Today, almost every second driver has his own vehicle. Any motorist is interested in the question of why there is an increase in prices for insurance services. There may be several reasons for its rise in price. However, the main one is to increase the limit of insurance payments.
It, in turn, is also justified. The thing is that due to the economic crisis and rising inflation, the cost of goods and services has increased significantly. Thus, 160 thousand rubles, which were previously paid by the insurance company to compensate for the losses of a client who had an accident, is not enough today. This is especially true in cases where, in addition to damage to the vehicle, the driver received a serious injury or disability. Therefore, each motorist is interested in the question of what liability limits under the CTP insurance contract exist today.
Payout Limitations
When calculating the limit on the compulsory insurance policy, insurance companies proceed from modern realities. Insurers are trying to correctly determine the maximum allowable amount, which will be enough to cover the costs required for car repairs or medical expenses due to a traffic accident. But what is the limit of liability of the insurance company for compulsory motor third party liability insurance today can be considered permissible?
When calculating the maximum amount of payments for insurance claims, many factors are taken into account, the main ones are:
- driving experience of the client;
- the period of time during which the driver did not get into traffic accidents.
The limit on payments is divided into two components:
- the amount spent by the victim for treatment;
- amount required to recover damages.
Calculating the liability limit for compulsory motor third-party liability insurance, insurers are guided by the average market value of auto parts and repair work provided to them by the Russian Union of Auto Insurers.
Who imposes limits on limits?
According to the legislation, each insurance company can independently determine the size of insurance payments, however, their limit cannot be less than the norm specified in the law regulating insurance activities. The currently relevant limits were determined by the state and put into effect by relevant amendments to the legislation of November 28, 2015. Thus, the state acts as the regulatory body that has the right to impose restrictions on the size of minimum insurance payments.
What were the limits before?
The size of insurance payments under OSAGO policies issued before 01.10.2014 was significantly less. The validity period of all these documents has already expired. Limits then ranged from 120 to 160 thousand rubles. This amount was the same when reimbursing the costs of repairing a vehicle, and to pay for the treatment of the victim.
How are you doing today?
What is the OSAGO liability limit valid in 2017? This question is of interest to every driver. According to changes in legislation that came into force on April 1, 2015, in the event of an accident, the injured party can receive not only the main payment, but also monetary compensation for the repair of the vehicle, if it received any damage, provided that the car was repaired in the workshop.
Today, the liability limit for compulsory motor liability insurance is 400 thousand rubles.At the same time, insurance payments, in addition to paying for car restoration and treatment, include the costs of technical inspection and assessment of the damage suffered. Thus, if the damage assessment was worth 20,000 rubles, then the maximum payment amount will be 380 thousand.
CTP policy: insurer's liability limit
The state takes the UK liability limit very seriously. In the process of calculating the maximum payout, two extremely important nuances are taken into account:
- it should not be too large so that insurers do not suffer significant financial losses;
- payments should be sufficient to cover the costs of the injured party in the event of an accident.
Making insurance for your car, you must read the insurance contract. Particular attention should be paid to the size of the final payments and maturities. Knowing the conditions of insurance will allow you to avoid many unpleasant situations.
Exceptions to the Rules
In each insurance contract you can find a list of situations that do not fall under the category of insured events and do not involve the payment of monetary compensation.
These situations include the following:
- the employer's demand for the employee to compensate for the damage resulting from the accident;
- compensation for non-pecuniary damage;
- the accident occurred on a section of the road where racing competitions, special tasks or social events were held;
- as a result of an accident, environmental damage was caused;
- if the damage was caused to an employee who is connected to another insurance program that involves the payment of monetary compensation;
- as a result of an accident, damage was not received by the main components and assemblies of the vehicle, but by auxiliary devices;
- the accident occurred in the territory belonging to any company;
- the victim was injured while loading and unloading;
- as a result of the collision, artwork, antiques, or a building with architectural value were damaged.
This list includes far from all cases in which the insurer may refuse to indemnify for damage, regardless of what limit the liability of the insurance company under OSAGO has been established. Each company can expand it, adding new items. In order not to be in a difficult situation when getting into an accident, it is necessary to carefully study the insurance conditions prescribed in the contract.
Extension of liability
If during the process of obtaining insurance for a car you find that the amount of the final compensation is very small, then you can draw up an additional agreement, under which the limit of payments for compulsory motor liability insurance will be 3 million rubles. It is worth noting that it is possible to expand insurance obligations not only when applying for a new policy, but in the case of existing insurance.
However, three conditions must be met here:
- Availability of insurance for a specific car.
- The duration of the supplementary agreement must be equal to that of the policy.
- The supplementary agreement applies only to the vehicle owner.
In order to receive compensation, the above conditions must be met at a time.
How are insurance payments made?
If the damage resulting from an accident falls under the category of insured events, then the insurer covers all expenses for repairing the car and paying for medical services. If the incident is not related to the accident or the limit of liability under OSAGO is not enough to cover all expenses, then you will need to go to court to receive payments.
Controversial situations
Any disputes arising between policyholders and insurers regarding cash payments are resolved in accordance with applicable law.Therefore, in the event of a trial, the judge will be guided precisely by the regulatory legal acts.
Through the court it is possible to solve not only issues related to understating or overstating the limit, but also with the refusal of the insurance company to fulfill its obligations. As practice shows, drivers who have suffered as a result of an accident rarely go for fraud in order to get as much insurance as possible. This is not true of unscrupulous insurance companies, which often try to lower the amount of payments by all possible means.
One of the most common arguments that the SC provides in court is an incomplete package of documents or their inconsistency with the established model. According to Russian law, the injured person who wants to receive monetary compensation is required to provide only those documents that are prescribed in the Insurance Rules. The insurers are not entitled to demand any additional certificates and acts.
Can I get a maximum payout?
Have there been situations in insurance practice when the IC paid the maximum liability limit for compulsory motor liability insurance? There were similar cases, but they are single, since it is very difficult to get the maximum payout.
In the process of conducting a technical examination of the car injured in an accident and determining the amount of damage caused to the health of the injured, insurers take into account many nuances. Most of them are aimed precisely at reducing the amount of damage as much as possible.
Insurance companies pay special attention to the technical condition of the car. If the car is old, then you can’t even count on the payment of the maximum allowable limit. In the case of a domestic-made vehicle, the year of manufacture does not matter, since the limit is automatically underestimated.
Alternatively, you can try to get the maximum amount of insurance payment through a pre-trial investigation, but if it does not bring any result, you should not delay filing a lawsuit with the prosecutor.
It is important to understand that no insurer is interested in paying their clients maximum payments, as this reduces their income. Therefore, if your car really suffered damage that is incompatible with life, and the IC intentionally underestimates the liability limit, then be prepared to try pretty hard to restore your legal rights. Most importantly, you don’t need to be afraid to defend your innocence.