Since operating a car without a compulsory motor liability insurance policy is prohibited by law, it is important to know the validity period of the insurance. You can drive a new car without compulsory motor liability insurance for ten days - this period is allotted for obtaining a policy.
However, if the car has been owned for a long time, then no delays in insurance are allowed. The expiration of the policy is not the only snag. Before you get behind the wheel, you need to carefully study the date on which compulsory motor liability insurance comes into effect.
Changes in the insurance procedure
In 2021, the procedure for registering compulsory motor insurance has undergone changes. The cost of insurance has not changed. The main innovation was the appearance of a QR code measuring 2 square meters. cm.
The code allows you to instantly verify the authenticity of the policy and obtain basic information about the car owner. This can be especially convenient when reporting an accident.
Another innovation will soon be the abolition of the territorial coefficient. That is, residents of all cities and regions of Russia will have the same rate.
In addition, electronic policies are gaining popularity every year. Their registration occurs through the website of the insurance company. Just like in an offline office, fill out a form for a car and drivers. Then payment occurs online. After checking the information and payment, the electronic policy comes into force.
IMPORTANT! If you have issued an electronic policy, you do not need to issue compulsory motor liability insurance at the office of the insurance company. A regular policy and an electronic one are equivalent in all respects.
How to apply for an electronic MTPL policy
The process of applying for a policy via the Internet is possible if you have an online mode and enter the necessary information about the insured car. An electronic policy can be obtained after visiting the company’s website; the owner has the right to contact the insurer who served him previously, or order a policy from a new company that has more favorable conditions.
First, you need to register on the insurer’s website and submit an application to receive a policy. After specifying the data and checking it, you will receive an SMS message on your phone containing a special code to access your personal account.
Login to your account is possible subject to:
- Using a password and login.
- Selecting a product - a new insurance policy or renewal of an existing document.
- The price of insurance depends on the age of the car and its engine power.
- Payment for registration is made using a bank card.
- Insurance information is saved in a unified system after payment is made.
The electronic policy is sent by email to the driver after it is verified. This electronic document can be presented to traffic police officers on a smartphone.
Advantages and disadvantages of the project
The main advantage of electronic policy registration is the simplicity of the procedure and ease of use. You just need to find access to the World Wide Web and enter information about the car into a special table. This service is most convenient for drivers living far from the offices of insurance companies. An important factor was that imposing additional services with this design is no longer possible. Another advantage is the convenience of saving the policy in paper or electronic form.
But electronic registration cannot be issued when purchasing a new car, since when applying for an insurance policy, you must enter registration plates that are not yet on the new car. When filling out an application for a policy, you need to be careful; errors and typos in the document become a reason to consider the policy invalid. Another disadvantage is that not all traffic police officers have devices that can determine the authenticity of a document, so a conflict may arise at the stop site.
Problems when using an electronic system
If a traffic accident occurs, misunderstandings may arise among those involved. It will not be so easy to check how an electronic MTPL policy is made and how authentic the insurance document is. It is necessary to call traffic inspectors to the scene of the incident. Insurance companies also find that there is not yet a unified system with which to check the information entered by the driver. Therefore, there is a possibility that the system will be used by criminals. The government promises to quickly eliminate the existing shortcomings of the electronic data system.
Insurance companies will regulate the exchange of information among themselves when a driver moves from one company to another. Company employees will save new electronic policies into a single system, and methods for verifying the authenticity of policies will also be improved. The introduction of this online insurance system will make it possible to both simplify the process of issuing policies and make the policies themselves cheaper.
What is the cooling period?
A function such as a cooling period was introduced in 2021. It allows the policyholder to return the insurance premium within a certain period (minimum 14 days) after concluding the contract by canceling the contract: that is, reverse the operation.
It will be possible to return the amount paid for insurance after the cooling period only not in full: minus the elapsed days.
IMPORTANT! If during the cooling-off period an insured event occurs and the insurer pays compensation, then it will not be possible to return the full cost of the policy.
To return insurance, you must fill out an application for cancellation of the insurance contract. The document is submitted directly to the insurance company.
- The application form differs for each organization, but is generally typical. It is better to contact your insurer in advance with questions about drawing up an application. The company has no right to refuse payment during the cooling-off period.
- The application is drawn up in two copies. An employee of the bank/insurance company is required to put a mark on the client’s copy indicating receipt of this application (date and signature).
If the insurer refuses to return the money at the request of the client during the cooling-off period without explaining the reason, then the policyholder has the right to contact the RSA or even file a lawsuit.
How does an electronic OSAGO policy differ from a regular one?
The main difference between paper and electronic auto insurance policies is the procedure for issuing them. The electronic method makes it possible to conclude a contract without visiting the insurer’s office, while the paper method requires visiting the company’s office.
Externally, these two policy options are identical, but the paper one is printed on company letterhead, which is protected from counterfeiting. The cost of car insurance in the office or online should not be different.
If you have an Internet connection, it is better and easier to issue an electronic policy, which eliminates unnecessary imposition of services from the insurer. If you do not have the opportunity to visit the site, or there is no Internet connection, then you can issue a paper version of the policy.
The electronic version of the policy is equal in its legal force to the paper version and is the same official document with legal force. They also differ in the method of registration. Information about the fact of car insurance, the insured person and the insurance company itself are stored in a single database of electronic documents.
What is the validity period of the insurance?
The standard validity period of the insurance contract is 1 year. If the driver needs insurance for a shorter period, then he has the right to conclude an agreement for a quarter or six months. There is also a transit insurance policy. It is issued for a period of no more than 20 days in the following situations:
- for the purpose of transporting a car to another city, region;
- to transport the car for inspection.
IMPORTANT! Driving without insurance involves liability under Article 12.37 of the Administrative Code and is punishable by a fine of 800 rubles. If a driver is caught without insurance several times, the car will be taken to the impound lot.
For owners of seasonal vehicles, insurance is available for the period of use. That is, it will be valid only for the period during which the owner will use the vehicle.
ATTENTION! Insurance companies have the right to consider the application for 30 days, and after that another 30 days to agree on a protocol of disagreements. Based on this, we can conclude that you need to think about getting a new policy (instead of the expiring one) in advance.
What is the validity period of the MTPL insurance policy?
To clearly establish what period of contract you need with the insurer, you need to find out the category of the car. Why do this? Each category of vehicle has a certain period of auto insurance. The maximum period of compulsory motor liability insurance can be up to one year (see No. 40-FZ, Article 10, paragraph 1), and the minimum can vary, depending on the specific case and the status of the vehicle in our country.
As a rule, three existing categories can be distinguished:
- Cars that are always located within the Russian Federation.
- Vehicles traveling to Russia in transit.
- Transport, the registration of which was made in another country, and which entered the territory of Russia (No. 40-FZ art. 10 p. 2).
If you turn to the legislation that is in force in Russia, you can find information that the minimum period of MTPL insurance in 2021 2018 is three months. In order to obtain insurance for this period, you must adhere to the following rules:
- Contact the insurance company and indicate a certain period of time in the application.
- Provide a passport, thereby confirming your identity.
- Carry documents for the vehicle with you.
- Provide documentation confirming ownership.
- Driver's licenses of those individuals who will be able to drive vehicles.
Attention! If a citizen who has the right to own a car is interested in minimal costs for purchasing insurance, it is recommended to choose a shorter duration of insurance!
Car owners need to pay attention to the following information, since there are some nuances that affect how long compulsory motor liability insurance is valid:
- Purchasing an insurance document for one year will be cheaper than paying for a certain number of months of insurance.
- The price of annual insurance, which is indicated in the policy, will not change during the year even if the price of car insurance increases.
- The duration of insurance is divided into parts. That is, when filling out an application, you need to describe the whole year (for example, one winter month, three summer months, two autumn months, etc.). When paying for insurance, only the total number of months specified will be taken into account.
What is the time frame for the policy to come into force?
The date from which the insurance policy begins to be valid is specified in the contract. If the contract is concluded at the office of the insurer, compulsory motor liability insurance may come into force from the moment the contract is signed, from the next day or from any other date indicated in the document.
But if the policy is issued via the Internet, then its validity begins in 2-5 days. This is due to the fact that payment and information about the driver and car are checked by the RSA.
IMPORTANT! The law does not establish a time limit for the policy to come into force. In practice, it has developed that compulsory motor liability insurance begins to operate the next day after the conclusion of the contract. But in any case, the date must be specified in the contract. The car owner has the right to ask to set another day for the entry into force of the contract.
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The most important thing to remember: you cannot expire your MTPL policy. If its validity is coming to an end, then you need to contact your insurer in advance.
Is the MTPL policy printed online valid?
Insurers advise printing out an electronic policy on paper, having it certified by the insurer with a seal, and carrying such a document in the car. In general, there is no difference between this copy and the downloaded electronic policy; the information in it and its number are the same. However, in the event of a traffic accident, the driver is not always able to turn on the phone and show the insurance policy. The phone may become unusable, and the traffic police officer will need to find out information about the driver’s insurance.
Without a document number, it is almost impossible to check the policy. Theoretically, there is no need to carry a paper copy with you, as it can be faked. Back in 2015, the Government made a proposal to cancel the OSAGO policy in the printout, but until now the corresponding clause in the traffic rules has remained the same.
Registration of compulsory motor liability insurance at the office of the insurance company
To purchase an MTPL policy directly from an insurer, you must contact the office of the insurance company you have chosen in person or through a representative. You can enter into an MTPL agreement with any insurance company of your choice, it does not depend on when it comes into effect.
To apply for a policy, you must have the following documents with you:
- previous insurance, if any;
- driver's licenses of all persons who will drive the vehicle;
- policyholder's passport;
- a notarized power of attorney for a representative, if executed through him;
- STS or PTS for a car.
In addition, you may be asked for a diagnostic card. It must be issued for cars older than three years. If the car is used as a taxi, you will have to make a diagnostic card every 6 months.
By law, you can enter into a new MTPL agreement 30 days before the expiration of the previous one. It will begin to operate when the old OSAGO policy expires. However, in practice, insurance companies are reluctant to do this. This is due to the fact that during the validity of the old contract, the car may get into an accident, the driver’s vehicle insurance policy will change, which will entail an increase in the cost of car insurance.
From April 2021, new insurance rules came into effect. Now the driver's KBM is recalculated once a year, on April 1. This helps avoid problems when insuring your car in advance.
If you issue an MTPL policy at the office of an insurance company or through an insurance company employee, it begins to be valid from the next day. Therefore, it is better to think about extending the contract in advance, at least a few days before its expiration.
Some insurance companies impose additional insurance on car owners when applying for compulsory motor liability insurance. For example, this could be life or property insurance. They claim that without this it is impossible to issue a compulsory motor liability insurance policy; you need to get another insurance. Such actions by insurers are illegal. You can file a complaint with the prosecutor's office. however, to do this, you will need to collect evidence that insurance was actually imposed on you.
Sometimes it is impossible to issue an MTPL policy at the insurance company office. For example, there may be long queues, there may be no forms, and you do not have the opportunity to spend the whole day in line and wait for the policies to arrive. In this case, we recommend that you take advantage of the opportunity to register for e-OSAGO.
