, the client undertakes to bear a certain part of the costs. For example, if we are talking about CASCO with a franchise of 15,000 rubles, the vehicle owner undertakes to independently pay for repairs within this amount. And expenses above this amount are borne by the insurance company.

The essence of such a policy is not only to provide an opportunity to save money, but also to minimize the frequency of claims to the insurer regarding minor damage.

Information about the deductible and its exact amount must be indicated in the CASCO policy.

Usually, a corresponding note about it is made immediately in the field describing the risks under the contract.

At the same time, drivers have the opportunity to use a franchise from the second case, if one is offered by the insurer of their choice. The essence of this option is that upon the first occurrence of an insured event, the owner can count on full compensation for the damage. But for the second and subsequent requests, he will have to independently pay the amount of expenses specified in the agreement.

Franchise classification

Lawyers draw the attention of citizens that, depending on the characteristics of the franchise, the following types are distinguished:

1. Conditional. Provides full compensation if the amount of losses significantly exceeds the deductible. For example, it is 10,000, and the damage reaches 40,000. In this case, a citizen can count on the entire 40,000 rubles. It is extremely rare.
2. Unconditional. Most often used. Implies a reduction in payment by a specified amount. For example, if a compensation of 40,000 rubles is assigned, and the deductible under the contract is 10,000, then the driver will receive 30,000.
3. Aggregate. This type is characterized by a reduction in the franchise size depending on the number of requests. For example, it was agreed upon in the amount of 30,000. Restoring a car for the first accident requires 15,000 rubles, the owner does not receive anything from the insurer. But when applying for the second time, he can expect that his deductible will decrease by the amount he previously paid (15,000). That is, having received damage a second time, he will be able to spend less of his money. For example, the amount of losses will be 40,000. He will no longer have to pay 30,000, but only 15,000. The insurance company will contribute the rest. On subsequent calls, she will also reimburse everything, since the deductible for the two previous times has already reached zero.

With or without a franchise - what to choose?

Advantages and disadvantages of a policy with a deductible

pros

Among the significant advantages of this policy is the opportunity to save on its purchase. The larger the franchise size, the lower the cost of CASCO insurance.

This option also allows you to legally avoid wasting time dealing with minor damage. As mentioned above, insurance organizations may refuse to pay if you attempt to repair it yourself. But if its price does not exceed the franchise amount, then there will definitely be no problems in eliminating the consequences of a minor incident.

Minuses

The disadvantages include the need to independently compensate for part of the losses if an insured event does occur. Also, the disadvantages of CASCO with a franchise include the fact that when taking out a car on credit, the bank is unlikely to approve such a policy. Most likely, he will refuse if he tries to conclude this type of agreement with any insurer.

Price policy

The cost of obtaining a comprehensive insurance policy depends on a number of factors. The most significant ones are:

• Vehicle age.
• Its make, model and estimated value.
• The degree to which vehicles are equipped with anti-theft devices.
• Place for vehicles to spend the night (parking lot, garage, yard).
• The prestige and popularity of the insurance company, the level of its prosperity or unprofitability.
• The age and length of service of people who will have access to driving a vehicle during the policy.

Thus, it is quite problematic to independently calculate exactly how much a comprehensive insurance costs . After all, each insurance company dictates its own terms.

But for the convenience of motorists, you can find online calculators on the Internet that help you calculate the estimated cost of comprehensive insurance.

You will have to fill out a questionnaire containing questions regarding both the main characteristics of the insured vehicle and the driver who will be operating the vehicle. The final figure will be approximate, but still, it will help a person to pre-plan his budget.

The question of how to calculate the cost of motor insurance for a car for a person with free access to the Internet is easily solved. But what to do if this is not possible? Naturally, you need to contact several insurance companies directly so that their specialists can provide their own calculations.

Since there is a high level of competition in this area of ​​activity in the country, each company is trying in every possible way to lure the client to itself. Therefore, additional discounts and advantageous offers are possible.

Shouldn't you buy cheap insurance from a small company?

Often new companies try to attract customers with low prices for comprehensive insurance. This may seem very attractive to clients, but in practice there are many risks.

The company is pursuing a rather risky strategy, which could result in financial losses for it. In this case, she may leave the market, and her clients will be left without payments.

If a major international player enters the market, then the situation looks somewhat more reliable. However, it is better to treat obviously dumping offers with caution and avoid them if possible.