Of course, insurance against theft is not an anti-theft system, but only one of the means to more painlessly overcome illegal actions by hijackers.
Car insurance itself by policy appeared in our country not so long ago, but many people have known full insurance, or in a circle since the times of the USSR, and has established itself as a publicly available and reliable financial instrument.
Such a service was not in special demand, because the number of crimes was very small. But, despite this, the car insurance service was not entirely unknown to Soviet citizens.
By the way, it is worth saying that theft and theft by the law are different concepts.
The difference between theft and theft
Theft is the unlawful seizure of a car or other vehicle without its theft.
Theft is called secret possession of property. In addition to these specified cases, the transport can get out of the owner’s possession even in case of robbery, robbery, fraud or extortion.
In other words, if one does not delve deeply into the legal subtleties of crimes, then the offense can be called such actions of criminals when they were not going to appropriate a car, but wanted to use it to move without deriving any benefit, including selling it. In fact, theft is the reason for opening ingenious locks and bypassing factory anti-theft systems. This is already called seizing property in order to obtain material benefits.
How does an insurance company work?
Due to the fact that these corpus delicti are adjacent to each other, there is a difficult punishment of the intentions of criminals. The articles differ in terms of imprisonment, so attackers always say that they just wanted to ride, because the hijacking period is much less than for theft or robbery. But due to some similarity of the compositions, if the car is insured against theft, it covers almost all crimes against property. And if they come, then insurance amount paid to the victim.
Can they refuse to take out insurance?
As a rule, insurance companies do not use the practice of applying for hijacking policies only, but include it in the amount of other cases in which they are considered insurance cases. Some companies do not take out a car theft insurance if the vehicle is very expensive and constantly appears in the theft reports.
It is worth saying that such a refusal, in principle, does not contradict the existing rules for obtaining insurance, because in a different situation one could say about forcing the parties to conclude a transaction, which is inappropriate under the contract. Insurance against car theft without other points is extremely unprofitable and very dangerous, since a citizen purchasing a policy can also turn out to be a scammer, and then the presence of 20-30% of other insurance cases is a kind of guarantee for the company. Therefore, cars insure against theft and damage at the same time.
How is a policy issued?
Insurance against car theft, as well as its theft and damage, is usually sold in one product.
The reasons why they are combined are very simple: there is less chance that the policy was purchased with a fraudulent purpose, and the payment during the theft will be reduced if payments for other reasons have already been made (not every company can agree on separate payment for each risk).
As we said above, theft and theft are different concepts.Theft is considered the seizure of transport without the purpose of its theft, therefore, upon the fact of the loss, they start a case of theft. Theft is the seizure of property for the purpose of its sale, therefore, if the car is not found after 10 days, then the case will be retrained.
For this reason, if the theft insurance is designed so that there is only the risk of theft in the policy, then in order to receive payment, you will have to wait until a criminal case is opened on the fact of theft.
Why can the policyholder refuse to pay?
There are several cases when an insurance company, depending on the policy that it pursues, may refuse to take such an action as paying insurance upon hijacking. Let's talk about everyone.
Documents for the car remained in the cabin
In 2013, the Supreme Court put an end to a lot of controversy over whether it is legal to include in the insurance contract a clause that insurance is paid in conjunction with documents when a car is stolen. In this case, the payment may be refused.
This happened because in the 90s they very often fraudulently imitated hijacking and therefore received illegal payments, which became a source of large losses for money by insurance companies. The practice has changed, and now criminals are much less likely to use this scheme, because the non-payment clause in the registration certificate and TCP left in the salon works only in favor of the company that issued the insurance.
No second keys
This clause, which contains insurance against theft, was also found to be contrary to law. But the fact that the second key is either lost or missing must be warned.
Car key stolen
Payment of insurance during car theft by stealing a key, for example in a store, can also be considered unreasonable, since insurers generally attribute this to the negligent attitude of the owner to his property.
Fortunately, this refusal can be challenged in court, but in order to exclude it, you need to contact the police with a statement about the theft and theft of the key.
Other reasons
There are more exotic reasons for refusal, when car insurance against theft is also not paid. For example, the theft was not carried out in the region in which the contract was concluded (some insurers have this item). Such cases constitute a violation of the right of ownership of a car, and therefore upon appeal to the court will be declared invalid.
Which side is the truth on?
In each of these cases, the court, as a rule, takes the side of the car owner, therefore, for such reasons, only small companies or not the most honest ones can refuse. In order not to be in such a situation, insurance in the event of theft should be issued only in a reliable company.
In addition, unscrupulous companies may, of course, not refuse to pay, but simply delay the payment time for a long time. In this case, they will refer to the fact that the clause stipulates that the insurer should conduct its investigation and only after its completion make a decision whether to pay insurance or not.
Everyone can be outraged, since the cost of insurance against car theft is not so small, and the company is tormented by expectations.
Another possibility for deferring payment for the company is to include a clause stating that payments are made only when a copy of the decision to suspend the criminal case is provided.
Such a document is issued no earlier than after 2-3 months, and in some cases, decisions are not made at all.
If you still find yourself in a situation where the insurer has received the full cost of insurance against theft, but refuses to make payments or is illegally pulled with this case, then go to court. As a rule, most of these cases are won by customers, not companies.
When will a waiver of payment be legal?
There are a number of cases where going to court will not work, so the occurrence of such situations should be avoided:
1. The cost of insurance against car theft does not cover cases of theft outside a guarded parking lot, especially if its place is specified in the contract. Very often, insurers offer to insure the car on more favorable terms, but subject to its being in a guarded parking lot. In this situation, if the car is stolen on the street, then there will be no payment.
Solving this problem is pretty easy. Just do not pursue a discount and do not incur such obligations. Although, provided the car is parked, the cost of the policy is significantly reduced. Everyone knows how much car theft insurance costs, so is it worth throwing money away?
2. The vehicle does not have the anti-theft tool agreed upon in the contract or is disabled due to non-payment for the service. It should be understood that it does not matter how much the theft insurance costs, in any case, payment will be made only when the car is registered with the traffic police and it will be equipped with equipment stipulated by the contract.
3. Severe negligence or overt fraud. If the car was stolen with all the documents inside, because the owner also left the keys, then insurance, of course, will not be paid.
4. If the deadline for notifying the company of theft is violated. Each organization has its own deadline and, as a rule, it is no more than seven days. Therefore, if the deadline was missed for good reasons, you can contact the company to restore it. If you refuse to restore, you can go to court.
The only way to protect yourself from such situations is to simply prevent such violations.
How to minimize the cost of insurance and the chances of theft?
How much the theft insurance costs and, accordingly, theft are interrelated parameters. It is very expensive to insure some cars, because the risk of being left without them as a result of illegal actions is very high.
There are several ways that will help to minimize the risk of theft and will be taken into account when calculating the payout:
- You should choose a car model that is stolen less often. The higher the popularity of the model, the more it attracts attackers. You can also preview the rating of the most stolen cars.
- Anti-theft marking will be very effective, which will significantly reduce the attractiveness of your car for attackers.
- At night and at other times when the car is idle, it is best to leave it in a guarded parking lot.
- Very often, the simplest methods of protection are the most effective. Overcome a conventional steering lock or other locking device is no easier than the most expensive security system.
Of course, the machine should always remain closed and on the alarm, even if you go out for a short time. An even more obvious measure against hijacking is that you do not need to leave keys in the ignition.
Being in the cabin of children is a very poor anti-theft system. Even regardless of how much car theft insurance costs, your children are more expensive, so try not to leave them alone. At best, they will simply be shaken out of the car, at worst they will leave with them.
The easiest, albeit expensive, method of hijacking is to purchase a code grabber that reads the signal sent to the key fob and allows you to remove closed cars from the alarm.
This device copies the key fob and the alarm thinks that the car is being opened by the rightful owner.
How to protect yourself from theft?
It is possible to defend against such a device, but it is difficult.
Firstly, it is necessary to beware if the alarm does not work immediately, but only from the second or subsequent time, as this indicates that the signal could be intercepted.
Secondly, you don’t have to rely on electronics and use mechanical steering, pedals or gearbox locks, especially if you leave the car near a house, shop or shopping center.
How to get paid in theft?
Acting upon the fact of theft is quite simple, and it is better to adhere to a certain algorithm so that the insurer is not provoked to refuse:
- Immediately after detecting the loss, call the insurer.
- Then contact the police and write a statement. Also ask for a certificate stating that the application has been accepted.
- On the same day, contact the insurer’s office with the necessary documents and begin the process of processing the payment.
How much does it cost insurance against theft?
Today, rates for such insurance are approximately 3-5% of the cost of a car. But this figure is very inaccurate. First of all, it depends on the brand of the car, that is, whether it falls into the risk group. Each insurance company has its own statistics, so this fact must also be taken into account. If the car is still in the group, then the cost of insurance can be about 15-20%. Some of the insurers may refuse to conclude a contract at all.
Also, the insurance company may offer a discount in exchange for installing an anti-theft or search system: an additional lock in the hood, a transmission lock, a brake, an electronic anti-theft system or a satellite search system.
This can be beneficial, since in a few years the equipment will pay for itself and remain in personal use. But there are a few points:
- When a vehicle is under warranty, its insurance may violate its conditions. Therefore, if you plan to insure a car by purchasing it in the car, it is better to check with your dealer right away if the installation of additional equipment will affect the warranty.
- Not every car can take a hijacker into its design, for example, on some models it will be necessary to damage the interior.
- Installation of some systems requires not only payment for their installation and the equipment itself, but also a monthly subscription fee.
Therefore, all the conditions must be clarified before the policy is drawn up in order to choose the best option.
Conclusion
Surely someday the time will come when it will become unprofitable in our country to engage in car theft.
But so far, such a crime is very profitable and widespread, so every owner should think about the safety of his car.
The most proven means is insurance, which provides for compensation for damage in the event of theft. But in order to avoid problems with payment of the insured event, you need to choose only reliable insurers and be sure to read the contract.
