Do you need insurance to register a car with the traffic police?

Do you need insurance when registering a car?

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OSAGO is a compulsory insurance policy, that is, every driver must have it. The essence of such insurance is to compensate the insurance company for damages to victims of a traffic accident that occurred through your fault, that is, through the fault of the policyholder. Car owners who have just bought or are planning to buy a car are wondering whether it is necessary to obtain an insurance policy when registering a vehicle? Let's figure out what the legislation says about this.

The procedure for registering a car

If you are buying a new car, then registration is a must. Registration is carried out at the place of registration of the owner. You can also register a used car, or, more precisely, re-register it based on the data of the new owner. The result of the registration procedure is the receipt of state numbers and a certificate. Failure to take these actions and driving a car that has not been registered after purchase and sale will result in a heavy fine, including the deprivation of your driver’s license. To prevent this from happening, the law allocates 10 days during which you must register the car.

Any vehicle must be registered. This requirement is recorded in Order No. 139 of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, which was last amended in 2021.

What needs to be done to register a car? The most important rule is that registration is carried out only if you have a complete set of documents, which includes insurance. That is, having insurance is an integral and mandatory part when registering a car. So, what is the procedure for registering a car? There are two options here:

If you have a valid MTPL policy, then you need to sign up at a convenient branch of the State Traffic Inspectorate to obtain a state registration certificate. This can be done through the State Services website or by calling the specified service phone number. When registering in the electronic queue, you can independently choose the time and day you need.
If you do not have an MTPL policy, then you will not be able to register a car without insurance. You will first need to contact the office of the insurance company in person, draw up a compulsory insurance contract, and only after receiving the certificate and having other documents, come to the traffic police department at the appointed time. Since license plates are indicated in the insurance, after registration you will again visit the insurance company office and fill in the missing information. And all this must be done within 10 days.

Thus, having familiarized yourself in detail with the procedure for state registration of a car, it becomes clear that the presence of an MTPL insurance policy is an integral document. Without it, you will not be able to register a vehicle. Therefore, if you do not have insurance, then first of all you visit the office of the insurance company, pre-insure yourself, and only then go to the State Traffic Inspectorate.

Legal basis for compulsory vehicle insurance and registration with the traffic police

The main document regulating the issue of compulsory insurance is the Federal Law “On compulsory insurance of civil liability of vehicle owners” dated April 25, 2002 N 40-FZ (latest edition). In it you can find answers to all questions related to compulsory motor liability insurance.

Art. 4 not only contains a clause on compulsory insurance, but also indicates what type of vehicle it does not apply to.

Clause 4 art. 10 stipulates the possibility of terminating the contract ahead of schedule and demanding compensation for the period that was not used.

The main purpose of concluding an agreement is to compensate for losses that may be caused to property or human health in an accident.

Art. 7 determines the maximum amount that can be paid in an insured event. This is 400,000 rubles for damage to property, and 500,000 if a person is injured.

The fact that it is impossible to register a car without an insurance policy can be read in paragraph 4 of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 12, 1994 N 938 (as amended on October 6, 2017) “On the state registration of motor vehicles and other types of self-propelled equipment on the territory of the Russian Federation.” Federation".

But the amendments made to the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated March 20, 2017 N 139 (as amended on June 26, 2018) “On amendments to the regulatory legal acts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia on the registration of vehicles” (Registered with the Ministry of Justice of Russia on June 29, 2017 N 47214) give the right the driver should not present a paper version at the request of the inspector, since the check can be carried out through an electronic system.

Is it possible to register without insurance?

Based on the above instructions, it becomes clear that it will not be possible to obtain a state registration certificate for a car without insurance. Therefore, the task at hand must be addressed first. It is impossible to avoid this issue, since such a situation is strictly regulated by law, namely:

Federal Law No. 40;
by order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs No. 1001;
OSAGO rules.

Violation of the law and the deadlines for registering a vehicle may result in administrative liability. The allocated 10-day period is enough to carry out all the necessary actions, including taking care of insurance. In addition, if you bought a used car (more than 3 years old), then in order to issue an insurance policy you will need to undergo a technical inspection and receive a diagnostic card. And this will take a few more days.

Paper or electronic insurance for registration

As we mentioned above, currently the owner has the right to choose the type of compulsory insurance policy that is more convenient for him. Also in other articles we paid attention to the advantages and disadvantages of each type, you can also read this on our website.

Speaking about compulsory insurance for registration, it is worth saying the following. There are situations in which the new owner does not have any amount of time, and he urgently needs to register the vehicle.

In such a situation, it is better for him to issue a paper insurance policy, which specialists can prepare within one hour. Moreover, regardless of the type of vehicle and other factors, such as region.

Why is a paper insurance policy for urgent registration more profitable? It's simple. The fact is that an electronic MTPL policy can be entered into the database up to 4 days, while a paper policy will come into force as early as 00:00 the next day.

Moreover, some drivers may be faced with the fact that the traffic police themselves may require a paper policy, although this situation almost never occurs lately.

Thus, to register, as you might understand, it is better to issue a paper insurance policy. However, in other situations that do not require urgent insurance, an electronic policy is more convenient and practical.

Administrative fines for lack of insurance

Is it possible to drive without insurance? Administrative liability is imposed not only in the absence of insurance, but when using unregistered transport. And as has already become clear, one is impossible without the other. What happens if you do not receive your MTPL policy in a timely manner? According to Article 12.37, the lack of compulsory insurance is punishable by the following administrative liability:

insurance not issued – 800 rubles;
expired insurance policy – 800 rubles;
you forgot your home insurance - 500 rubles;
you have a car insurance policy, but you as a driver are not included in it - 500 rubles.

A fine will be issued by a traffic police officer every time a vehicle is stopped, even if this happens several times a day. Such violations are entered into a single database and lead to an increase in the cost of compulsory motor liability insurance when it is issued. And these are not all the consequences of lack of insurance. If during this time you get into an accident, you will not be able to claim compensation for damages from the insurance company, and all costs will fall on your shoulders. And these are much bigger problems than a fine of 800 rubles.

How a temporary OSAGO policy works

A temporary policy is issued in the same way as a permanent one. To do this, you need to contact the insurance company branch and fill out an application. You will need a standard package of documents - passport, driver's license, vehicle registration certificate and, if the car has already undergone a scheduled technical inspection, a diagnostic card.

After issuing a transit policy, special transit numbers are assigned to the vehicle. They confirm that the car is in the process of being transported, and its owner has a temporary insurance policy. When registering at the place of residence, such numbers are replaced with permanent ones.

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A temporary policy, like a permanent one, can be issued by both the owner of the car and another person (for example, the one who will drive it to the place of registration). To do this, he will need to provide a notarized power of attorney from the owner.

When an insured event occurs, a temporary policy works in the same way as a permanent one. You will be able to apply for payment of compensation to those injured due to your fault in an accident. The amount of compensation for transit insurance is the same as for permanent insurance.

The validity period of the MTPL transit policy is established by law and is up to 20 days. It cannot be increased; if you need more than 20 days to move the car, then you will have to re-issue transit insurance at the end of the period.

Due to the short period, a transit policy is cheaper than a standard one. On average, under the same conditions, it will cost 80% less than a regular OSAGO. Transit insurance is calculated on the same principle as permanent insurance. It takes into account the engine capacity, age and experience of the driver, engine power and other indicators.

If you meet the 10-day deadline and do not issue a transit policy, then you will not receive a fine for lack of compulsory motor liability insurance. Otherwise, you may be fined 800 rubles. If an accident occurs due to your fault, then in the absence of insurance you will have to pay compensation to the victims out of your own pocket.

Terms for obtaining insurance

So, the law allocates 10 days from the date of purchase of the car so that you have time to obtain an insurance policy and register the car. During this period of time, the traffic police inspector will not issue you a fine, but in return you will have to confirm the fact of purchasing the car - a sales contract or other supporting papers. The insurance itself can be issued in one day if you have all the necessary documents. However, the car must be registered.

Where are the terms of insurance regulated?

In the Federal Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”. Here you should separate the insurance period and the period of use of the car, then you will understand the answer to the question.

So, the insurance period (conclusion of a standard OSAGO contract) is always 1 year. But the period of use of the machine may be less, but not less than 3 months.

At the same time, do not forget that with limited use of the car, an increased coefficient is applied when calculating the cost of the policy. This means that the price of insurance for 3 months will be higher than if you simply take a 12-month policy and divide it by four.

Thus, for registration with the traffic police, the minimum insurance period can be 3 months.

No, it won’t work, and here’s why! Although, indeed, the legislation in force for 2021 allows you to insure a car for such a short period of only 20 days, certain conditions are required for this to be possible. But the main thing is that a 20-day policy is not suitable for registering a car with the traffic police.

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Let's start with the fact that such insurance is called “transit”. And it is possible under the following conditions:

to drive the car to the place of registration at the traffic police,
to drive the car to the inspection site.

At the same time, the law directly states that in both cases, in order to register, a contract must be concluded for one year (although it is possible with a minimum period of use of the vehicle, as we discussed above).

Thus, it will not be possible to register a car with a minimum insurance period of 20 days.

Something else useful for you:

Car registration procedure

Earlier, we said that in order to register a vehicle, you need to sign up in advance at the appropriate traffic police department. What should you have with you?

Passport.
Vehicle registration certificate.
Contract of sale.
OSAGO policy.
Receipt with payment of state duty.

If another person, and not the owner, applies to the State Traffic Inspectorate, then in addition to the above documents, a power of attorney to carry out such actions should be attached.

On the spot, you will also draw up an application according to the established template and attach it to the package of documents. You can find out the details for paying the state duty on the State Services website. As for the size of the state duty, it is 2,000 rubles for new cars and 800 rubles for previously registered ones, that is, with mileage. When registering used cars, also take with you a valid certificate from the old owner.

So, we have answered the question of whether it is necessary to obtain insurance when registering a car. The main thing you should remember is the period of unpunished driving, namely 10 days, during which you must manage to obtain compulsory motor liability insurance and register the vehicle. Therefore, if you have all the required documents in your hands, do not waste time, but immediately start obtaining insurance.

How to reissue insurance to a new owner

When purchasing a used car, there are several ways to handle your auto insurance policy.

Make changes to your insurance

Changes in information about the owner are included in the old policy without terminating it, but this solution is not a very good option for the following reasons:

the former car owner must be present at the insurance company;
the insurance company will require you to pay extra for increased risks;
you will need to financially compensate the unused period of the policy to the former owner of the car;
if an insured event occurs, it is necessary to involve the car seller;
the insurance is valid until the date specified in it.

The presence of the seller is not necessary if you issue a certified power of attorney, but this procedure is associated with additional costs. As a result, having decided to use the old MTPL policy, you will spend more money than when concluding a new insurance contract.

Take out a new insurance policy.

This option is preferable, as it does not have the disadvantages that arise when making changes to the old insurance:

independence from the car seller;
issuing a policy for a year;
eliminating additional costs.

In this case, the seller can take the car insurance policy to the insurance company, which will charge compensation for the unused period of the contract.

The insurance company will consider the date of termination of the insurance contract to be the date of application. In this regard, if you want to receive the maximum payment, it is advisable to submit an application on the day of sale of the car after the registration of the contract.

To obtain a policy for a purchased car, you will need the following documents:

contract of sale;
passport and driver's license of the persons who will be entrusted with driving the vehicle;
Vehicle title;
power of attorney for the right to represent the interests of the owner (if the policy is not issued by the owner);
a valid diagnostic card (for vehicles older than 3 years).

When applying for a policy, remember that the diagnostic card is valid at the time the contract is concluded. Therefore, in this place you can use a trick and not undergo a technical inspection. However, it is worth remembering that in the event of an insured event, insurance companies will refuse to pay if the card is expired, based on the fact that you do not have confirmation that the car is in good working order and safe.

Purchase of a new policy to replace the old old policy by the former owner

This option applies only to the car seller and is relevant in cases where he has another car or is going to buy a new one and insure it with the same insurance company. Then the remaining amount of the insurance premium will be applied towards the issuance of a policy on a new car or towards future payments on an existing car.

If you decide to leave unspent insurance premium, immediately after selling the car, contact the insurance company and file a claim.