The law on compulsory motor liability insurance, amended in favor of insurers, came into force

Key features of the law

Federal Law No. 40-FZ is aimed at regulating all possible legal relations related to insurance of civil liability of a driver on the road.

Its main features include:

• the presence of a large number of definitive norms, which allows for the most accurate application and interpretation of the law in practice. Thanks to detailed regulation, a unified judicial practice was developed and established;
• the main feature is to protect the driver in the event of an insured event, since he will not bear financial liability unless otherwise provided by law;
• The most important document of the law under consideration is the MTPL insurance policy.

IMPORTANT !!! Today, having an insurance policy is mandatory for every driver. In its absence, it is impossible to register the car, the driver will face a fine, and in the event of an accident, all responsibility will fall on him.

Liability for violation of provisions

The main requirement of the law for drivers is the mandatory registration of an insurance policy for their car, and administrative liability is provided for its absence. The latest edition of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for the absence of a compulsory motor liability insurance policy provides for punishment exclusively in the form of a fine of 800 rubles. If the policy is expired or used outside the established period, the fine will be 500 rubles.

There is no provision for increased liability for repeated violations. However, it must be remembered that for the absence of a policy, the driver can be fined an unlimited number of times.

Today, monitoring the detection of this violation is carried out exclusively by traffic police officers. Automatic fixation systems do not yet have such functionality.

Application of the law in practice

The changes made most significantly affect the application of the law in practice. Several features change each year, so it is important to consider the key features individually.

The basis for receiving payment has not changed - they are left with the occurrence of an insured event when harm was caused to other persons.

The list of situations when the insurer has the right to refuse to provide payment also remains unchanged:

• illegal driving (no insurance policy, no driver's license);
• causing moral harm;
• the damage was caused outside the conditions covered by the insurance policy;
• the amount of damage caused is above the limit established by law. In this case, the culprit himself must pay the difference.

ATTENTION !!! The amount of compensation depends not only on the method of registration of the accident, but also on the specific circumstances of the incident.

In each case, an individual examination is assigned, on the basis of which the insurer makes a decision on payment of compensation, as well as its amount.

Registration of an accident

The main basis for providing compensation to the insurance company is the existence of an accident, documented in the prescribed manner. Today, there are 2 ways to register an accident: by traffic police officers and by drivers themselves.

In the first case, traffic police officers arrive at the scene of the accident and carry out all the registration. They take measurements, fill out documents, and issue a certificate. Based on this, you can expect to receive compensation in the future.

ATTENTION !!! Registration in a simplified manner without traffic police officers is carried out independently by drivers. It happens faster, but not possible in all cases.

It is allowed to draw up a European protocol in the following cases:

• no people were injured as a result of the accident, and damage was caused only to property;
• no more than 2 cars were involved in the accident;
• the amount of damage caused does not exceed 100 thousand rubles;
• both drivers have an issued and valid insurance policy;
• the drivers reached an agreement on the fact of the accident, identified the culprit and have no other contradictions.

In any other case, the simplified procedure does not apply. Violation of this rule is grounds for refusal to provide payment by the insurance company.

Basic moments

The Compulsory Insurance Law obliges vehicle owners to insure the existing risk of harm to a third party, regardless of their financial situation.

Control of the availability of the policy is carried out by road service employees. After the creation of a universal database of policyholders, this issue will be controlled by a separate government agency.

Currently, disputes regarding the articles of the new law continue. Reasons for the debate:

• insufficient responsibility of the insurance company for fulfilling its duties;
• double interpretation of some provisions of the law, which leads to unclear situations;
• use of a fake MTPL policy;
• the need to pay extra for repairs of the damaged vehicle at the expense of the victim’s finances.

This year, a fine of 500 rubles will be issued for the absence of a policy. Article 17 of Federal Law 40-FZ “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” of 2017 provides for compensation of the insurance premium under the Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance agreement.

Article 15 of Federal Law 40 “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” regulates the procedure for compulsory insurance. Articles 11 and 12 provide for the actions of the parties and the procedure for payment of compensation.

What does the standard regulate?

Federal Law No. 40 regulates the issue of liability in emergency situations.

In accordance with the document, the person responsible for the incident is obliged to bear financial responsibility to the injured citizen.

The law regulates legal relations that arise as a result of an emergency situation between citizens.

The normative act identifies the situations in which this norm is applied and the grounds for compensation for damage to victims.

According to the law, damages are incurred both for damaged property and for injuries caused.

Insurance rules

The current insurance rules have been amended to address the interests of insurance companies and car owners.

The innovations apply to those contracts that were concluded after April of the previous year. According to the new rules, money is paid in the following cases:

• a car damaged in an accident cannot be restored;
• repairs are estimated at more than 400,000 rubles;
• damage was caused to property that does not concern the car;
• if the accident was registered without the participation of traffic police officers and the damage is no more than 100 thousand rubles;
• The car owner has a disability group of 1 or 2, and he has applied for compensation for car repairs.

The 2021 insurance rules provide for personal completion of an electronic application form and personal payment of the cost of the policy.

The next rule change concerns the payout limit. If damage is caused to life or health - 500 thousand, if property - 400 thousand rubles.

Explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

The Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court states that if an insured event occurs, the victim must notify the insurer within the prescribed period and send him an application with the necessary documentation.

You should also provide the damaged vehicle for inspection. If the victim misses the deadline, he agrees with the insurance company on a new date for inspecting the car.

If he misses this date, then the results of the independent examination (which he will conduct independently) will not be accepted, and the amount of insurance compensation will not be established.

Payment procedure

Compensation is provided on the basis of a document confirming the fact of the accident. It can be a certificate from traffic police officers, or a drawn up European protocol.

Art. 12 of the Federal Law under consideration provides for the procedure for paying compensation to the insurance company. According to the established provisions, the injured person has the right to contact the insurer of the guilty party with the necessary documents in order to receive compensation.

IMPORTANT !!! Depending on the specific situation, the examinations carried out and the conclusions received, the insurance company gives a final conclusion on the possibility of providing payment or compensation in another form.

Today, compensation is possible in cash or in the form of vehicle repairs. For damage caused to health, the amount of money necessary for treatment is paid.

Due to changes in recent years, if a vehicle is damaged, as a general rule, it is repaired without paying money. This rule is aimed at reducing the number of cases of fraud, but in practice, insurers save on this, which causes dissatisfaction on the part of drivers. New edition 2021 with comments, puts repairs first instead of money.

However, you can count on receiving monetary compensation in the following cases:

• if the insurer is unable to carry out repairs, or if the established deadlines are violated;
• if repairs are impractical, if the car has received serious damage;
• if the repair amount exceeds the established limit, and the driver refuses to pay the difference;
• in exceptional cases, when the insurer has agreed with the driver, about which an agreement has been drawn up.

IMPORTANT !!! Based on the totality of all circumstances, the insurance company decides on the possibility of providing compensation, as well as its amount. In case of disagreement, the interested party has the right to appeal the decision in court.

Explanations of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation

Resolutions of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation also provide explanations and interpretations of some provisions of Federal Law-40. In particular, they provide clarification on the following issues:

• The procedure for concluding agreements between an insurance operator and an individual.
• Features of the preparation of documentation in the event of risks, when there is no need to involve traffic police officers, since no harm was caused to the life and health of one of the parties.
• Determining the circle of persons who are entitled to receive compensation.
• Rules for the implementation of compensation for damage.
• Responsibility of insurance companies to their clients.

The MTPL policy is a guarantee of receiving compensation for damage incurred in an accident if it occurred due to the fault of another person. This type of insurance is regulated by Federal Law No. 40 “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”, which explains the basic concepts, activities of companies and the rights of the insured, determines tariffs and payment ratios, penalties in case of failure to fulfill the operator’s obligations. The normative act is periodically reviewed by the legislative body in order to make changes and amendments. It’s better for drivers to keep an eye on them to stay up to date with the latest innovations.

Other features of insurance payments

By law, the insurance company of the culprit of the accident must compensate for the damage caused, as a result of which the culprit himself does not bear any financial liability (except for moral damage), but in practice there are other cases.

In Art. 14 of the law in question lists situations when the insurer receives the right to demand payment of all funds from the culprit of the accident:

• when driving a vehicle while intoxicated, or without a driver’s license;
• the culprit left the scene;
• if the deadlines for submitting documents after an accident are not met;
• when providing false documents;
• in case of violation of other provisions established by the agreement between the company and the driver.

The most common mistake drivers make is when they do not pay attention to the deadlines. For their violation, the insurer has the right to refuse payment, although the driver did not commit other violations. For example, Article 14 paragraph g, judicial practice is well established and in most cases the insurer’s decision is satisfied, since the driver actually violated the established rules.

Article 14.1, direct damages, is another important feature of the provision of payment.

ATTENTION !!! As a general rule, the victim must contact the insurer of the at-fault party.

How many days does it take for the insurance company to respond to the application?

The insurer must also respond to the application within a certain time frame. However, these terms have divisions:

1. The application, if the victim died in an accident, is accepted within 15 days and considered within 5 days;
2. In other cases, the decision is made within 20 days. The exception is situations when the victim requires the vehicle to be repaired at a station that is not a partner of the insurance company. Such an appeal is considered within a month.
3. Within 5 working days, a vehicle that was damaged in a traffic accident should be delivered for examination. After this period has expired, the victim will have to undergo an examination at his own expense.

Although the car must be delivered for examination within 5 days, repair work should begin after 15 days. There are many cases when insurance company specialists require a re-examination. If repairs are made within 15 days, the amount of payments will be significantly reduced.