Road accidents with victims: procedure, step-by-step instructions

What is insurance and when does it pay out?

CASCO is voluntary insurance of the policyholder's car, while OSAGO is insurance of liability to third parties.

If you have a CASCO policy, the insured has the right to receive financial compensation for the following types of accidents:

colliding with a vehicle and causing significant damage;
colliding with obstacles, such as an open door;
being damaged by an object thrown from under the wheels of another car;
receiving damage as a result of hitting a curb, a parked vehicle, a nail or other obstacles;
falling into a ditch or ravine.

If you have a CASCO policy, the damage is compensated even when the policyholder himself is the culprit of the accident.

What should participants do?

Participants in a traffic accident need to act competently in the event of an emergency, namely:

stop the vehicle and turn on the hazard lights;
display an emergency stop sign to indicate the occurrence of an accident;
if someone is injured as a result of a traffic accident, it is necessary to provide first aid and call an ambulance;
call the traffic police;
report the accident to your insurance company;
independently document damage using photographs and videos;
together with the traffic police officers, take part in drawing up the protocol.

Under no circumstances should you leave the scene of an accident! Such an action entails punishment in the form of deprivation of the right to drive a vehicle for a period of 1 to 1.5 years or administrative arrest for a period of up to 15 days (Clause 2 of Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Failure to fulfill duties in connection with a traffic accident” ).

Road accidents with victims: procedure for the at-fault driver

The procedure for road users, including in the event of emergency situations, is strictly regulated by the Traffic Rules approved by Government Decree No. 1090.

Important! In accordance with paragraph 2.5 of the Rules, in the event of even a minor accident, drivers are obliged to:

stop the vehicle or do not move if the vehicle was standing at the time of the incident;
activate alarms;
install a warning triangle at a distance of at least fifteen meters (at least thirty if the accident occurred outside the city) from the car.

If people were injured as a result of an accident, the actions of the participants in the incident must comply with paragraph 2.6 of the Rules, according to which the driver must:

independently or with the involvement of witnesses, provide first aid to the victims;
send victims to a medical facility if they require urgent hospitalization. In this case, you can send a citizen in need of help with a ride or take him in your own vehicle, and then return to the scene of the accident (such actions will not be qualified under Article 12.27 of the Code of Administrative Offenses as failure to fulfill duties in connection with an accident);
call police and ambulance officers to the scene of an accident. In this case, you need to provide the dispatcher with personal information, briefly describe the situation, give the address or exact landmarks of the scene of the incident;
clear the passage if the location of vehicles interferes with traffic, having previously recorded the details of the accident (position of cars, location of pedestrians, road signs, crossings, etc.);
if possible, organize a detour around the scene of the accident, while preserving as much as possible traces of the accident (for example, parts of cars, debris of road equipment, etc.);
rewrite the data of witnesses of an accident.

In addition, at the same time it is necessary to notify the insurer about the incident.

Deadline for applying to the Investigative Committee

After an accident has occurred and a traffic police officer has recorded it and drawn up a report, you must contact your CASCO insurance company as soon as possible.

As a rule, the application period is specified in the contract for the CASCO policy. Each insurance company sets its own deadlines for claims after an accident; Some insurance companies require immediate notification of the incident, while other insurance companies set a deadline within which to contact, for example, 4 business days.

If the contract for the CASCO policy does not provide for a clause regarding the timing of claims after an accident, then by law the policyholder must submit an application no later than 5 days from the date of the accident.

First actions after an accident

What should you do first?

Immediately after an accident, it is necessary to stop the car, turn on the hazard lights, get out and assess whether there are injuries or deaths. If there are any, you need to call an ambulance and provide first aid. If among the victims there are people in serious condition and the wait threatens death, it is necessary to take them to the nearest hospital - preferably in a third-party car. If this is not possible, then on your own, notifying the traffic police by phone that you need to immediately take the person to the hospital (otherwise they may be charged with leaving the scene of an accident).

According to Insurance Law No. 40, compensation is paid to the injured party. The person at fault does not receive compensation (unless he has CASCO insurance).

In these cases, the victim receives compensation from the insurer of the guilty party:

people were injured;

You can receive a payment from your policyholder if:

no harm done;

Compensation for damage caused to the victim’s health can be paid to either one’s own or someone else’s insurance company.

Be sure to read a very interesting and informative article that talks about how to insure a car.

Additionally, we recommend reading the article by our specialist, in which he talks in detail about what PTS is.

We also recommend that you carefully read our expert’s article, from which you can find out what MTPL is.

Procedure in case of an accident

When a traffic accident occurs, it is very important to do everything correctly and in a certain sequence:

First of all, a traffic police officer is called to the scene of the incident to draw up a report on the incident and identify the person responsible.
Within 5 days from the date of the incident or another period specified in the CASCO policy agreement, you must contact the insurance company to report an accident with the insured car.
At the request of the insurance company, provide the damaged car for an appraisal examination and receive the results of its conclusion.
If you disagree with the results of the examination carried out by the insurance company, you need to independently conduct an independent examination of the vehicle.
Submit an application to the insurance organization for compensation for the insured event under CASCO, attaching the necessary documents.

What not to do in case of an accident

The following requirements are especially important for the driver who caused the accident.

Please note! It is strictly prohibited at the scene of an accident:

consume alcoholic beverages or medications before an official examination of the driver’s condition;
destroy or in any way edit DVR recordings;
move the vehicle unnecessarily;
put signatures on unfilled documents, regardless of who initiated their execution.

Necessary documents for registration

When contacting an insurance company to receive compensation under CASCO as a result of an accident, you must provide the following documents:

application for payment of compensation for damage suffered;
passport and contact details of the applicant;
CASCO insurance policy;
the applicant's driver's license;
vehicle inspection certificate, registration certificate or vehicle passport;
traffic accident report indicating damage and a certificate from the traffic police;
medical report on victims of the accident, if any;
if the contract specifies a clause on payment for related services, then provide receipts or checks for payment for tow truck, parking, etc.

Statement about the occurrence of an insured event

An application for CASCO insurance in case of an accident can be completed in any form or on the letterhead provided by the insurance company.

Regardless of the form of completion, the application must indicate mandatory data, such as:

name, address and contact information of the insurance organization;
contact and passport details of the applicant;
CASCO policy number and date of its conclusion;
complete information about the insured vehicle;
detailed description of the insurance case: time, date, place, cause and participants of the accident;
detailed description of vehicle damage;
presence of traffic police officers at the scene of an accident;
demands to the insurance company for reimbursement of material compensation for the restoration of the vehicle;
indication of bank details for the transfer of compensation;
list of attached copies of documents;
date of application and signature of the applicant.

What documents are required when applying for payment under compulsory motor liability insurance?

If there is no agreement between the participants in the accident or the amount of damage exceeds 100,000 rubles, it is necessary to call traffic police inspectors. Their actions will be influenced by whether harm to the health of individuals was caused or not.

To receive compensation in general, you must submit the following package of documents to the insurer:

Certificate of accident on the road or European protocol
Protocol on administrative offense
A document that confirms ownership of a car
Civil auto insurance policy
Notification of a traffic incident
Road accident diagram
Driver's license
Bank account details (if cash compensation is required)
Power of attorney for a vehicle (if necessary)

In the case of an expert assessment, it is necessary to provide an expert opinion and a receipt for payment. If the car is towed, you must submit documentation that confirms this.

In case of harm to the health of individuals, traffic police officers are required to prepare the following documentation:

Inspection report and traffic accident diagram
Determination to initiate administrative proceedings against the guilty motorist
Explanations from each side
Certificates of traffic accident (must be provided to each party)

In order for the insurance company to compensate for the damage, it is important that the traffic police documentation clearly indicates the cause of the incident. The papers must state that the policyholder was sane and did not violate traffic rules. To do this, you need to obtain an extended certificate from the traffic police. In the future, it must be attached when applying to your insurance company for compulsory motor liability insurance.

Attention! You should not sign empty traffic accident diagrams and forms with explanations. This must be done even in situations where a traffic police officer convinces that there is no need and time. Sometimes inspectors promise that in the future they will fill out the paperwork themselves. The incident map and all measurements should be completed in the presence of each driver.

Application processing and payment deadlines

Like the deadline for filing, the deadline for considering an application for payment of insurance compensation must be specified in the contract for the CASCO policy. If there is no such clause in the contract, then you should check with the insurance company about the possible review period.

It is worth noting that the standard period for consideration of an application is from 5 to 14 days. If there is a lack of information or documents, the period can be extended by no more than 30 days.

The timing of payment of money also does not have clear boundaries and must be specified in the contract or discussed by the insurer.

But there are average payment terms from different insurance companies:

Insurance companies with a client base of more than 1 million clients – up to 14 days;
Insurance companies with a base of 50 thousand to 1 million clients – up to 30 days;
Insurance companies with a number of clients from 5 to 50 thousand clients can pay either within a week or not pay until the client demands it in a legal form;
Unknown insurance companies are, as a rule, scammers, and you should not expect compensation from them.

How does CASCO work if the applicant is at fault?

If the applicant is the culprit of the accident, then, as in the opposite situation, the policy will cover all the necessary costs for restoring the car.

But it is worth remembering that if at the time of the accident the culprit-applicant was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, grossly violated traffic rules or intentionally caused damage to the car in order to receive compensation, then the CASCO insurance company has the right to refuse insurance payment.

Reasons for refusal

It is no secret that insurance companies are looking for reasons to refuse insurance payment. Such an action is possible, but only in certain situations specified in the policy agreement, namely:

the applicant seriously violated traffic rules, thereby causing an accident;
after the accident, the applicant did not act in accordance with traffic rules or left the scene of the accident;
the driver of the vehicle did not have a driver’s license;
the applicant drove the car while under the influence of alcohol or drugs;
the driver did not complete documents at the scene of the accident;
the application for damages and the required documents were submitted after the period specified in the policy without a valid reason;
the accident report does not indicate the applicant’s claims;
the damage to the car was caused intentionally for profit;
the terms of the CASCO agreement were violated;
the driver repaired the vehicle before contacting the insurance company and conducting an examination.

A traffic accident can happen to any motorist. In order to protect your car as much as possible and receive financial compensation for damage caused, insurance companies offer to purchase a CASCO policy.

To receive an insurance payment, it is important to act correctly in the event of an accident, contact the insurance company in a timely manner, providing the necessary documents, and clearly know your rights. Good luck on the roads!