If you have your own car, then sooner or later there will be a question about its insurance. And about the insurance of the car, and not of your civil liability, which is already protected by the mandatory compulsory motor liability insurance policy. This type of protection offers motor insurance CASCO. When applying for this type of insurance, each car owner is faced with the concept of a franchise. And here the question arises: "CASCO insurance with a franchise - what is it? Is it really profitable or does the service resemble the notorious cheese in a mousetrap? ”
Often, insurance agents, listing the many benefits that a client will receive by agreeing to a franchise, forget to clearly explain what exactly this is, and what important nuances must be taken into account when agreeing to the terms of the company.
So what does the franchise in CASCO mean, what does it happen and what exactly are its advantages? Let's get it right.
Franchise: what is it?
First of all, let's find out what is a franchise at CASCO. In simple words, this concept can be described as follows: this is the amount that SK will not pay to the policyholder upon occurrence insured event. What exactly is the amount - determine the terms of the contract. It can be expressed in an exact number, or can be calculated as a percentage of the cost of the car or the insurance coverage amount. Most often, a franchise policy costs a little cheaper than usual.
Conditional and Unconditional
First of all, we note that the franchise in the CASCO policy has two fundamental differences and it happens:
- conditional (not deductible);
- unconditional (deductible).
The first option means that the insurance contract prescribes a certain amount of damage that is not reimbursed to the policyholder under any circumstances. However, all payments that exceed this amount will be fully repaid.
Example
The contract stipulates a contingent deductible in the amount of 28,000 rubles. Damage resulting from a small accident, amounted to 25,000 rubles. Since the amount of damage is less than the deductible, the car owner will not receive any compensation from SK. But if the amount of damage is, for example, 28 500 rubles and exceeds the size of the deductible, then the insurance is obliged to pay the money in full - all 28 500 rubles.
Such a franchise is not very profitable for the UK, and many insurers have refused it. The fact is that unscrupulous car owners, knowing that the amount of damage “falls short” of the size of the franchise, try to inflict additional damage on their “iron horse” in order to still get compensation. In this case, proving intentional infliction of damage is quite problematic.
The second type of deductible (deductible) is more preferable for insurance companies. It is used by Ingosstrakh, Alfa Insurance, VTB Insurance, MSK, Ugoria, Rosgosstrakh and RESO. The CASCO franchise in the unconditional version is always deducted from the amount of damage, and the balance is handed over to the client.
Example
The franchise size is 22,000 rubles. The amount of damage amounted to 18,000 rubles. Since the damage is less than the deductible, the client does not receive anything. But if the damage amounted, for example, 40,000 rubles, then the owner of the car will receive:
40,000 - 22,000 = 18,000 (rubles)
As you can see, this type of franchise is much more profitable for the UK and is used most often.
How to calculate interest
A deductible CASCO policy with a franchise is easy to calculate. Here you need to know that the deductible is expressed as a fixed amount or is calculated as a percentage.We talked about the exact amount in the previous paragraph, but how to calculate the deductible, expressed as a percentage?
Give an example
AT insurance policy it is indicated that the deductible is 22% of the amount of damage received. For the restoration of a car damaged as a result of an accident, you need, for example, 70,000 rubles. In this case, the policy holder will receive in SK:
70,000 x (1 - 0.22) = 54,600 (rubles)
And everything else will have to pay yourself. Sometimes, however, less often, the deductible is expressed as a percentage of the cost of the machine.
Dynamic and preferential
Let's look at a couple more examples of how the franchise works in CASCO and what it happens.
For motorists who recently got behind the wheel of their own car, insurance companies often offer a franchise called dynamic. This means that payment restrictions do not come from the first accident, but from the second or third. Moreover, the size of the franchise itself can increase from time to time. That is, for the first accident - 0%, for the second - 5%, for the third - 8%, for the fourth and subsequent - 15% and so on. Interest itself, of course, may be different, but the principle remains the same.
For regular customers and experienced car owners, some insurance companies offer a preferential deductible. This means that the deduction will only apply if the customer is to blame for the accident. If it is documented that the car was damaged as a result of the actions of a third party or if the client was not guilty of an accident, then the insurance payment is made in full.
Temporary
Sometimes the CASCO insurance deductible depends not only on who is responsible for the accident, but also on the time when it happened. For example, a deduction on insurance payment takes effect a few months after the conclusion of the contract. Or the document may state that the client uses the car only on weekdays, and on weekends he travels by public transport. In this case, if the accident occurred, say, on Wednesday, the client will be reimbursed the full amount of damage, but if an accident happened on Sunday, the car will have to be restored at its own expense.
This is what happens with a hull with a franchise. What is it, we have already figured out, now let's talk about who needs it and why.
Benefits for the driver
One of the first and most important advantages for motorists is a clear reduction in the cost of the policy in the presence of a franchise. However, here you need to be very careful and careful. The fact is that, according to the generally accepted rule, the larger the deductible, the lower the cost of the insurance itself. And this is where the danger lies: pursuing cheap insurance, you can get such a policy that covers only the largest amounts of damage, and everything else will have to be paid from your own pocket. Whether such insurance is needed or not is up to you.
The second positive point can be a significant time savings. As you know, human greed is unlimited, so the Russians have become a good tradition to run to insurers because of a broken mirror, a cut wheel or a shallow scratch on the bumper. Often, the effort spent is not worth the payment received, but the principle of “owe me, let them pay” sometimes overpowers common sense. If there is a franchise, the owner will repair the broken mirror on their own, and they will not torment remorse - all the same, they will not pay anything.
These are the benefits of CASCO with a franchise. What can it be beneficial - car owners understand, but what is the benefit of insurers?
Pros for SK
First of all, the deductible allows the insurance company to significantly save on payments. In addition, in order to issue any, even the smallest compensation, it is necessary to launch a huge bureaucratic machine - to collect countless references and documents (this is done by the client) and process a large amount of information (the task of insurers). All this in the end can drag on for several weeks, or even months.The franchise helps to weed out small, insignificant cases with which the client can easily cope on his own.
Car insurance taken on credit
And if you have a credit car? Is it worth it to issue a CASCO with a franchise? We have already found out that this is beneficial for both the UK and the client, but then a third party appears - the bank. Usually, when a car is bought on credit, it also acts as a pledge. But since the bank does not have the right to hold a pledge, the car is immediately transferred to the owner for use. In order to underestimate its risks as much as possible, a credit institution without fail requires insuring a pledge, that is, a car.
On the one hand, this is beneficial for the owner as well, because upon the occurrence of an insured event he will not have to cover losses from his own pocket, it will be done by SK. On the other hand, the bank, in which case, wants to receive full compensation, therefore, it not only strictly regulates which insurance company it is necessary to take out insurance in, but also controls all the conditions of the contract. 
Since it is beneficial for the bank to receive as much insurance coverage as possible, the contract should have as few different restrictions as possible. Thus, with credit auto insurance, the deductible may be minimal or absent altogether. Such a policy of a financial institution significantly increases the cost of the policy, so CASCO for a credit car always costs significantly more.
In addition, insurance companies cooperating with banks include the “rollback” of a credit institution in the cost of insurance. The level of commissions can vary from 10 to 50% of the insurance payment, which, in turn, increases the cost of insurance by 3-15% compared with offers of other insurance companies. Often, such insurance companies are organized directly at banks and are fully controlled by them. Obviously, the financial institution will insist on issuing a policy in this particular company.
You can reduce your expenses, for example, by insuring a car only by the amount of the loan received (approximately 75-80% of the cost of the car). Some banks make such a concession, because they still win. If the car is damaged, then payment will be made in proportion to the size of the loan, of course, less the deductible. The money will be transferred to the service station that carried out the repair. If the car disappeared or was destroyed, the bank will receive the payment. However, it should be borne in mind that if the amount paid by insurers does not cover the loan balance, the bank client will still have to pay the rest of the debt from its own funds.
When to purchase CASCO
So, CASCO insurance with a franchise - what is it? Benefit or mousetrap? Everyone decides for himself. A profitable franchise may be in such cases:
- If the car owner has free cash for minor car repairs. Upon the occurrence of an insured event, the discount received upon purchase of the policy will just be spent on repairs, but the accident may not be - then the benefit is obvious.
- The driver is confident in his abilities, has a long accident-free experience and drives extremely carefully. In this case, the franchise will also bring savings, especially if it is preferential and applies only in the case of the driver’s own fault.
- The owner wants to insure the car against damage and theft, and he treats the car simply as a vehicle and will not pay attention to small chips, scratches and other minor damage. In this case, it is logical to purchase a policy with a high deductible under the “damage” section, then the cost of insurance will be significantly lower, and in case of theft it will be possible to get full compensation.
Who should refuse the policy
And if you just recently got behind the wheel? Should I buy a hull with a franchise? What does this mean for a novice driver?
If you do not feel confident behind the wheel, then you should definitely refuse to purchase a policy with a franchise.Otherwise, it may turn out that one day, chasing a discount when applying for a policy, you will overpay much more by repairing small dents and scratches on your “iron friend”.
It is more profitable for such "bad luck" to purchase a policy at full cost, taking into account all the increasing factors. Of course, it will be much more expensive, but you will feel much calmer, because an insurance company will definitely pay for any of your misses on the road.
How to set the optimal amount
Of course, each insurance company has its own policy in this regard. There are almost never cases where the deductible would be 0 or 60%. For example, in the RESO insurance company, the CASCO franchise usually ranges from 3 to 100 thousand rubles. And you can choose the option yourself. Moreover, we are talking only about an unconditional (deductible) franchise. In most insurance companies, the amount of such payments is 3-5% of the amount of damage, in special cases 1-2% (sometimes up to 5%) of the cost of the car.
To summarize
When choosing an insurance company, one should not forget that not always a big discount when applying for a policy - this is good, many surprises can be hidden behind it.
Whether or not to issue a CASCO with a franchise (the pros and cons of which we have already considered) is a private matter for everyone. The main thing here is to soberly assess your financial capabilities and driving skills, so that when an insured event does not get another, additional stress - from communicating with the insurance company.