Your own or someone else's insurance
Before deciding which insurance company to contact in the event of an accident, you need to assess the damage caused and the circumstances under which the accident occurred.
To assess the situation, you need to pay attention to the following points:
- How many cars were damaged in the accident?
- How serious is the damage?
- Do other drivers have insurance?
- Did anyone die in the accident?
It is also worth remembering that with the onset of 2014, the so-called PPV became available to drivers - this is direct compensation for damage. And in order to receive it, the victim of an accident is obliged to contact exclusively his insurance company.
If the damage to the accident does not exceed 50 thousand rubles, then the participants in the accident can draw up a European protocol. According to the European protocol, an accident can only be registered if certain rules are observed.
In 2021, two participants in an accident have the right to draw up a European protocol if:
- No more than 2 cars are involved in the accident;
- Each driver has compulsory motor liability insurance;
- There was no damage to health or life;
- Insurance may cover all damage.
If all of the above conditions are met, then the victim must visit his insurance company and receive the due compensation. If, as a result of an accident, people were injured, or the damage caused exceeds the limit under compulsory motor liability insurance, or there are three cars in the accident, then it will not be possible to register the incident as under the European protocol. The insurance company of the person at fault must handle the registration of the accident.
New items from OSAGO. The responsibility of the culprit to notify his insurance company about the accident, otherwise recourse
On August 2, 20014, changes to the law on compulsory motor liability insurance came into force. The legislator introduced the obligation of the culprit of an accident (the cause of harm) to send a copy of the notification of the accident to his insurance company. If the culprit does not notify his insurance company about the accident within 5 days and does not send a copy of the notice, the insurer has the right to file a recourse claim and recover the paid insurance compensation from the culprit.
Also, the person at fault for the accident is obliged to present his damaged vehicle to the insurance company and not carry out repairs within 15 days after the accident. In case of refusal to present the vehicle as the culprit of the accident, the insurance company has the right to file a recourse claim in court.
The payout limit under the European Protocol has been increased to 50,000 rubles, if both participants in the accident have compulsory motor liability insurance policies concluded after August 2, 2014.
Read more about the Europrotocol in the article
If the culprit does not show the car, the insurance company will refuse to pay under the Europrotocol, due to the impossibility of establishing the circumstances of the insured event.
Article 11.1. Preparation of documents regarding a traffic accident without the participation of authorized police officers
2. In case of registration of documents about a road traffic accident without the participation of authorized police officers, the notification form for a road traffic accident, filled out in duplicate by the drivers of the vehicles involved in the road accident, is sent by these drivers to the insurers who insure their civil liability, within five working days from the date of the traffic accident.
The victim sends to the insurer who insured his civil liability his copy of the jointly completed notification form about the road traffic accident along with an application for direct compensation for losses.
3. In case of registration of documents about a road traffic accident without the participation of authorized police officers, the owners of vehicles involved in the road traffic accident, at the request of the insurers specified in paragraph 2 of this article, are obliged to present the specified vehicles for carrying out? inspection and (or) independent technical examination within five working days from the date of receipt of such a requirement.
To ensure the possibility of inspection and (or) independent technical examination of vehicles involved in a traffic accident, in the event of registration of documents on a traffic accident without the participation of authorized police officers, the owners of the specified vehicles without the consent in writing of the insurers specified in paragraph 2 of this article,
must not begin their repair or disposal until the expiration of 15 calendar days, with the exception of non-working holidays, from the date of the traffic accident.
Article 14. The right of recourse of the insurer to the person who caused the harm
g) the specified person, in the case of processing documents about a road traffic accident without the participation of authorized police officers, did not send to the insurer that insured his civil liability a copy of the notification form about a road traffic accident filled out together with the victim within 5 working days from the date of the road traffic accident transport accident; h) before the expiration of 15 calendar days, with the exception of non-working holidays, from the date of the road traffic accident, the specified person, in the case of drawing up documents about the road traffic accident without the participation of authorized police officers, began to repair or dispose of the vehicle in which he was using damage was caused and (or) did not present this vehicle at the insurer’s request for inspection and (or) independent technical expertise, independent expertise (assessment);
Situation one—two drivers are at fault
An accident in which both drivers are at fault is usually recorded by traffic police and the insurance company. This happens if both the first and second drivers violated traffic rules, and a protocol on the violation was issued for each.
In such a situation, the court will decide which driver is most to blame for the incident. Drivers can demand compensation from the insurance company only if the court has not determined who is to blame for the accident, or one of the drivers did not have an insurance policy or it was invalid.
What should a victim of an accident do?
The victim of an accident must cope with emotions and perform all mandatory actions provided for by the traffic rules. Stop your car and don't touch anything. Immediately turn on the hazard warning lights and put up a warning triangle.
Remember that every participant in an accident is required to display an emergency triangle. If the collision occurred on the same lane, then place those signs nearby. For failure to comply with this requirement of the rules, the traffic police officer will fine you 1 thousand rubles.
Diagram of a fatal accident.
Clause 3 art. 11 of the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance stipulates that if the victim intends to exercise his right to receive compensation for damage caused, he is obliged to:
- notify the insurer about the accident as soon as possible;
- submit an application for insurance payment with the appropriate package of documents within the time limits established by the MTPL Rules.
From August 2, 2014, if an accident is registered according to the European Protocol, then the victim must call his insurance company after the car accident (Article 11.1 of the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance). In all other cases, the victim must call and then contact the insurers of the person responsible for the incident.
If the insurance company of the injured party, which issued the Europrotocol, has had its license revoked or bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated, then the application should be submitted to the insurers of the person responsible for the car accident. When the culprit of the accident has not been identified or he does not have a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, then compensation for damage to life and health should be addressed to the Russian Union of Auto Insurers, and material damage can be recovered from the culprit only through the court.
The legislator allowed drivers, from July 1, 2015, to register all minor car accidents in which there were no casualties without calling the traffic police. You just need to call 02 and report the incident. Next, you need to take a photo and video recording of the collision site, fill out an accident notification form and independently come to the traffic police post for further registration of the car accident.
With this type of incident, the victim needs to call the culprit’s insurance company and register an insured event there. The insurer's telephone number is on the insurance policy. According to paragraph 1 of Art. 11 of the law on compulsory motor liability insurance, each participant in an accident is obliged to provide a compulsory motor liability insurance policy for review at the request of other participants in the accident. It is more convenient to take a photo of the policy than to copy down the information.
Situation two—more than two machines are involved
If more than 2 participants are involved in an accident, then a completely unclear situation arises. Who is to blame?
In this case, you should contact your insurance company only if the following rules have not been violated:
- The policy is valid;
- No harm done;
- Inspectors were called to the scene of the accident.
The insurance company immediately pays damages to its clients, and only then begins to establish the details of the accident with other injured persons and their companies.
But such a solution to the problem is only permissible if no one was injured in the accident. If the accident caused damage to the health of any of the people, then it is necessary to contact the insurance company of the participant whose actions led to the accident.
Do I need to call the insurance company after an accident under compulsory motor liability insurance?
A separate clause in the compulsory insurance contract stipulates that participants in an accident must always inform their insurer about a road accident. This is one of the main conditions that the policy owner must fulfill. The norms for urgent notification are specified in the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance. It contains a special article number 11, dedicated to the rules of conduct of insurance companies and drivers who have become victims of an accident. The same thing is said in the latest edition of the MTPL Rules: drivers who are involved in a road accident must immediately report this to the Investigative Committee (clause 38). There is a corresponding article in the Civil Code (No. 961, part 2), which says that the policyholder must inform the insurer or his representative as soon as he learns about the accident or becomes a participant in it, so as not to lose compensation.
The methods and timing of sending notifications to the insurer are often contained in the text of the contract. Car owners need to strictly comply with this requirement. If you do not notify the company in a timely manner about the occurrence of an insured event, you may lose your compensation payment.
When involved in an accident, every car owner must immediately report the incident to their insurance company. Additionally, you will need to provide the address of the scene of the incident, the time of the collision with another car or obstacle, the number of vehicles, and express a personal opinion about the causes of the incident and the amount of damage received.
You can call your insurer if, as a result of the accident on the road, the health of people and their property was not damaged, only cars were damaged, and both car owners have an officially issued valid MTPL policy. If there are several victims, damage to the life or health of passengers or pedestrians, you can contact the insurance company of the driver at fault for the accident. Contact a company consultant, he will tell you what to do. Usually the contact number is indicated on the policy form.
Situation three - there was a trailer
In practice, very often insurance companies are unwilling to pay compensation in situations where a trailer was involved in the accident.
It is worth noting that such “unwillingness” is illegal, and the insurance client must demand compensation for damage, but only in the following cases:
- The insurance document states that the car can transport a trailer;
- No one was injured in the accident;
- The accident occurred only between two vehicles.
If the listed rules are not followed, then the issue will have to be resolved with the company of the second participant in the accident.
When is the right time to submit documents to the insurance company?
In order not to receive a refusal to pay compensation from your insurance company, you need to remember that you must submit the necessary documents to the insurance company on time. Application deadlines are established by law. The maximum time to submit an application to the insurance company is only 5 days, but it is better to do this as early as possible. If the documents were not provided to the insurance company within 5 days, then it is likely that its client will be refused compensation.
It is worth noting that there are certain situations that allow you to increase the period for contacting the insurance company.
The client has the right not to contact the insurance company within 5 days for the following valid reasons:
- Lives in another city.
- He was in the hospital as an inpatient.
ATTENTION !!! Of course, the presence of valid reasons must be documented. For example, provide the insurer with sick leave, an epicrisis, or confirmation of a business trip to another city.
The insurance company must make a payment in the form of compensation to its client no later than 20 days after filing the application. If no money was received within this period, then it is worth finding a good car lawyer to solve the problem that has arisen.
What documents need to be prepared?
The package of documents required by the insurance company in order to receive compensation may vary depending on the specific situation.
But, as a rule, you should have the following papers on hand:
- Statement. You can obtain a sample from your insurance company.
- Original OSAGO.
- Passport.
- Driver's license.
- All documents for the vehicle.
- Notification of an accident.
- Accident protocol.
- If available, a check for payment of expenses that were necessary, for example, to call tow trucks.
- Details of the account to which the compensation will be credited.
As already mentioned, in one situation or another, additional paperwork may be required. For example, a sick leave certificate or a death certificate (if relatives of the deceased apply for compensation).
What should the person at fault in an accident do?
After a collision has occurred, the initiator must stop panicking, gather strength and begin to act in accordance with clauses 2.5 and 2.6 of the traffic rules. Stop and do not move the car. Turn on the hazard warning lights and place a warning triangle at a distance of at least 15 m from the car if it is a populated area and 30 m beyond it.
If necessary, provide medical assistance to the victims and call an ambulance. Take photos and videos of the accident scene. Determine the possibility of drawing up the Europrotocol. If the incident is not registered according to a simplified procedure, then call the traffic police. Together with the other driver, draw up an accident diagram and confirm it with signatures.
Is it necessary to call the insurance company in case of an accident?
Clause 2 art. 11 of the MTPL Law considers the behavior of the driver who is at fault in a car accident. He must inform his insurance company that the accident was his fault. It is further written that the period and method of notification are determined by the MTPL insurance contract.
When concluding a motor vehicle license, every motorist must read its text and fulfill their obligations.
As a rule, insurance companies stipulate that if an accident occurs, you must call as soon as possible and report the incident. The motorist must indicate: the time, place and circumstances of the accident, the number of colliding cars, their makes, models and license plate numbers, the presence of injured or dead, and the damage received by each car.
The driver is obliged not only to warn the insurer that a collision has occurred, but also to act in accordance with the instructions received. After receiving the message, the insurance agent may decide to send a company representative to the scene of the car accident to participate in the registration of the accident.
Companies that have emergency commissioners on staff send them to properly handle a traffic accident.
On August 2, 2014, changes to the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance (MTPL) came into force, which related to the registration of road accidents under the European Protocol. Let us remind you that the Europrotocol is a procedure for processing documents about a car accident without the participation of police officers. With such a simplified procedure for registering an incident, the requirements for participants in the incident have changed.
A European protocol can be issued if the following conditions occur simultaneously: there are no victims, and only property damage has been caused in an amount not exceeding 100 thousand rubles; Only two cars collided; both drivers have valid MTPL policies. The driver, who drives by proxy, is included in the vehicle owner’s vehicle registration card.
The legislator introduced the concept of direct compensation for losses (Article 14.1). Compensation for material damage received during an accident is paid to the victim by his insurance company. Therefore, the driver who is not at fault for the accident applies for insurance payments to his insurer, and not to the company of the culprit, as was the case before.
The initiator of the accident is obliged to notify his insurance company by telephone about the collision and draw up the Euro Protocol, and then send his copy of the Notification of the Accident no later than five working days. If he has not fulfilled this condition of the contract, then he will be subject to recourse from the insurer. In other words, his insurance company will oblige the court to pay it an amount of money equal to compensation for damage to the victim.
So, in 2021, the at-fault party in a traffic accident should make a phone call to their insurance company at the earliest opportunity and report the accident. Only large companies record incoming calls. Therefore, always ask the employee who received your message to indicate his last name, first name, patronymic and position.
What are the limits for compulsory motor liability insurance in 2021?
The amount of compensation that an insurance company client can count on has its own limits.
As of 2021, the following limits apply:
- 400 thousand rubles. If damage was caused to the vehicle or other property. This amount is the maximum that the owner of a car who was injured in an accident can expect.
- 500 thousand rubles. If damage was caused to people. This is the maximum amount that can be received for each person injured during a traffic accident.
