I got into an accident, I am the culprit, what should I do with insurance?

Publication date: 03/04/2019 Number of views: 5928

Author: Ermakov Andrey Valerievich Lawyer, partner of the Legal Agency of St. Petersburg Articles written: 20

The situation when an insurance company files a lawsuit against the culprit of an accident in order to recover material damage based on the compensation paid to the injured party is becoming more and more common every year. If previously relatively little-known organizations that had close ties with collection agencies committed similar sins, today you can get a claim for subrogation or recourse from almost any insurance company. Recently, there has been increased activity on the part of the insurance company, which is trying to compensate for its losses under CASCO or OSAGO contracts by filing lawsuits against those responsible for the accident. There is a trend: if the accident occurred in 2015 or 2021 (the statute of limitations is about to expire), and the amount of paid material damage exceeds 100-120 thousand rubles, you can expect a quick summons from the court. There are many explanations for this: the unstable economic situation in the country, a sharply increased number of vehicles, competition in the market, tightening legislation in the field of insurance companies. In order to somehow preserve their assets and not become bankrupt, they are forced to resort to subrogation and recourse claims. What to do if the insurance company sues the person responsible for the accident, what is the difference between recourse and subrogation, is it possible to reduce the amount of payments for a lawsuit and how to protect your property rights? Answers to these and related questions are provided by professional lawyers in the field of insurance law and civil law.

Conflict resolution by agreement of two parties

What to do if you do not have MTPL insurance. It is possible to resolve the problem by agreement of the two parties, without further litigation. This can happen if the damage caused to the car is minimal, there can be no hidden damage, the victims can independently determine the cost of repairs, both come to an agreement that it is easier for them to immediately agree peacefully and disperse.

According to Article No. 1064 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, losses caused in an accident are subject to full compensation for those responsible for this accident. Therefore, it is necessary, in the absence of an insurance policy, to be prepared to compensate for the restoration of the damaged car yourself. In addition, it will be mandatory to pay a fine for not having an MTPL insurance policy and driving a vehicle without insurance; claims for compensation for moral damages will be possible.

The best option is to pay the amount of compensation directly at the scene of the incident, but sometimes the culprit does not have the required amount of money, and he asks to wait and pay the money after some time. A person injured in an accident can take some valuable thing as collateral. All actions must be reflected in the receipt.

IMPORTANT !!! The passport of the perpetrator is not taken as collateral, because such an act is a gross violation of the law and is subject to criminal punishment.

If the victim cannot determine the cost of repair work, the cost of repair is determined by experts. An assessment of the damage caused can be done at a service station or independent experts. When receiving funds as compensation for restoring the damaged vehicle, the victim must write a receipt confirming receipt of the funds. To avoid further disputes, the entire process of contract and payment, writing the receipt should be recorded on video, or the DVR should be left on.

There is such a situation. There is more than one driver included in the OSAGO insurance policy for this car, and the car involved in the accident was driven by a driver who was not included in the policy. This situation is equivalent to the absence of a policy, but the OSAGO insurance company is obliged to make cash payments. If the culprit refuses to pay the amount for the restoration of the car, you must complete all the necessary documents within the established time frame and contact the insurance company or further to the courts.

Even with compulsory motor liability insurance, you will have to pay if you are the culprit of an accident. Why?

Practice, including judicial practice, shows that a driver who has purchased an MTPL policy and believes that his financial security is now fully ensured is greatly mistaken. In fact, it turns out that becoming the culprit of an accident is very unprofitable - and not only because it negatively affects the CBM , increasing the cost of the next policy. If you get into an accident due to your fault, you can be left without a much larger amount of money than it seems at first glance.

OSAGO vs. comprehensive insurance

The first difficult case is an accident in which the victim’s car is insured not only under compulsory motor liability insurance, but also under comprehensive insurance

. Unlike compulsory motor liability insurance, comprehensive insurance does not have an upper limit on the insurance payment, and also, more importantly in our case, allows you to repair the car without taking into account wear and tear.

Articles / Popular questions What is comprehensive insurance and how to save money when purchasing it We have already figured out what compulsory motor liability insurance is and how to apply for it. Now it’s worth telling what comprehensive insurance is, why this type of insurance is needed, why it is so expensive, and how to save money when purchasing it... 11123 1 5 04/06/2017

When calculating the insurance payment under compulsory motor liability insurance, a unified methodology is used for “determining the amount of costs for restoration repairs”, approved by Bank of Russia Regulation No. 432-P, which contains a “procedure for calculating the amount of wear of components to be replaced.” Simply put, payments under compulsory motor liability insurance are made taking into account the depreciation of the car, which increases in accordance with its mileage and age. And a driver who purchases a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, in the event of an accident due to his own fault, can count on payment of compensation to the victim in accordance with this calculation.

However, the victim can contact his insurance company, where he purchased a comprehensive insurance policy, and use it for repairs. In this case, wear and tear will not be taken into account, and compensation will be made in the form that the injured driver and the insurance company have established for themselves. And, of course, the cost of repairs in this case will most likely be higher than calculated using the MTPL methodology.

Having repaired the victim’s car, the insurance company will submit a claim for compensation for losses to the insurance company of the person responsible for the accident. And she, in turn, will pay only the amount that was calculated in accordance with a unified methodology. Well, the difference between this payment and the actual costs of the insurer for repairing the victim’s car will be compensated... by the culprit of the accident.

The right of the insurance company that repaired the car to recover this difference from the culprit is determined by Article 965 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which regulates “the transfer to the insurer of the policyholder’s rights to compensation for damage.” According to this article, having paid insurance compensation to the victim, the insurance company receives the right to claim compensation from the culprit within the limits of the amount paid to it. And part of this amount, not received from the insurance company of the culprit of the accident, can be recovered in court from the culprit himself.

Summarizing all of the above in simple words, we can draw a brief conclusion: if you are the culprit of an accident, and the victim has comprehensive insurance, then if his car is repaired under comprehensive insurance, you will be required to pay the difference between the amount for repairs calculated by compulsory motor insurance and the actual final amount of repairs under comprehensive insurance.

OSAGO against independent examination

The second case that can force the culprit of an accident to fork out money is an accident, as a result of which the victim will turn to an independent expert to determine the damage and the amount of payments. Formally, the introduction of a unified methodology for calculating insurance payments, which is mandatory when conducting any examination, including an independent one, should have nullified the difference between the results of damage assessment by insurers and independent experts. However, in practice, the final amounts of damage determined by the first and second ones often turn out to be different - due to differences in the assessment of the nature, scale and volume of damage.

Thus, in a case where the victim received a payment from the insurance company, the amount of which he did not agree with, and carried out an independent examination, he can go to court to compensate the difference by the person responsible for the accident. Formally, this situation is excluded by the law on compulsory motor liability insurance, which determines the payment by the insurer of all damage calculated according to the established methodology and not exceeding the upper threshold of insurance payment. However, in practice such lawsuits do occur.

Damage in excess of the maximum insurance payment

The third case, when the culprit of an accident may suffer financially, is the simplest: this is an accident in which the amount of damage exceeds the amount of the maximum insurance payment provided for by the compulsory motor liability insurance agreement. Today, the maximum payment is 400 thousand rubles if only the car was damaged, and 500 thousand if people were injured in the accident. Thus, if the amount of damage assessed using a unified method turns out to be higher than the maximum, then compensation for the “remainder” not covered by insurance will fall in full on the culprit of the accident.

Pre-trial claim

The second option is a pre-trial claim. This is done in the absence of a compulsory motor liability insurance policy and it is impossible to reach an agreement peacefully, by agreement of the two parties. Pre-trial proceedings are underway. An inspection employee records the fact of the accident. When drawing up a report at the scene of a traffic accident, information about the absence of an insurance policy at the perpetrator must be recorded.

The victim himself, without fail, retains information about the person responsible for the accident:

Surname and initials,
Place of registration and place of residence,
Contact number.

In addition to recording the data of the person at fault in the accident, in order to file a pre-trial claim, it is necessary to prepare the following documents.

An independent examination report, which provides a detailed description of all, even if there is hidden damage to the car. A calculation is made of the amount of money needed to restore the car, that is, a calculation of the damage caused. In addition to the report on the examination, copies of permitting documents for the activities carried out by this organization, for example, a license, etc., must be attached. The cost of the examination is from 2000 to 7000 rubles.
In the event that damage is received as a result of which the machine cannot be restored, a report of lost marketable value is compiled. The cost of preparing such a report is 5,000 rubles.
Filing a pre-trial claim against the culprit of an accident without a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, the cost of filing a claim is 5,000 rubles. The claim can also be made by the victim himself. The document describes in detail the directions of movement of vehicles, the exact location of the accident, the time and date of the accident, and all related circumstances. But each point of the claim is supplemented with quotes from legislative documents and excerpts from an expert report on the calculation of damage caused. All this data must be consistent with the protocol from the scene of the accident drawn up by the traffic police officer, so it is important when drawing up the protocol to control what data is entered into the protocol. The final appeal shall indicate the amount of monetary compensation to be reimbursed. But, this amount may be greater than the amount indicated in the independent examination report, because it may contain an amount consisting of money spent on payment for the services of a technical service (tow truck), payment for car parking, payment for an expert assessment, payment for legal services, and the amount of moral damage.

To file a pre-trial claim, you must prepare a package of documents for the claim itself, which includes:

A copy of the certificate from the traffic police about the incident.
A copy of the resolution on the recorded offense.
Letter notifying of an independent examination.
Letter of invitation to visit.
Copies of documents for the car
A report with an expert assessment by an independent expert on the damage caused.
Cash documents that can confirm the cash expenses for restoring the car.

All copies necessary for further proceedings are made and certified at the scene of the accident by traffic police officers who draw up a report on the incident.

ATTENTION !!! The completed claim letter should be sent to the postal address of the person responsible for the incident, in the form of registered mail with a return notification of receipt. Postage checks and receipts are retained. If the claim letter does not help to recover the amount of damage, you should draw up a statement of claim to submit to the courts.

In addition to information about the person responsible for the accident and the calculation of the amount of compensation for the restoration of the damaged car, information about the victim, contact phone numbers, postal address and email addresses are included. In addition, the time allotted for resolving the issue without trial is indicated. You should take advantage of the recommendation and pay monetary compensation within the allotted timeframe specified in the claim. When the case is brought to court, the perpetrator will need to pay both court costs and attorney fees.

IMPORTANT !!! If the person responsible for the accident does not have any property (real and movable property), or does not have a permanent job, such circumstances are not grounds for refusal to pay compensation, especially if the issue is resolved by court.

The victim in the accident does not have MTPL insurance

If the victim in an accident does not have compulsory motor liability insurance, but the perpetrator has one, then compensation payments will be made in the full amount, according to the examination. But, in this case, an administrative decision will be made - a fine for driving a vehicle without compulsory motor insurance. The fine amount is 800 rubles.

If the person at fault in an accident is found to have a fake insurance policy, such an act is equivalent to a lack of insurance.

But the punishment for the culprit with a fake policy is much more serious:

such an act is punishable by confiscation of the driver's license,
the culprit bears criminal liability and administrative punishment,
Serious fines are paid.

If the insurance, for some reason, was nevertheless paid after the discovery of a false insurance policy, the insurance company will subsequently demand the indicated amount of compensation from the person responsible for the accident.

To prevent such developments, you should:

Submit an application to check the compliance of the insurance policy with the RSA (Russian Union of Motorists).
File a pre-trial claim for the person responsible for the accident for the amount of monetary payment according to an independent expert assessment.
Upon receipt of a refusal to claim, draw up a statement of claim to the court, demanding compensation for losses incurred, including monetary costs for conducting examinations and preparing documents, and the work of lawyers.
Submit an application to the police department, enclosing a response to the request from the RSA, regarding the culprit for participation in the fraud.

What will the person responsible for the accident have to face?

If people get into an accident and become the culprit, a lengthy trial will begin. A lawyer can tell you how much it costs to register a car, as well as detailed information about the consequences of an accident. People don’t always understand very well what troubles drivers usually face.

What problems are critical?

Car restoration;
Damage to the victim;
Moral damage.

If a person has seriously decided to study actions in case of an accident, he should not evaluate only step-by-step steps. It is also necessary to become familiar with the underlying payments that are proving problematic. Insurance companies do not always fully cover the costs of victims, because some details are not provided for by the motor vehicle insurance policy. Because of this, difficulties often arise after a trial.

Machine restoration

The car was in an accident and was damaged, so it will have to be restored. The insurance company will certainly conduct a detailed technical examination and also transfer money. Although the calculation of payment under compulsory motor liability insurance rarely coincides with actual breakdowns. As a result, repairs are only partially paid for, while the rest is usually claimed through court from the culprit.

If you get into an accident, you need to check with a lawyer about what to do. Otherwise, full responsibility will fall on the shoulders of the person. No one is talking about administrative punishment, which will follow without fail; there are other problems focused on colossal monetary payments. Because of this, professional services remain the only reliable choice for salvation in a difficult situation.

Damage to the victim

Road accidents with victims are a separate topic for conversation. In such situations, the driver may even face criminal liability, so transferring all necessary funds for treatment is a mandatory measure. When you get into an accident, it’s difficult to admit “it’s my fault,” but you still need to do the same. After that, it remains to clarify the required amount and mitigate the subsequent sentence.

Compensation for damages to the injured person may be sought through a court decision, but such impact should not be expected. It is much more practical to go to the hospital if you are in an accident and say, “I am the culprit, what should I do?” Further actions will not take much time, since an official invoice will be presented, and after payment, all that remains is to bring your changes to the second driver. As a result, it will be possible to correct the situation or partially reduce future liability.

Moral damage

Moral damage is almost unlimited. “I got into an accident, I am the culprit, what should I do, how can I compensate for the losses?” These questions and statements will not be of any use if the victim has decided to restore his psychological state. In this case, they have the right to secure a considerable money transfer through the courts. It's time to say that serious injury is “paid” much higher than the restoration of any car.

Moral damage will be claimed in court. The paperwork may take a long time, but the result will still be serious. In such situations, an experienced lawyer is ready to help resolve the issue without the participation of law enforcement agencies. Such a decision will not protect you from transferring a certain amount, but it will still reduce troubles.

The victim of the accident has a CASCO insurance policy

The CASCO insurance company provides voluntary insurance to its clients against damage caused to the vehicle. The insurance does not include liability for transported cargo and the health of citizens. Liability for the health of citizens is insured by MTPL.

Let's consider a situation where the victim has CASCO insurance. Who will make compensation payments? What will happen to the citizens injured in the accident. The victim of an accident receives all payments according to the list of clauses in the insurance policy. But, in the event of injury to people, compensation payments are made only under the MTPL insurance policy.

To receive compensation for the restoration of health, you should negotiate peacefully, or go to court, to recover it from the person responsible for the accident who does not have compulsory motor liability insurance.

There are options when you may not receive payments for car restoration:

the car is damaged or destroyed with the intention of obtaining insurance compensation.
The car was driven by a drunk driver.
the car was driven by a person who does not have a driver's license.
the car was used abroad where the policy is not valid (in another country, etc.)
operational capabilities have been exceeded.

IMPORTANT !!! To avoid such situations, do not give the car’s steering wheel to unauthorized persons or persons without a driver’s license, and do not overload the car.

In order to correctly and quickly resolve the situation created during a traffic accident, the driver - the culprit and the victim - should firmly remember

Penalties provided for from the culprit of an accident

Based on the Federal Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”, the insurance company bears full responsibility for compensation for damage caused to the injured party resulting from an accident on the road. Despite this ideal interpretation of the law, in real life everything is much more complicated. Very often, many insurance organizations do not provide injured clients with the compensation due under insurance, complaining about various unimportant circumstances and facts. Sometimes these organizations even offer citizens injured as a result of an accident to demand compensation for the damage caused directly and independently from the guilty party. They may cite the following circumstances:

the driver was drunk at the time of the accident;
the person at fault for the accident does not have a driver’s license;
the person at fault for the accident did not have a compulsory motor liability insurance policy;
The insurance company lost its license.

Such arguments cannot be considered sufficient to deny citizens injured in an accident the required insurance. These actions may be considered illegal. The citizen at fault for the accident is obliged to compensate for the losses caused if:

the amount of damage caused exceeding the insurer's limits;
damage is not caused while the vehicle is moving;
the culprit of the accident does not have a compulsory motor liability insurance policy;
compensation for moral damage (if harm is caused to health).

In order to receive the due compensation from the at-fault party after a car accident, strict adherence to established standards is necessary. So, one of them is the claims procedure. In other words, you should contact the courts after independently resolving the conflict that has arisen by sending the corresponding complaint (claim) to the guilty citizen. This document must clearly state the requirement to recover damages from the culprit of the accident.

When drawing up a corresponding claim, it is necessary to indicate the amount of damage caused in the form of a numerical value, as well as the possible amount of compensation for moral damage.

Tip #1! When filing a claim against an insurer, it is best to consult with an experienced lawyer who knows all the intricacies of current laws in the insurance system. A specialist will help you write a competent “complaint” that can encourage insurance company specialists to cooperate.

How to behave correctly during an accident

Every driver should remember the sequence of actions taken after an accident.

Turn on the hazard warning lights, mark the location of the accident, within 15 meters of the affected vehicles.
If people were injured during an accident, you should call an ambulance, call an ambulance if necessary, or perform first aid yourself.
Call the police and traffic police.
Interview those gathered to identify witnesses to the events that happened, ask them not to leave the scene of the accident until the traffic police inspectors arrive.
Exchange contacts with the culprit of the incident and try to resolve the dispute peacefully.
Wait for the inspection staff to complete all the documents as required in such cases. A traffic accident will be recorded. Please pay attention to the correctness of the information entered in the protocol and the presence or absence of an insurance policy.

If the damage caused exceeds 50,000 rubles, the statement of claim is sent to local district courts.

The following are attached to the statement of claim:

original receipt for payment of state duty,
copy of the statement of claim,
power of attorney for a lawyer who will defend the rights of the victim in court.
A copy of the pre-trial claim, and all documents from the list of pre-trial claims.

If the issue cannot be resolved amicably, by agreement of the two parties or by pre-trial claim, a statement of claim should be prepared in court. If damage is caused in an amount not exceeding 50,000 rubles, the investigation is conducted by a magistrate.