Previously, legislation established the possibility of receiving monetary compensation through insurance instead of repairs. Now the insurance organization provides the car owner with a referral for repair work. The client no longer has the right to choose.
Under what circumstances does an insurance company client have the right to choose monetary compensation or repairs?
To understand how realistic it is to receive monetary compensation, the victim should pay attention to the policy of the person responsible for the traffic accident. If the policy was drawn up before the adoption of the law on the impossibility of cash payments, there is a possibility that the right to choose will remain with the victim.
Service station: direction and choice
Any insurance organization according to the rules is obliged to issue the client a referral to a service station. In most cases, the driver does not have the right to influence the choice of a service station; the company directs it to the institution with which it has a contract. The only exception is the situation if the accident was registered by the accident commissioner.
However, there is also a point here: on the official website of each insurance organization there is a complete list of service stations that cooperate with it, and the driver retains the formal right to choose exclusively from the list of services offered.
How to properly justify in the insurance company the refusal to repair a car in favor of a cash payment?
Good afternoon
Important A number of fundamental conditions must be met, otherwise the insurance payment may be denied.
I had an accident, I am the injured person. The culprit's insurance company is Ingosstrakh. I contacted them after an accident. I was given a referral for repairs to a service station, but not an official dealer. My car is 6 years old. Damaged: rear bumper, right headlight, right fender, trunk, etc. After the assessment, the insurance company issued a direction indicating that the LEFT wing was being replaced, but not a word about the right one.
Arriving at the master, I pointed out this oversight, to which I was told that the left one was damaged.
The question is whether at this stage I can refuse the services of this service station and replace the compensation with a cash payment rather than repairs. What grounds should I present for the IC in this case? Thank you, with respect Natalya December 14, 2021, 16:10, question No. 1845864 Natalya,
We recommend reading: Birth certificate for obtaining a passport
Krasnodar Client clarification Thank you for your answer))) The MTPL policy of the person responsible for the accident was issued until April of the current year, that is, according to the law, I can “claim” both forms of compensation for loss.
How to get money under compulsory motor liability insurance instead of repairs: legal grounds
The possibility of compensation for damage as repairs appeared not so long ago. If the policy was issued after April 28, 2014, the company itself chooses which method of compensation is convenient for it. The new law provides for a lot of nuances that allow for some exceptions when compensation for damages in money takes place.
If repairs cannot be completed within 30 days
The law sets a period within which compensation must occur. Car repairs should not last longer than 30 days. The period is calculated from the moment the car arrives at the service station.
Often, in order to repair a car, parts are required, the delivery of which takes a long time. In this case, the insurer offers to extend the period of repair work.
If the driver does not agree, the company will have no choice, and it will pay the damages in money so as not to violate the provisions of the current legislation.
If the nearest partner’s car service is more than 50 km away
The repair service must be located no further than 50 km from the driver’s place of residence. If the service station is located further away, the citizen can refuse the service and demand monetary compensation.
There is one subtle point here - the insurance company has the right to offer delivery of the car to the selected service station, then payment will become impossible.
If there is no official dealer in the city
Those cars that are less than two years old are required by law to be serviced only by authorized dealers. If there is no such organization in the city, the insurer must offer car transportation or travel payment. Sometimes such services cost the insurance company a hefty sum, so the driver will have a loophole to demand monetary compensation.
If it's not your car that needs to be repaired
If, at the time of filing a request for compensation, the matter concerns not only damage to the car, but, for example, health, then payment in cash is guaranteed. These cases may also concern the citizen’s personal belongings that were damaged as a result of the collision: laptops, mobile phones, clothes, etc.
If after an accident the victim died or received moderate or severe harm
This situation provides for full monetary compensation. Insurers for medium and severe harm to the victim pay funds in accordance with established compensation standards.
Also, the victim has the right to demand monetary compensation for loss of ability to work, sick leave and disability in the appropriate case. In the event of the death of the victim, members of his family, young children, and dependents have the right to compensation for the period prescribed in the rules of compulsory motor liability insurance.
Total car loss
Sometimes a car can no longer be repaired after an accident. Insurance companies have a concept - total loss of a vehicle. In this case, the injured driver has the right to receive monetary compensation under compulsory motor liability insurance in the amount of 400,000 rubles.
If the victim has a disability
If there are documents that confirm the fact of a citizen’s disability, monetary compensation is due from the organization that issued the policy. Here we are not talking about car repairs, but about paying compensation for health damage.
If the guilt is mutual
If guilt was found to be mutual, compensation depends on the degree of guilt and is calculated as a percentage.
The organization has the right to offer a referral for repairs for a small additional payment, because there is no need to pay off the damage in full. If this option is not suitable for the injured party, the company must pay him a certain amount.
If the vehicle is a truck
When a truck driver, who acts as a victim, was involved in an accident, he has the right to make his own decision on the method of compensation for damage.
Just offer to pay
This option is obvious, but not every organization agrees to the request of an injured citizen to pay him damages in money.
During the application process, you must indicate your desire to receive financial assistance or try to negotiate with the insurer.
Don't agree to extra payment
There are situations in which the insurance company refuses to pay, explaining its refusal by the fact that allegedly little money was transferred to the insurance company for repairs, and in order to receive payment in money, the victim needs to pay extra for something. Such actions by the insurance company are unlawful, therefore the client of the insurance company must be required to present the arguments for refusal exclusively in writing.
The victim should not agree to any “deals” with the insurance agent, manager or even director of the company. The company is obliged to fulfill its obligations, be it payment in money or a full repair of the car using new parts.
Is it possible to receive payments instead of repairs under OSAGO?
Natural compensation for damage caused to vehicles is a priority for all insurance agencies today. This is due to financial benefits - auto repair stations affiliated with the insurer provide repair services at a significant discount. Therefore, de facto, in-kind compensation costs the agency less than monetary compensation.
The legislation provides that the choice between monetary or in-kind compensation can be made not by the owner of the vehicle, but only by the insurer. However, there are a number of situations when a monetary payment is made instead of repairs.
- The service station working with the insurer does not have the technical capabilities to repair the damage caused to the car.
- In a road accident, there are victims, or those with serious injuries, or those who have received moderate harm to their health.
- The accident involved a car that had been modified to be driven by a disabled driver.
- A new car, with the warranty period not yet expired, was damaged in an accident. Such cars may only be repaired at the manufacturer's or dealer's authorized service station.
- Repair work took more than 1 month. In such a situation, the owner has the right to refuse repairs and demand monetary compensation from the company.
- The service station to which the car is sent is located in a place that is difficult for the owner of the car to reach. Accessibility criteria are established in Article 12 of Federal Law No. 40. For example, the technical center should not be located in another city, or more than 50 km from the place of residence of the owner of the damaged car.
Is it necessary to pay a deficiency for repair work and will wear and tear on the machine be taken into account?
Expert opinion
Mironova Anna Sergeevna
Lawyer and lawyer for automobile law. Specializes in administrative and civil law, insurance.
Previously, wear and tear of parts was taken into account in the payment, while craftsmen could install used parts on the vehicle being repaired. Now car repairs under the MTPL policy involve replacing damaged parts with new high-quality analogues. The use of used spare parts is prohibited. In other words, the wear and tear of the car will not be taken into account during the repair work.
The culprit of the accident is obliged to make an additional payment if the policy was issued according to the old standards, and also when the insured amount does not fully cover all the damage to the victim.
How does the insurance company calculate the cost of repairs under compulsory motor liability insurance?
The cost of auto repair under compulsory motor liability insurance is calculated by agency employees.
The formula is as follows: Tsr = Rr + Rm + Zd
Where:
CR – total price of repair work;
Рр – price of services of car repair shop employees;
Рм – cost of consumables;
Зд – the price of parts and assemblies replaced after an accident.
The calculation uses the established average price of spare parts and consumables adopted for a specific region.
What to do to avoid problems with repairs under OSAGO?
From April 28, 2021, insurance contracts are signed and renewed according to new rules. There are exceptions under which you can receive a financial payment, but their list is limited.
The limited choice of service stations is not critical for residents of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other large cities where there is fierce competition. However, outside such populated areas the number of bus stations is limited, and there may be only a few good ones or none at all. And it is not a fact that the insurer cooperates with them.
What you need to know! Insurance organizations that value their reputation tend to avoid cooperating with service stations that provide low-quality services. Otherwise, their image will suffer, which will lead to a reduction in their customer base.
Remember! If the car owner is not satisfied with the quality of the repairs performed, he should under no circumstances sign the report. In such a situation, it is important to demand that existing shortcomings be eliminated.
The process of handing over a car to its owner does not always go quickly. The car service center needs to accept the car owner’s complaints about quality, consider them, and then issue a permit to carry out the work. Then follows the stage of completions, after which the vehicle is handed over to the motorist again.
It is important that information about all partner service stations is published on the official website of the insurance organization. The web resource must be studied in detail, and only then can an insurance agreement be concluded. Examine especially carefully the situations in which it will not be possible to use the services of one service station. Find out if it is possible to choose a backup option that will allow you to be confident in the high quality of repairs and the reliability of the installed parts and assemblies.
An even better solution would be to visit a technical service center with which the insurer has entered into an agreement and which the car driver trusts. If you are not satisfied with the result, it is better to turn your attention to another insurer.
If a motorist spent his own money on purchasing some parts or parts for repairs, it is important to keep all receipts. This may be decisive during an expert assessment or trial.
Attention! In the event of a traffic incident, proper documentation must be completed. Only in this case can you count on compensation for damage from the insurer.
On practice
Insurance companies often refuse to pay. Many car owners also complain that their insurance company has denied them repairs under CASCO. And this is not surprising. The position of most insurers is to refuse at any cost. Often the price is not high. The client is indignant and will not take any further measures.
As for repairs, there are already typical situations when they are refused, for example:
- the insurance company believes that the damage was not at all to the parts indicated in the accident certificate;
- the insurance company discovers that there is older damage to the car, or traces of repairs that are not specified in the contract.
As a rule, such grounds are far-fetched, and if desired, they can be easily challenged in court. But this requires following a certain procedure.
Repair times at service stations according to OSAGO
Questions regarding the timing of restoration work under MTPL are often of interest to injured motorists. The reason is simple - cars have become so firmly established in the lives of many people that without them it is simply impossible to cope with their affairs, and sometimes even drivers lose their income. For this reason, delay problems are sometimes critical for motorists.
There are two types of restoration work periods:
- Repair period in accordance with the MTPL insurance contract. Sometimes the contract specifies the exact time frame for restoration work, then they should be strictly observed regardless of the circumstances. It is important to know that the lack of spare parts or tools is not a valid reason for failure to meet repair deadlines.
- The concept of “reasonable time”. It is used in Russian legislation, but there is no precise definition. Reasonable time means within which the necessary work can realistically be completed with the available resources. For example, a simple dent should not be repaired for six months - this is unreasonably long and unreasonable.
Attention! In accordance with the law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”, restoration work cannot last more than 30 working days. In the agreement and referral for repairs, the insurance company may indicate a longer period, but the driver may not notice this fact (the legislation provides for this possibility). In such a situation, the issue should be resolved individually and reasonably.
If the car service cannot meet the specified deadline, then you can contact the insurance company with a demand to pay a penalty in the amount of half a percent of the cost of repairs under OSAGO for each day of delay. Sometimes the driver may receive an additional premium for lost profits.
The direction for repairs under MTPL must contain the period within which the work must be completed. The insurer has 20 days to issue it. Failure to comply with this deadline is grounds for late collection in the amount of 1% of the insurance payment for each overdue day.
Important! The amount of the penalty cannot exceed the amount of damage. To receive it, you must submit an application; it should include a calculation, attaching account details for transferring funds.
The repair period is directly affected by the condition of the vehicle and the list of works that the service station will perform. In exceptional cases it can last more than a month. This happens when there is major damage or delivery of parts from abroad, which can take several weeks.
