When does the compulsory motor liability insurance policy come into effect?

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.

When will an electronic OSAGO policy become mandatory?

The Bank of Russia promised that in nine months MTPL policies in electronic form will be mandatory and will solve the problem of affordability of car insurance. 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.

The Bank of Russia officially announced that from January 1, 2021, insurance companies are required to provide electronic services for issuing policies throughout the country. This will be enshrined in amendments to laws.

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.

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.

Deferment of compulsory motor liability insurance: the electronic policy will be valid 3 days after purchase

The deferment of compulsory motor liability insurance, which insurance companies requested from the Central Bank, will be put into effect by the regulator on September 3, 2021.

Thus, the Central Bank will save insurers from problems with fraudsters who drove without a policy, but issued it using the Internet, receiving an electronic compulsory motor liability insurance policy as soon as an accident happened to them on the road.

The regulator accepted the conditions of insurance companies for issuing E-MTPL, not only understanding that the fraud scheme from which insurers are protecting themselves is real, but also in order to influence participants in the insurance market, who often shy away from selling auto insurance policies to car owners.

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However, there is no certainty that this measure will work: for insurers, the auto insurance industry still remains unprofitable.

When applying for an electronic policy, car owners must be prepared for the fact that they will need to provide additional documents to the insurance company within three hours from the start of registration of compulsory motor liability insurance. The requirements for this additional information have now been clarified and will be placed on the policy application form.

Also in the electronic document issuance system, the process of issuing a key to a mobile phone will be improved. One number will be assigned a single encryption option, which allows you to enter the account on the insurance company’s website. Previously, it was possible to register several keys, which is what scammers took advantage of by selling extra access. In this case, the system will be configured in such a way that it will not interfere with one person obtaining electronic insurance remotely for several cars.

Car owners were reminded that in the field of issuing electronic documents, not only insurance companies, but also policyholders suffer. The latter lose money when they end up on duplicate sites. Therefore, when applying for a policy online, follow the following rules:

• Reject offers at suspiciously low prices.
• Check the name of the site with the name of the official resource of the insurer or agent.
• Be careful if you are offered to pay for compulsory motor insurance with electronic money and not with a bank card, and also if it is not possible to register on the site and get your account there.
• Please note where the information about the policy comes from, from which email address, and behind this notification there is a letter from RSA, which confirms that the electronic document is real.

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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.

How long is the insurance valid?

1 year from the start date in general cases. This is regulated by the Federal Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance, Article 10. It is a mistake to believe that there are insurances for 3, 6 and 9 months, because in this context two different terms should be distinguished:

• validity period of the MTPL agreement,
• period of use of the vehicle.

So, the policy period is always 1 year. And the period of use can be several months - from 3 to 12 months. The fact that there is no insurance for less than 3 months is established by Part 1 of Article 16 of the Federal Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance.

But there is also insurance for 20 days - the so-called “transit” insurance in common people. It is issued to car owners only in 2 cases:

1. to drive a car to another region, where its owner is going to register it with the traffic police MREO of his city of residence,
2. to drive the car to the inspection site.

Obviously, you can’t register a car with insurance for 20 days; to do this, you will have to take out full-fledged insurance, which is valid for 1 year after registration.

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.

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.

What documents are needed to obtain insurance?

To apply for Tinkoff insurance, provide:

• passport or equivalent document that confirms identity;
• registration certificate of the car or other vehicle that will be insured;
• driver's license;
• diagnostic card if the car requires technical inspection.

Provide documents after completing the application in your personal account. Upload scanned copies of the originals and pay for the insurance policy.

Why is the electronic OSAGO policy more expensive?

With the introduction of new electronic policies, their cost in some regions has become more expensive. This is not related specifically to the innovation of the electronic OSAGO policy. In each specific case, it is necessary to understand the reasons for the rise in price. At the moment, almost all car owners have the opportunity to issue an electronic version of the policy. Moreover, this document has the same legal force as a paper policy. But many drivers think that electronic policies will now cost more.

Most often, the cost of paper and electronic policies is equal, since it is calculated using the same coefficients and tariffs. When purchasing insurance online, the calculation is performed using one federal driver database. The cumulative discount accrued to drivers for not causing an accident for a certain period of time is equal to 5% per year, and it must also be stored electronically.

When comparing prices, many drivers simply forget to take into account that the total cost of insurance has almost doubled.

How to avoid a fine

One of the simplest and most convenient ways to avoid paying fines is to timely purchase a new MTPL policy. If the insurance period has expired, you must submit an application for its renewal. It is better not to wait until the last day, but to address this issue in advance, in the last month before the deadline.

If, for good reasons, there is a delay in compulsory motor insurance, then you should try not to drive your car into the city again in order to avoid meetings with the state traffic inspector. When you need to go urgently, then try to take your old policy with you, and if you are stopped, somehow explain to the traffic police officer that the updated policy is still at the production stage.

When buying an expensive car, the car owner may simply not have enough money left for an annual policy. Then he has an excellent opportunity to take out reduced insurance for 20 days. It is allowed to purchase compulsory motor liability insurance for a period of three months.

To replace the lost policy, you should try to quickly obtain a duplicate, which the insurance company will issue free of charge. If you get into an accident, the problem of not having a document in hand can be resolved without going to court if the insurer is notified of the accident in time.

Responsible car owners can always find the right way to renew their insurance or take out a new policy. In this way, they will ensure that they do not have to pay for the restoration of a damaged car out of their own pocket, and will also be able to safely move on the roads without fear of sanctions from the traffic police.