Sergey Solodky, head of the Roskachestvo Center for Financial Expertise, spoke about the most popular fraud schemes.
Refusal to sell insurance under false pretenses
By law, any car owner who has collected a full set of documents and is willing to pay for an OSAGO policy can receive it at the insurance company’s office on the day of application. However, companies are refusing potentially unprofitable customers, citing that the documents would have been accepted by an employee who does not have the authority to enter into an OSAGO agreement.
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation clearly states that the obligation of insurers to conclude an OSAGO contract with any vehicle owner applicable to him in the manner prescribed by law does not depend on its fulfillment by the presence or absence of certain powers of specific employees of the insurer. In other words, the company must sell the policy.
But the insurer’s refusal to issue a policy threatens him with a fine, this is determined by Article 15.34.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (“Unreasonable refusal to issue a public insurance contract or the imposition of additional services when concluding a compulsory insurance contract”). For officials, the amount will be from 20,000 to 50,000 rubles; for legal entities – from 100,000 to 300,000 rubles. You can file a complaint about the insurer with the Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
Termination of the OSAGO contract after payment after an accident
For example, in an accident, the complete death of the car was registered, after which the insurer paid compensation and unilaterally terminated the OSAGO contract, allegedly on the fact of a constructive death of the car, but did not inform the driver. At the same time, the car owner can repair the car later and drive it again. If the owner of such a car now has another accident due to the fault of someone else, his insurer sends him, as it were, to the insurer of the person who caused the damage. And if he has an accident through his own fault, the victim is denied payment.
What must we do? Make sure the contract is not terminated. If the insurer did, buy a new policy.
Refusal to repair or send to another city for repair
If the Casco states that the insurer must repair the car after an accident, this does not mean that he will do it. The insurance company may refer that they do not have an agreement with an authorized dealer, even though it was stated in the agreement, or send the customer to a service point that cannot repair his car. Or give directions for repairs a few hundred miles to a gas station in another city. It’s illegal, you have to complain!
Postpone deadlines and reduce payments
After an accident, the car owner turns to the insurance company, where they accept the application, but do not give specific conditions for the procedure and payment. The insurer deliberately postpones the issue in order to force the motorist to carry out car repairs. And this is already a reason to refuse insurance.
Another variant of this trick is offering the so-called compensation, a small compensation so that the client does not have to wait for the results of the examination. The client signs a waiver of further claims. The deception here is that the compensation offered almost never covers the actual cost of the repair.
Do not rush to sign a waiver. The insurer is obliged to investigate the matter and determine the amount of the payment within the period prescribed by law.
Trick after research
After the investigation, the insurer asks to sign an agreement on determining the amount of the damage, whereby the amount will always be lower than the actual amount. The car owner can sign it without wanting to get paid faster. If it turns out that the fee doesn’t cover the repair, there’s nothing you can do: it won’t work to recover additional amounts from the insurer that would cover the costs.
You have the right to conduct an independent investigation to assess the damage to the car, then make a claim and send it to the insurer. The company must consider the claim document and make a decision within five days.
If the insurer refuses to pay OSAGO’s damages or underestimates the amount of the compensation, contact the financial ombudsman for help.
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