- 1. What documents are needed after an accident? 1.1. If the incident is without casualties
- 1.2. If there are injured or dead
- 2.1. Is it possible to deliver the necessary papers later?
- 3.1. If there are no casualties
Important facts from the article
- The easiest way to have all the documents on hand at once for applying under compulsory motor liability insurance is to draw up a European protocol.
- If the notification is not issued without police officers, then the necessary papers for the accident will need to be obtained either from the traffic police or in court.
- The traffic police must consider a case of an offense within 15 days, and the court within 2 months, but alas, these deadlines can be extended.
- After an incident with injured or dead people, you can wait even a year and a half for the necessary documentation.
- But you can contact the insurance company without having a complete set of documents.
Drivers meet and communicate with traffic police inspectors when they are either checked or held accountable. That is, most drivers received the order right on the spot and continued to move about their business. It would seem that such a procedure should exist when registering an accident, because one of the drivers violated traffic rules, which means he just needs to issue a decree, and everyone will go about their business. Is this how things really are, or will we have to wait for documents after the incident, and then how long, and whether it is possible to speed up such a wait, we will look into this article.
What documents are needed after an accident?
Let us remember that not all road accidents are reported by traffic police officers. Most of them are settled by the drivers themselves on the spot. But when disputes cannot be avoided, or when more than 2 vehicles were involved in the accident, or the liability of one of the drivers is not insured, then inspectors will file the accident.
And the set of documents here depends on a number of circumstances:
- how many cars were involved in the accident - you will have to wait the least amount of time for documents from the traffic police if there were 2 cars and there were no injuries,
- are there any casualties in the incident,
- are there any dead?
If the incident is without casualties
The absence of victims is another condition under which it is possible to register an accident under the European OSAGO protocol. With this registration of the incident, it will be enough for the victim to have a notice of the accident, signed by both drivers, and other documents from the MTPL Rules. Documents from the traffic police are not required at all.
If it was not possible to file an accident in a simplified manner - for example, if there is a disagreement about guilt or circumstances in the incident, then you will have to call and wait for the traffic police officers.
After registering the incident, the victim will need to provide the insurance company with one or more documents from the list:
- ruling on refusal to initiate a case regarding the APN,
- administrative violation protocol,
- resolution on an administrative offense,
- decision to terminate the proceedings,
- the court's decision.
A resolution (from paragraphs 3 or 4) or a determination can be issued to you by the traffic police. Perhaps they will be given along with the protocol, if one was drawn up. But they cannot issue both a ruling and a resolution at once - only one is drawn up. Of course, if we are talking about one violation of the culprit.
And it is these documents that most often do not have to wait long - they are drawn up directly at the scene of the accident. But only if an administrative investigation was not ordered - for example, if the culprit disappeared.
If there are injured or dead
When submitting applications to the insurance company after an accident with victims, when both property and people were damaged, you will need to provide both the above documents, which are issued by the traffic police or the court (one or more), and certified papers for compensation for damage to health and compensation for lost earnings . The list of documents on harm to health is specified in paragraph 4.1 of the OSAGO Rules, and on lost earnings - in paragraph 4.2.
Thus, in addition to the ruling/ruling/protocol or court decision, the victim may need to receive payment:
- a report received from a hospital with a specific diagnosis, injury and/or degree of disability,
- forensic medical examination report,
- certificate of disability,
- a certificate from an ambulance, if it was at the scene of an accident,
- certificate of average monthly salary, scholarship, pension or other income,
- any other documents that can confirm your income - even if it is unofficial.
Regarding the last point, there is no need to worry: neither the insurance company nor the courts automatically transmit information to the tax office. Although, if there is an obvious suspicion of an attempt to hide income from taxation, the official is obliged to notify the supervisory authorities about this.
If someone is killed, then persons entitled to this will be able to apply for compensation; more details about them and the necessary documents are indicated in paragraph 4.4 of the OSAGO Rules.
Insurers will no longer be able to demand accident certificates from drivers
As ASN already reported, last year the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs excluded from the traffic police regulations the clause obliging traffic police officers to issue accident certificates to participants in road accidents. The new regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for traffic supervision came into force on October 20. The formal right to refuse payments to drivers without this document remained for almost six months.
The new directive of the Central Bank on amendments to the rules of compulsory motor liability insurance also excludes the provisions on printing a two-dimensional bar code (QR code) contained in the compulsory motor liability insurance policy. This code will also be indicated when concluding a compulsory insurance contract in the form of an electronic document. It is clarified that the provisions contained in the insurance policy on concluding a voluntary insurance agreement (VIA) are not mandatory. The head of the marketing research department of IC "MAX" Evgeniy Popkov explained to ASN that the exclusion of the traffic police certificate from the list of documents that the victim must submit to the insurance company when claiming a loss under compulsory motor liability insurance is not a revolution in the motor vehicle insurance, but a routine bringing of regulatory documents into conformity with each other. Insurance rules will now comply with the internal regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to him, certificates went out of use last fall, when, in accordance with the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 664, traffic police inspectors stopped issuing them. That's when insurers began to restructure their claims processes. The list of documents also includes a notification of an accident, which is filled out by the participants in the accident, a protocol or a resolution. All key information from the help is duplicated in them. “Therefore, current legal innovations will not have a significant impact on the practice of settling insurance claims under compulsory motor liability insurance. Another legal conflict was resolved positively in favor of motorists - the issue with certificates has finally sunk into oblivion, and this has made life and work a little easier for all participants in the MTPL market,” said Evgeniy Popkov.
“Changes to the Administrative Regulations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including the exclusion from the duties of traffic police officers of issuing certificates of road accidents in form 154, were made on October 20. Instead of a certificate, employees draw up protocols, resolutions or determinations that indicate the circumstances of the incident. We have not required the submission of a certificate of road accident since the change in the Administrative Regulations,” said Alexey Shugaev, chief specialist of the Department of Methodology for Compulsory and Mass Insurance Products “RESO-Garantia”, to ASN. The press service of SOGAZ ASN clarified that the company’s loss settlement departments make a decision on compensation for damage on the basis of a resolution in an administrative offense case or a copy of the protocol, which are issued to the victim immediately after the accident by a traffic police inspector, or based on the results of the analysis group, if the culprit is identified The accident is not possible at the scene. “We also draw attention to the fact that in addition to the specified documents, applicants must provide the insurer with a notification of an accident, issued by the participants of the event on the spot,” said representatives of the press service. At Ingosstrakh, the process is structured in such a way that the absence of a traffic police certificate, which was required earlier, does not affect the timing and quality of the settlement, and is not a basis for refusal to pay. The company accepts copies of the minutes and resolutions. “The certificate of an accident, not being a procedural document, contained general information about the accident (data about drivers, owners, vehicles and their damage, MTPL agreements, violated traffic rules, circumstances of the accident, medical examination, etc.). The letter from the acting head of the traffic police about the cancellation of the road accident certificate included an open list of information to be indicated in the primary procedural documents (protocol, ruling or resolution) instead of the road accident certificate. Such mandatory information included: information about the vehicle, drivers, MTPL insurance policies and visible damage to the vehicle,” explained Vitaly Knyaginichev, director of the retail business directorate. The Russian Union of Auto Insurers recommended informing road accident participants about the need to fill out the notification form by all participants in the accident, regardless of the registration method, in order, if necessary, to fill in the necessary gaps from the road accident notification.
Is it possible to contact the insurance company under compulsory motor liability insurance if you do not have all the documents?
The MTPL law does not contain any prohibitions on contacting the insurer with an incomplete set of documents if you have to wait until the traffic police prepares the missing ones. Therefore, of course, it is possible to submit not the entire list in this case.
If the documents are handed over by the victim or another authorized person in person, then the insurer’s representative is obliged to draw up an act of acceptance of the documents, which will indicate which papers were handed over. Also, on the day of application, the insurer must inform about what documents are missing to complete the complete set. This obligation is spelled out in paragraph 3.2 of Article 15 of the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance.
If sent by mail or courier, the list of documents must be reflected in the list of attachments in the postal item. After receiving your letter, the insurer is obliged to report the incomplete set within 3 business days, indicating the list of missing documents. This obligation is specified in paragraph 5 of paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance.
Is it possible to deliver the necessary papers later?
Certainly! The missing documents are not only possible, but will also need to be conveyed or sent to the insurer, otherwise he will decide to refuse insurance compensation. But even if he refuses, he will be obliged to return to considering your case after you provide a complete set of papers after you have received them from the traffic police.
How much to wait?
Obtaining documents after an accident can be divided into 2 options:
- when all the necessary documents can be obtained directly from the traffic police,
- when the papers will need to be received (and most often wait) in court.
If there are no casualties
When no one was injured in an accident, it is mainly considered by traffic police officers. An exception will be cases when the violation of the perpetrator must be considered by the court. Article 23.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation lists administrative offenses that are considered by the court.
Consideration of the case by inspection staff can also be divided into 2 cases:
- consideration of the case without an administrative investigation,
- with such an investigation.
If an administrative investigation into the case is not carried out, then it must be considered within fifteen days. But this is not the maximum period for waiting for documents from the traffic police. The specified period of 15 days can be extended, but not more than by a month.
The period of the administrative investigation is 1 month, but it can also be extended for another month. In practice, it is precisely 2 months that one has to wait for documents when conducting such an investigation. And it is very rarely possible to speed up this process.
After receiving all documents, the court is obliged to consider the case within 2 months. Plus 1 month for possible extension.
The most ideal option for the victim is when a traffic police officer reviews the case on the spot and issues documents in hand. This mainly happens when the second participant does not dispute his guilt and the circumstances of the incident. But sometimes employees simply do not have time to draw up all the papers on the spot, then registration of the accident and consideration of the case can be continued in the department.
If you are sent for a review, then you will receive the necessary documents only after the case has been considered, or at best, on the day of the review.
If there are victims
In this case, you can immediately forget about quickly obtaining documents regarding an accident. Despite the fact that Article 4.5 of the Code of Administrative Offenses states that a decision in a case cannot be made after 3 months from the date of the commission of the APN in a case considered by the court, in practice all this stretches out for about a year.
Therefore, in the case of victims, it is better to contact the insurer with an incomplete set of documents, so that he at least inspects the damaged car in order to record all existing damage from this accident.
In Russia, certificates of road accidents will be canceled from October 20
On Friday, October 20, a new traffic police regulation comes into force in Russia. Motorists need to prepare for a number of changes, writes Kommersant.
Road accident certificates are canceled
This innovation can make life easier for motorists. Let us remind you that these certificates are required by insurance companies to settle losses and subsequent payments. In cases with compulsory motor liability insurance, this requirement is contained in the regulation of the Central Bank No. 431-P of 2014, in cases with comprehensive insurance - in the internal documents of each insurance company.
The head of the traffic police and special events department of the Russian State Traffic Safety Inspectorate, Alexander Bykov, explained: the issuance of certificates has not actually been provided for for a long time, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not have the authority to approve the form of a certificate of an accident. In fact, in recent years, inspectors were not supposed to issue such documents, but this was the practice. The traffic police say that they warned the Central Bank and the Russian Union of Auto Insurers about this for more than a year at all meetings.
The department believes that there will be no collapse due to the innovation, because after the accident, the injured driver receives a copy of the protocol or a copy of the resolution in the case of an administrative offense - all these documents contain the information necessary for the insurer, they can be presented to a company employee.
In addition, it is the driver’s responsibility to completely fill out accident notifications in the event of an accident and also submit the document to the insurance company, the traffic police reminds.
Cameras in repair areas
Automatic cameras will now appear in areas where speed limits are limited by temporary yellow signs. Legally, it looks like this: in the old order No. 185 there was the phrase “the use of automatic means of fixation in places where traffic restrictions are established by temporary road signs is not allowed,” in the new order 664 this restriction has been removed.
Alexander Bykov confirmed: the complexes will be used in these zones. Statistics have shown that the number of accidents in road narrowing zones (introduced due to repairs) is growing - stronger control is required. Such cameras will be installed by road owners according to special rules that were developed by the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate and have already been transferred to Rosavtodor.
For example, the period for repairs must be fixed: after its expiration, the traffic police will stop issuing “chain letters” from the temporary camera, even if it has not been dismantled. Dummies and simulators of the systems will also be used so that drivers can see them and reduce speed: it is not always financially possible to install a full-fledged device.
Stopping drivers outside traffic police posts
From October 20, traffic police officers will have the right to stop cars to check documents anywhere on the road, not only at traffic police posts. Alexander Bykov said that the number of posts has decreased threefold in recent years, but the number of citizens driving cars without a license has increased (2 million cases in 2016 alone) - strengthening control is required specifically on the road network.
In this regard, the expansion of the rights of inspectors is quite conditional, because until now a traffic police officer could stop and check documents outside the post under various other pretexts: suspicion of committing a violation, conducting a special event, raid, etc.
Communication between the inspector and the driver
So, if in the old regulations there was a requirement to transfer documents without a cover, then from October 20 a new rule is added: documents must be transferred without “holding devices”. We are talking about cases when drivers attach a chain to documents and thereby prevent the inspector from taking them into the patrol car.
The procedure for communicating with the driver is described in detail. The inspector will be required to exclude statements and actions of a “discriminatory nature on the grounds of gender, age, race, nationality, language, citizenship, social, property or marital status, political or religious preferences.”
The employee must not be rude, arrogant, make “prejudicial remarks,” make “offensive language or remarks,” or act in a manner that “provokes unlawful behavior.”
The traffic police separately clarified the situation regarding smoking. The fact is that in the original version there was a rule prohibiting a traffic police officer from smoking when communicating with a driver, but in the final version of the regulations it disappeared. But this does not mean that inspectors will be allowed to smoke and “blow smoke in the faces” of drivers:
“We have a standard code of ethics for official conduct of civil servants, this norm is included there, so we proceeded from the fact that the norms should not be duplicated,” Bykov explained.
Is it possible to film a conversation with an inspector?
In the 185th order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs there was the phrase: “An employee must not interfere with the use of video and sound recording equipment by a road user, unless prohibited by law; the employee must inform the road user making the recording about the existence of the prohibition.” This phrase is absent from the new regulations, and this was perceived by many as the appearance of a de facto ban on recording.
Bykov explained: this is not so, the inspector has no right to interfere with video recording, this is the constitutional right of citizens.
Therefore, in most ordinary situations, video recording can be carried out, as it is now, with the only exceptions being situations described in the law “On the Police” and “On Operational Investigative Activities.” For example, if a driver films the scene of an accident on his phone and interferes with the inspector, he may demand that the filming be stopped. Another case: a counter-terrorist operation regime has been introduced in the region, the traffic police officer must inform the driver about this and also ask him to turn off the camera, he will have to obey. The traffic police noted: the inspector himself also has the right to film, not only on the service video recorder, but also on his own mobile phone.
Changes in inspection rules
The old regulations included a rule that obligated inspectors to return drivers to the car after a medical examination from the hospital (if intoxication was not detected). The new regulations clarify that the car owner must be returned after an examination, which is carried out by an inspector using a breathalyzer.
Is it possible to speed up the waiting process and what should I do?
If you need to obtain documents from traffic police officers, you can try to speed up this process. To do this you need the following.
- At the scene of the accident, convince the second participant in the accident to agree with the guilt and circumstances of the incident. In this case, you will not have to wait for anything at all, and you will be given a copy of the decision on the same day.
- If there is a video recording of the collision or the mechanism of the accident is beyond doubt, you can convince the traffic police officer to consider the case right on the spot and issue the necessary documents.
- If the second participant does not appear for the analysis, then petition the inspector in writing to consider the case in his absence, since he will be duly notified of the date and time of the consideration of the case (if any).
It is unlikely that the court will be able to speed up the consideration of the case, but sometimes you can independently serve subpoenas or court requests and collect responses to such requests. In this case, the review period may be reduced, and you will not have to wait long for the paper.
