Which MTPL should you choose: electronic or paper?

What is an electronic OSAGO policy?

This electronic MTPL policy has the same legal force as the paper version of the insurance. When asked what an electronic OSAGO policy is, we can say that it is a complete analogue of the insurance policy that car owners issue at the offices of insurance companies. A distinctive feature of the electronic version is its virtuality and the method of purchase. Issuing an electronic policy will require the same package of documents as the paper equivalent. Until 2015, car owners could only renew an existing document via the Internet, but on 10/1/15. The law “on compulsory motor liability insurance” has undergone changes and it is now possible to significantly save your time by buying a motor vehicle license via the Internet from scratch. Almost all insurance companies with an online service offer to issue insurance remotely.

After purchasing, the insurance is sent to the specified mailbox, from where you need to download and print the document.

Externally, the policy is practically no different from the traditional paper version, but there are still differences:

• the paper version is printed on Goznak letterhead;
• no micropattern;
• has the XXX series;

In addition, the digital version can be either color or black and white.

Electronic insurance works as follows. Traffic police officers have access to the all-Russian IMTS database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, where you can see the availability of insurance by entering the vehicle’s VIN and state registration number into the service. registration plate.

Receiving an electronic policy

To apply for an electronic MTPL policy, use the form on the official website of the insurer. In the application, indicate the details of the vehicle, its owner and drivers who need to be included in the insurance. Select the desired policy options - for example, periods of use.

To apply for insurance online, you will need the same documents as usual:

• Policyholder's passport
• PTS and STS of the car
• Diagnostic card
• Driver's licenses of all persons who need to be included in the policy

If required, attach scanned copies of the required documents to your application.

After reviewing the application, the insurer will study the information provided and calculate the insurance premium. If he has no claims, you can pay the cost of the policy in any convenient way. After payment, the insurance company will send the policy to the email you specified in the application.

Pros and cons of electronic insurance

Let's consider the advantages and disadvantages of an electronic OSAGO policy.

Advantages:

• By purchasing an electronic insurance policy, the car owner is freed from the need to carry a paper contract with him, which eliminates the problems associated with the risk of losing a document or the banal “forgot at home”. However, it is still recommended to keep a printed sample in your car.
• By applying for an electronic policy, you can independently choose additional options or purchase insurance without unnecessary services that insurance company employees love to impose.
• By purchasing a policy on the official websites of insurance companies, you minimize the risk of running into scammers.
• A big advantage is the registration of compulsory motor liability insurance online for residents of small towns and cities, since there is a choice of insurance companies.
• Save time. At the same time, you can apply for a motor vehicle license online on weekends and holidays.

Related article: Help with compulsory motor liability insurance
Disadvantages:

• Today, it is not possible to issue an electronic policy to car owners without driving experience, that is, the data on the owner of the vehicle must already be contained in the RSA database.
• You must be careful when filling out the data on the SK website and double-check it after filling it out before making the payment. Incorrectly entered information is considered false and will invalidate the document.
• Checking electronic insurance takes more time from traffic police officers, since it is necessary to check the data in the RSA database.
• The computer system periodically crashes, which can cause inconvenience at the time of registration.

Before deciding which policy option to take out, you need to weigh all the pros and cons of such a purchase and choose the best option for yourself.

Advantages and disadvantages

One of the main advantages of purchasing insurance online is the ability to conclude a contract remotely. There is no need for a long collection of papers or a visit to the policyholder’s office. This is very convenient for busy people and for residents of rural areas. The following advantages can also :

• No unnecessary additional services are imposed.
• The risk of fraud is almost completely eliminated.
• Vehicle owners from remote regions of Russia have the right to choose an insurance company.
• E-OSAGO cannot be lost or damaged. His data is available in the database of the Russian Union of Motor Insurers and in the insurer’s database.

There are also some disadvantages:

• Various technical problems often occur on insurance company websites.
• The traffic police inspector has to check the electronic policy against the database. This takes some time.
• If the car has not been registered before, its owner will have to obtain insurance using the usual method.
• If your diagnostic card has expired, you will not be able to apply for insurance remotely. We wrote about whether a technical inspection is required to issue e-MTPL here.
• Virtual policy issuance is based on the RCA database. Consequently, a driver who has recently received a license will not be able to use this service.

If errors are made when entering information, the document is considered invalid. Money spent is not returned.

More detailed information about the pros and cons of applying for compulsory motor insurance online can be found in this material.

Stages of registration

1. The first step in obtaining a motor vehicle title electronically is to find a reliable insurance company. To make the right choice, it is necessary to compare insurance companies, evaluate financial stability, the amount of insurance payments and the cost of the policy. The cost can be calculated using an online calculator, which is available on the website of any insurance company.
2. After choosing a company, you need to register on the company’s official website, for which you need to enter the buyer’s personal data, phone number and email address. After registration, a password is sent to your phone (email), which must be entered to complete registration.
3. After this, on a special page for registration of a motor vehicle license, you need to fill out a form where you must enter the vehicle data (model and make, registration data, year of manufacture, etc.) and information about the owner of the car.
4. The next step is to pay for insurance. You can do this in any convenient way (using a bank card or from your phone account). After the payment has been completed, an electronic document will be sent to the specified email address, which must be printed.

IMPORTANT! Only vehicle owners who have previously issued a motor vehicle license can purchase an electronic policy!

The policy comes into effect 3 days after registration and payment on the Insurance Company website, in accordance with Decree of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation No. 4723.

Instructions for issuing an electronic MTPL policy

Don’t rush to go to the insurance company’s office, try to issue an electronic MTPL policy. It's easier than it seems. The procedure will not take much time, original documents are not required.

Select an insurer.

From January 1, 2021, insurance companies are required to offer clients to issue electronic MTPL policies via the Internet. If you cannot order a policy on the insurer’s website, it violates the current law. Do not trust this site - its owners may be scammers and sell fake insurance.

In order not to suffer from scammers, choose an insurer from the register on the website of the Russian Union of Auto Insurers. If a company is in the register, it means it has a license for compulsory motor third party liability insurance. When you select a company from the register, click on the link - it will take you to the registration page on the official website of the insurer.

How to check the authenticity of a previously purchased policy?
Call the insurance company - the phone number should be listed on the website. Ask a company representative to check whether your policy is in the registry; to do this, dictate its number and series. If the manager confirms the existence of the policy, it is real. If not, it's a fake. In this case, call RSA at +7, 8-800-200-22-75.

Register on the site.

When registering, the insurer requests contact information: email and cell phone number. Some may immediately request passport data and information about the car.

Please double check that the information you have provided is correct. A confirmation code will be sent to your email or phone number. Enter it on the registration page. After you confirm your contact information, you will have access to your personal account on the insurance company’s website.

Prepare your documents.

You don't need originals, copies will do, so you don't have to take away their driver's license to add your loved ones to your insurance policy. If there are no copies, ask them to take photographs of the documents and send them to you, for example, in one of the instant messengers.

To fill out the OSAGO form you will need:

• passport;
• driver's license;
• vehicle registration certificate;
• vehicle passport;
• driver's licenses of those you include in your insurance;
• valid diagnostic card.

If the car is less than three years old and you do not work in a taxi, the diagnostic card will not be useful. Otherwise, you will have to undergo a technical inspection and obtain a valid diagnostic card.

Fill out the virtual form.

Prepare your documents and be patient - you will have to fill out a lot of fields.

If the car is more than three years old, you will need the registration number of the diagnostic card, its issue date and expiration date. If you include other people in the policy, you must also indicate their details.

Please double check all fields before submitting the form.

Be verified by your insurer.

The insurance company will check the form through the automated information system PCA. If the information is not confirmed, the insurer will send a notification with a list of discrepancies to your email. To obtain a policy, you will have to correct the information and re-verify with the insurer.

Do not provide incorrect information to reduce the cost of your insurance premium. Do not change your age, driving experience or road accident history. Do not underestimate the number of drivers of a car or the power of its engine. Your deception will be revealed when the insured event occurs. The insurer will refuse insurance payment if it finds incorrect data in the OSAGO form. Then it will not be the insurance company that will have to compensate for the damage to the victims, but the culprit of the accident.

The cost of insurance is also affected by the bonus malus. Bonus-malus is a coefficient that reduces or increases the cost of an insurance policy depending on the history of insurance claims of the policyholder.

Pay e-OSAGO.

Insurance companies offer to pay with a bank card, sometimes with electronic money.

Don't forget about scammers. Before entering payment information, check whether the payment page is secure. There should be a padlock in the address bar.

Print out the policy.

Place the printout in the glove compartment of your car. If you are stopped by a traffic police inspector, he will check e-OSAGO through the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia or the RSA service using the VIN number of the car. The inspector may ask to see a printed version, and if you don’t have it, fine you 500 rubles.

How to check the authenticity of E-OSAGO

There are three ways to check the authenticity of E-OSAGO.

1. By policy number. After issuing an electronic motor vehicle license, the unique number enters the Russian insurers’ database within 1-2 days. However, this method does not guarantee the authenticity of the auto insurance policy, since fraudsters often make copies of real policies. Therefore, you need to check which car is registered under this insurance.
2. By car make and number. This method provides accurate information about the authenticity of the vehicle title. In addition, if the policy has lost its validity, you can see for what reason it is no longer valid.
3. By VIN code or State license. vehicle number. This is the most reliable way to check authenticity as it makes it possible to verify everything down to the smallest detail.

Article on the topic: What is “should be at the place of registration” in OSAGO
Fraudsters do not sleep and every year they come up with new ways to deceive gullible car owners. To avoid the unpleasant situation of purchasing a fake policy, you should not use the services of intermediaries and apply for E-MTPL only on the official websites of insurance companies. Fraudsters often significantly reduce the price of insurance, trying to attract buyers in this way, so the cost of a policy, which is several times lower, should alert you. Buying a fake document has unpleasant consequences, namely, in the event of an insured event, compensation will not be paid.

When can you buy an electronic MTPL policy without a diagnostic card?

The opportunity to obtain insurance without a technical inspection is not available to everyone - owners of cars that are less than three years old are entitled to this.

To do this, the insurer is provided with a vehicle passport - the age of the car is determined by the date of its issue. Often the date of purchase and the date of issue of the PTS do not coincide. Thus, it turns out that the owner of a virtually new car, which was produced four years ago, is still required to undergo technical inspection.

On the websites of some companies you can receive an offer to buy a diagnostic card with a formal technical inspection along with the policy - for a certain surcharge. But often these companies are scammers, and therefore the policy may turn out to be fake.

A service has also appeared in which the insurer attaches to the policy an agreement for a car inspection. This is usually a station with which the company has an agreement - the owner must visit it after receiving the policy.

It is possible to take out insurance without a diagnostic card, but you cannot always be sure of the authenticity of the insurance policy. Any check by a traffic policeman will reveal the absence of a document in the electronic database. To avoid problems, it is best to issue an electronic policy with a diagnostic card, as required by law.

How to use the E-OSAGO policy

Having an electronic OSAGO policy greatly simplifies the life of car owners. If you must have a paper version with you, then information about the owner and the car when purchasing E-OSAGO is already contained in the Russian database of car insurers. An electronic policy protects the vehicle owner not only from fines, but also guarantees the return of compensation in the event of an insured event. You need to use the electronic policy in the same way as the standard version.

Since an electronic policy is an analogue of a paper version of car insurance, it is possible to issue road transport situations according to the European protocol. However, due to special cases of purchases of counterfeits, it is necessary to check the validity of the document through the insurers' database immediately at the scene of the accident.

If you need to add one more or more drivers to the policy, it is advisable to do this at the time of registration. Since a ready-made document does not provide for the possibility of additions or changes. And if some insurance companies offer this option, it is worth remembering that this will require additional costs.

When adding a driver to the policy, it is possible under two conditions:

• driver's age;
• he has a driver's license.

You can add only 5 people to your insurance for free. Each subsequent driver will be added at a separate cost.

How to add a driver to an electronic OSAGO policy

According to federal laws, the driver must inform the policyholder in writing about all changes to the information included in the policy, however, in practice, failure to comply with this point can avoid punishment, since there is no officially established deadline within which all changes must be reported. The laws also do not say that changes in a policy issued over the Internet lead to refusal of payments or termination of the contract. To invalidate an insurance policy, the insurance company may rely on incorrect information.

The exception is cases when, due to changes in information, the risk of an insured event changes. In such a situation, the insurance company may refuse to pay, because the amount that must be paid under new circumstances is sometimes very different from what was specified in the contract before the data changed.

Many car owners are interested in the question: how to add another driver to the electronic policy document. In this case, such possibilities depend on the conditions of the insurance company. Many insurers provide their clients with the opportunity to correct data online via the Internet. However, the insurance company often requires you to appear in person at the office to make changes.

The latter method automatically makes the electronic policy a paper one, since after these adjustments the company employee will issue the driver with a regular paper insurance policy. This procedure is performed without payment in many respects. The exception is when another driver is included in the policy. The cost of such changes to an electronic document depends on driving experience, age and duration of driving without accidents.

Changes to the electronic policy are permitted only based on certain data. If you need to change other parameters, you will have to terminate the current contract and enter into a new one. For example, you will have to cancel the insurance contract for the following reasons:

• The policyholder changes.
• You need to insure another car.
• The validity period of the document changes.

But, if only the owner of the car changes, this should not serve as a reason for taking out new insurance.

Adding a driver

Let's take a closer look at how to add a new driver to the electronic document of the MTPL policy. In this case, you need to prepare the usual set of documents to make the necessary changes, as well as a driver’s license, the passport of the new driver, which will be additionally added to the policy.

Before adding a driver to the policy, it is necessary to correctly calculate the insurance premium. This amount will depend on different coefficients:

• The validity period for the new driver, during which the new driver was not involved in any traffic accidents due to his fault.
• Driver's length and age.

The driver's experience and age are limited by certain parameters, from which it becomes clear that the most expensive entry would be to add a driver with more than 22 years of experience and more than three years of driving experience. By law, all further payments and the full amount of the insurance premium will be calculated only based on basic information about the youngest driver.

Is it necessary to print out an electronic motor vehicle policy?

A standard paper policy must be carried with you in the car and presented to the traffic police inspector. Lack of standard insurance entails a mandatory fine. With electronic car insurance, everything is simpler. It is advisable to take the printed document with you and present it to the traffic police officer, as this will reduce the inspection time. But if suddenly for some reason you don’t have insurance with you, this will only increase the time the inspector checks for the presence of the document in the database. At the same time, it is still recommended to download and print the electronic document. It is also recommended to download and save the electronic version of the document on your smartphone in order to have access to the policy data at any time.

Related article: List of documents for car insurance under MTPL in 2021

When does the electronic OSAGO policy arrive after payment?

To pay for an electronic policy, you must go to a secure page in your personal account. In this case, you can make payments either by electronic money or by bank card, depending on the company’s conditions.

Before entering card information, you should make sure that this page is secure and there is a lock icon in the address bar. You should not enter card payment details on sites that are not protected by a security protocol.

After paying the required amount of money, which is indicated on the registration page, the MTPL policy will be sent to your email in electronic form, in Pdf format. This policy will also be saved in your personal account, on the insurance company’s page. If necessary, this policy can be downloaded from there at any time. The electronic policy must be printed and carried with you in the car. Such requirements are specified in the traffic rules. Otherwise, for driving a car without an MTPL policy, you can receive a fine of 500 rubles, and if you did not take out a policy at all, then the fine is 800 rubles.

Is an electronic policy valid for the traffic police?

An electronic OSAGO policy has the same legal force as a paper one, so it is valid wherever presentation of a motor vehicle license is required. This also applies when checked by a traffic police inspector. How it works? In order to check whether the policy is valid, the inspector will only need the vehicle number or its VIN number. By entering this data into the database on the car insurers website, the traffic police officer can easily determine the status of the car owner. However, if the inspector has additional questions, you must provide a printed policy form. Therefore, it is recommended to keep this document in your car.

When does the electronic MTPL policy come into effect?

Many drivers ask why the electronic MTPL policy becomes valid after 3 days? In this way, the Bank of Russia intends to prevent fraud in the insurance industry. Fraudsters, after committing an accident on the road, issue an electronic policy and submit an application for insurance payment. The central bank also believes that freezing the policy for three days will limit the rights of bona fide drivers, but it is possible to apply for a policy by visiting the office of the insurance company.

This project of the Bank of Russia was reported by the Deputy Chairman of the Central Bank. This document introduces a “cooling off period” for MTPL policies issued online, and such policies will be valid three days after its sale. By this method, the central bank hopes to reduce fraud.

What problems may arise when using electronic compulsory motor liability insurance?

The popularity of electronic car insurance is growing every year, but the system is not yet stable enough, and various problems associated with the virtual policy may arise. For example, an unstable system may fail when processing a document or checking it. And this leads to a slowdown in the process and, as a result, a waste of time. Although rare, there are cases when the inspector refuses to accept the electronic version and demands paper insurance. The car owner should know that the traffic police officer does not have the right not to accept the policy, and if he also issues a fine, then it can be easily appealed in court.

An MTPL policy is a mandatory document that any car owner must have, and its availability is strictly controlled by law. The main documents that will be required if the vehicle is stopped by an inspector are a driver’s license and an MTPL policy. But which of the two options to issue - electronic or standard - remains at the choice of the car owner. According to the law, there is no difference between these two samples; they differ only in the method of design and appearance.

What problems may arise

The most common problem is the distrust of traffic police officers in electronic documents. The inspector may refuse to accept the policy or its printout, and issue a fine for the absence of a document. In this case, you must ask him to check the policy against the database. Lack of access to it is not a driver's problem.

You may also have doubts about the authenticity of the policy you have taken out. You can check it yourself using the RSA database. To do this, you will need to indicate the document number, name of the policyholder or VIN of the car. If the system reports that there is no policy in the database, this may mean that you purchased a fake document.

Information in the PCA is not updated immediately, but 3-5 days after purchasing the policy. Please take this into account both when purchasing the document and when presenting it to the inspector.

How to present an electronic MTPL policy to a traffic police officer

The Main Directorate for Road Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia prepared a special explanatory letter dated July 3, 2015 No. 13/12-u-4440, which details the procedure for checking electronic OSAGO insurance policies of motorists by traffic police officers.
All traffic police inspectors are required to familiarize themselves with this letter. To check electronic compulsory motor third party insurance (MTPL) insurance, a special resource was created at the IMTS of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. Integrated multiservice telecommunication systems (IMTS) are included in the unified information and telecommunication system of internal affairs bodies, which provides police officers with access to automated public databases.

How will a traffic police inspector conduct an inspection in practice?

The police inspector will enter the special IMTS resource of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and enter the state registration number of the car, as well as its VIN code. The system will show the MTPL insurance policy issued for a car with the specified numbers.

The police officer only needs to check the details of the driver's license, car registration certificate or registration certificate with the insurance data. The check is carried out similarly on the RSA website.

Unfortunately, not all traffic police vehicles are well equipped enough to use the special resource information system IMTS of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia or the official website of the RSA on any section of the road.

Also, traffic police officers do not have special scanners that allow them to provide insurance information on a driver’s license. Therefore, it is better for motorists to print out the policy and keep it in the car.

When a police inspector stops a car to check documents, in accordance with clause 2.1 of the traffic rules, the motorist must have with him and present upon first request:

• driver license;
• car registration certificate or vehicle registration certificate;
• OSAGO policy.

The traffic police inspector, who was given a printed insurance policy for verification, can verify the authenticity of the document. To do this, he needs to use one of the information systems available to him to check the data of the printed policy and the motor vehicle database.

How to print an electronic MTPL policy?

You can print electronic motor insurance on a sheet of A4 paper using a regular printer. To do this, the motorist needs to log into the policyholder’s personal account on the website of the insurer that issued the auto insurance policy. The driver can make an unlimited number of copies. This is very convenient if the document is lost or its appearance is damaged.

After purchasing e-OSAGO, car owners think about where to print the form and how to do it correctly. As soon as the driver has purchased the Avtograzhdanka, he receives a form in PDF format to the email address he indicated when registering on the site. Moreover, at any time you can go to the company’s personal account and print an electronic document from there, because even a regular printer is suitable for these purposes.

Considering the issue from a legal point of view, a car can be stopped not only to check insurance, but also to check the availability of a full package of documents. Often the inspector only checks the license and documents for the vehicle.

If previously a car enthusiast presented the inspector with a color copy of the mandatory protection form, now everything is different. The driver will have to show a printed policy in black and white.

All issues related to civil liability insurance are covered in the Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”. It contains the obligation to present a compulsory insurance policy in three cases:

• in case of an accident;
• violation of traffic rules;
• at the time the vehicle is deregistered.

It will be enough to show the inspector only the contract and rights. PTS is not needed. In theory, you can forge a contract and constantly show it to the police. However, it is better not to take such risks, since this is equivalent to forgery of documents and may result in criminal penalties.

But not everyone knows that doing this is not at all necessary.

We found out how long you can drive under a purchase and sale agreement. But what happens if a traffic police inspector stops a driver who has not met the legal deadline for processing documents?

If you have insurance, but the registration deadlines are violated, then the fine will be 1,500 - 2,000 rubles, and if in addition there is no insurance, you will have to pay an additional 500 rubles.

In this case, the car will not be taken to the impound lot, just as license plates will not be removed.

Despite the small penalties for lack of insurance, the driver should still take care of purchasing a compulsory motor liability insurance policy in order to protect his money. Driving without insurance, only under a contract, is theoretically possible, and the fines for this will be small.

Indeed, in the event of an accident, he will be obliged to compensate the damage to the other party (which often exceeds several hundred thousand) from his own pocket.

Thus, we answered the question of how long you can drive without insurance under a sales contract in 2021.

Next, select an agreement in which you can read how to use the electronic MTPL policy.

After payment, the insurer enters the information into the unified AIS RSA database and sends the policy to the email address specified in the application.

The form is printed, and if desired, it can even be certified by a seal at the Investigative Committee office. The procedure takes no more than an hour.

Insurers do not openly criticize the central bank, but imply that it is too many years ahead of the curve. They believe that it will be inconvenient for the car owner to purchase an electronic version of the policy.

Experts believe that insurance companies do not want such an introduction of electronic insurance, since with state-controlled tariffs they will not be able to include losses due to fraud.

Electronic policies began to be issued in the summer of 2015, but so far their issuance is only the right of the insurer, and not an obligation. Currently, policies are issued by not many insurance companies that have the appropriate license.

After the electronic type of compulsory liability insurance was introduced, the work scheme of traffic police inspectors began to differ. Why and how? Let's figure it out.

The electronic form of a motor vehicle license involves storing the driver’s data in the RSA electronic databases. A paper policy is only possible if you print it out and leave it in the car.

According to federal laws, the driver must inform the policyholder in writing about all changes to the information included in the policy, however, in practice, failure to comply with this point can avoid punishment, since there is no officially established deadline within which all changes must be reported.

The laws also do not say that changes in a policy issued over the Internet lead to refusal of payments or termination of the contract. To invalidate an insurance policy, the insurance company may rely on incorrect information.

Many car owners are interested in the question: how to add another driver to the electronic policy document. In this case, such possibilities depend on the conditions of the insurance company.

Many insurers provide their clients with the opportunity to correct data online via the Internet. However, the insurance company often requires you to appear in person at the office to make changes.

For the traffic police, as for any other government organizations, e-OSAGO has full legal force. That is, no official, including a traffic police officer, can refuse to accept an electronic MTPL policy, citing the fact that there is no regular version. According to RSA representatives, there was only one precedent when an inspector issued a fine for electronic insurance. This decision was challenged in court.

Currently, at the request of a traffic police officer, you need to show a printout of the electronic policy. It can hardly be called a full-fledged document, but it is used in exactly the same way as a regular policy. More details about the mechanisms and methods for checking an electronic MTPL policy will be discussed below.

From a legal point of view, not every vehicle stop can be accompanied by a full documentation check. According to the law, traffic police officers may require you to provide an insurance policy when registering an accident, as well as when drawing up a protocol on the violation. The traffic rules (clause 2.1.1) states that the driver must present compulsory motor liability insurance when this is established by the relevant federal law.