How to assess car damage after an accident yourself

How damage is assessed in an accident: procedure, price, types of examinations

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Among the most important questions facing the owner of a vehicle involved in an accident, one main one comes to the fore - how to properly examine the car after an accident. It is important to know who performs the damage analysis and assesses the damage, what measures need to be taken so that the cost of repair costs is fully compensated.

A correct assessment of damage received by a car or a passenger can guarantee the return of the maximum amount of payments under compulsory motor liability insurance and CASCO insurance . The lack of necessary knowledge inevitably leads to multiple errors and, as a result, a reduction in due payments.

How is car damage assessed in an accident?

All consequences of an accident must be clearly recorded by the driver . It is necessary to photograph broken pieces, fragments, dents and internal damage, tire tracks, the accident site and other objects. When communicating with a traffic inspector, you should reflect in detail the circumstances surrounding the accident . This will help:

traffic police officers to draw up a report without distorting the facts of what happened;
confirm the information contained in the European protocol;
insurance agents to correctly assess the circumstances of the incident and the extent of damage, to compensate for damage to the maximum possible extent, and not just for those damages recorded in the traffic police report.

Automotive technical examination of a car after a traffic accident is carried out by an insurance company to assess the damage received by the vehicle. To do this, in accordance with the Regulation of the Bank of Russia dated September 19, 2014 No. 431-P “On the rules of compulsory insurance of civil liability of vehicle owners” (as amended on January 1, 2018), an application is submitted to the insurance company, to which is attached (clause 3.10 of the Regulations) :

a certified copy of the identity card of the victim (beneficiary);
documents confirming the authority of the beneficiary's representative;
documents with bank details for the transfer of insurance compensation, if it will be made by bank transfer;
consent of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities, if the payment of insurance compensation will be made to the representative of the person (victim (beneficiary)) under the age of 18 years;
notification of an accident;
copies of the protocol on an administrative offense, a resolution in a case of an administrative offense or a ruling on the refusal to initiate a case on an administrative offense, if the registration of an accident was carried out with the participation of traffic police officers, and the preparation of such documents is provided for by the legislation of the Russian Federation;
documents confirming harm to the health, life and/or property of the victim, video and photographic materials.

The rules for inspecting a car and assessing damage after an accident in an insurance company are regulated by Bank of Russia Regulation No. 433-P dated September 19, 2014 “On the rules for conducting an independent technical examination of a vehicle .

Cost of auto examination after an accident

Estimating the cost of car repairs consists of several components:

car model and spare parts necessary for repair;
cost of spare parts;
degree of wear of parts;
the nature of the injuries received;
degree of complexity of dismantling, repair work, installation;
availability of parts on the Russian market.

It is impossible to name an exact amount that unambiguously determines how much it will cost to examine a car in an accident, since this figure depends on several circumstances:

in which subject of the Russian Federation the examination is carried out;
how much damage the car received (determined visually);
what prices for services are set by the company conducting the examination;
Are additional services provided?

The price range for expert assessment varies from 2.5 thousand to 12 thousand rubles . In metropolitan companies, the cost of services is higher than in regional ones. Prices also depend on the type of examination. The cost of a traceological assessment starts from 15 thousand rubles.

Online calculator for car valuation after an accident

Carrying out appraisal work is regulated by Bank of Russia Regulation No. 432-P dated April 19, 2014 “On a unified methodology for determining the amount of costs for restoration repairs in relation to a damaged vehicle . This approach to conducting an appraisal examination is provided for by the Federal Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance No. 40-FZ (Article 12.1, Part 3) .

The exact cost of spare parts and repair work depends on the circumstances of the accident and is determined in accordance with the calculation procedure:

expenses necessary for the purchase of materials and spare parts - the cost of not only the parts themselves, but also restoration work is taken into account;
degree of wear of parts requiring replacement, service life, vehicle mileage;
the remains of the car in the event of its complete destruction, suitable for use - the cost of dismantling, storage, installation of spare parts, the ratio of the cost of undamaged and damaged parts, the amount of mechanical damage are taken into account.

Using a formula to independently calculate the cost of a car after an accident seems difficult, because the formula itself contains many components, including logarithms. The online car damage and repair calculator is designed to simplify the task of preliminary assessment.

What questions should you ask the appraiser?

Automotive technical expertise, which establishes cause-and-effect relationships of the circumstances of an accident, is designed to answer the main question: whether the driver complied with the basic requirements of traffic rules in accordance with the road situation at the time of the incident, whether he had the technical ability to avoid the accident.

In order for strong arguments to be collected in favor of the car owner, and the amount of damage to be assessed at market value, when conducting an auto technical examination, questions for a car accident expert must be formulated competently and meaningfully .

The detailed list consists of several dozen questions. To assess the damage, the auto expert is asked the following questions:

How is the residual value of the vehicle and repairs to restore it determined?
What is the market value of the vehicle?
What is the amount of lost commodity value?
What is the value of the wear coefficient of a vehicle and its components?
How much do the surviving and usable remains of a vehicle after an accident cost?
How much do spare parts cost?

If additional equipment is installed in the car or repair work was carried out before the accident, the auto expert should ask questions about the serviceability and quality of fastening of components and parts that could have caused the accident.

Deadline for conducting a vehicle technical examination after an accident

After the application is received by the insurance company, the date, place, and time of inspection of the car are agreed upon with the victim ( Regulations on the rules of OSAGO No. 431-P, clause 3.11 ). The period for submitting a damaged car for inspection and examination after an accident is limited to 5 working days.

The examination itself must be carried out within 5 working days from the moment the victim provided the vehicle. Car inspection is carried out by experts - representatives of the insurer, specialists in the field of automotive technology.

The grounds for extending this period are not defined by law, but in practice this happens quite often due to the technological nuances of the internal examination, the need to provide additional documentary materials, without which it is impossible to conduct a full and comprehensive examination.

What is car inspection after an accident?

A necessary procedure for a comprehensive assessment of the damage sustained by a car in an accident is defect detection. It helps to identify not only visible, but also hidden damage , defects leading to disruption of body geometry, and defects in suspensions.

Troubleshooting is carried out at specialized service stations engaged in body repair. Paid by the car owner.

During such an examination, the presence of a representative of the insurer - a qualified expert - is required. Based on the results of a detailed inspection, a defect inspection report is drawn up listing all identified damage.

Types of examinations

The most complete picture of an accident can be compiled only from the results of a comprehensive technical examination in various areas. There are different types of examinations :

Autotechnical . Establishes the circumstances of the accident. Determines technical parameters and establishes the road situation at the time of the incident. Analyzes the sufficiency, consistency and validity of the driver’s actions in relation to the situation on the road at the time of the accident. Duration: from 10 days to two months.
Traceological . By studying the traces that were left by cars at the scene of an accident, the expert determines their brand, type of tires, and the likelihood of participation in a collision. Duration: up to 30 days.
Automotive merchandising . Appointed if there is disagreement over the estimated value. Duration: 10-15 days.
Comprehensive . Conducted by specialists from different areas of expertise. Based on the results of the inspection, a general report is drawn up, reflecting a comprehensive picture of the circumstances of the accident.

A special type of accident analysis is forensic medical examination. It is prescribed if there are victims. Duration: from 2 weeks to one month.

How to challenge a vehicle examination

If, after assessing the damage, the amount billed by the insurer does not correspond to the actual cost of restoration work, a claim is filed with the insurance company. It reflects accurate calculations made on your own, using an online calculator or after contacting independent experts. The help of an independent expert is sought in three cases:

Disagreements and disputes between interested parties led to the courts. In this case, an independent examination will collect evidence of an objective investigation.
The insurance company doubts the accuracy of the assessment information provided by the experts.
The victim believes that the amount of damage is greater than the accrued compensation.

If you contact independent experts, a copy of the notification of an accident, materials documenting the circumstances of the accident, a report on the previous examination, and a compulsory motor liability insurance agreement are attached to the application. If an insurance company has applied for an independent assessment, then a copy of the constituent document indicating the type of activity is attached to this list.

If the reliability of the expert assessment is in doubt, the expert’s decision can only be challenged in court :

A resolution on the results of the expert assessment is submitted to the court.
The submitted report is carefully analyzed.
The expert is summoned to the court hearing.
A petition is filed to ensure a re-examination.

An independent examination is a guarantor of the protection of the rights of a driver involved in an accident.

How to assess car damage after an accident yourself

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Articles
Damage assessment in case of road accident

Carrying out a damage assessment in case of an accident: why is it necessary?

As judicial practice shows, insurance companies are increasingly underestimating or even refusing to pay insurance compensation. The first stage in the fight against an unscrupulous insurance company is to conduct an independent assessment of the car after an accident. It is necessary in order to establish the average market cost of restoration of a damaged vehicle.

The assessment of damage after an accident is carried out by the insurer himself, but, as a rule, these experts do not have the appropriate education required by the legislation of the Russian Federation, therefore, the insurance assessment of a car after an accident is not adequate evidence of calculating damage after an accident. The law does not provide for the mandatory provision of a vehicle for inspection after an accident to the insurer; it is enough to notify the insurer by telegram about:

place;
date;
time of vehicle assessment.

But in this case, most likely, the insurer will not miss its chance and will wrongfully refuse to pay the insurance compensation due to failure to provide the car for inspection after the accident.

How to assess damage after an accident?

Now there are a huge number of people on the market who evaluate cars after an accident, so when choosing an independent appraiser for an accident, you will encounter many pitfalls along the way.

Before you start looking for a car accident appraiser, you need to understand the difference between an expert and an appraiser. Everything is quite simple here. Appraisers determine the market value of the property being appraised, and experts answer questions such as:

presence and nature of technical damage to the vehicle;
causes of technical damage to the vehicle;
technology, scope and cost of vehicle repairs.

Therefore, it is best to choose an appraiser who should have the status of both an expert and an appraiser.

Peculiarities of examination under compulsory motor liability insurance

Carrying out an assessment after an accident for insured events under compulsory motor liability insurance has a number of its own characteristics. According to the Federal Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”, ONLY an expert technician is involved to conduct an independent technical examination. In accordance with the Federal Law on OSAGO and the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation dated April 24, 2003. No. 238 “On the organization of independent technical examination of a vehicle”, an expert technician is recognized as an individual who has undergone professional retraining in independent technical examination, professional certification for compliance with established requirements for expert technicians and certification, with positive results, entered into the state register of expert technicians .

Also, when assessing a car after an accident under compulsory motor liability insurance claims, you should remember that, in accordance with Art. 12, clause 19 of the Federal Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”, the assessment of damage to a vehicle for spare parts is determined taking into account the wear and tear of components (parts, assemblies and assemblies).

Innovations you need to know about

From December 1, 2014, in accordance with Art. 12.1 of the Federal Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”, the assessment of damage in case of an accident is carried out in accordance with a unified methodology for determining the amount of costs for restoration repairs in relation to a damaged vehicle, approved by the Bank of Russia. This means that when compiling an independent assessment after an accident, an expert technician is required to use this methodology.

Assessing a vehicle after an accident is not just a formal action. The success of the entire legal process largely depends on the correct assessment of damage. The assessment of damage from an accident must not only be carried out by a competent and qualified expert, but must also be carried out extremely carefully. An independent assessment of an accident primarily includes an inspection of the wrecked vehicle. All damage must be described in detail and outlined in the inspection report, which is drawn up by the expert.

The assessment of cars after an accident also includes an examination by an expert of hidden damage that is not indicated by the inspector in the traffic police certificate. Hidden damage is best recorded immediately along with obvious damage. The rules for assessing damage in an accident require that an expert must record only those hidden damages that relate to the accident and correlate with external damage.

Choosing a location for the examination

At the scene of an accident, assessing damage is the most ideal option, but not everyone remembers this in a stressful situation, and not all hidden damage can be examined. Inspecting a car at the scene of an accident is very well suited for small incidents when only the tail of the body is scratched: fender, bumper, door. In cases with more extensive damage (dents on the body, broken bumper), it is recommended to carry out an inspection at the service station.

How is damage assessed after an accident?

Any traffic accident entails certain losses. They can be insignificant, or they can be so significant that the case moves from civil proceedings to criminal proceedings.

This happens if the accident caused damage to life or health.

What is considered damage caused in an accident?

The concept of “damage” itself is not defined by law. Therefore, when assessing damage after an accident, they usually use Article 15 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which clearly defines what “losses” are:

real harm resulting in loss or damage to property (vehicle) owned by the victim;

lost profits, consisting of funds that could have been received if this accident had not occurred.

What does assessing car damage after an accident provide?

In the vast majority of cases, compensation for damage occurs at the expense of insurance companies. This is stated in Art. 7 Federal Law of April 25, 2002 N40 (as amended on December 20, 2017) “On compulsory civil liability insurance of vehicle owners.”

But, since these payments have a maximum limit, which is also limited by law, the lost funds can be demanded from the person responsible for the accident.

The legally established limit of payments is the same for all victims and is:

for damage caused to property - 400 thousand rubles;
for harm caused to life or health - 500 thousand rubles.

The victim’s task is to minimize the resulting damage. This requires that the harm caused be determined by specialists. The task of professionals is to determine as accurately as possible the ratio of losses incurred and the amount that would cover their compensation, plus moral losses.

Car damage assessment after an accident is carried out if:

the damage caused is significantly higher than the amount offered;
the person who is guilty of the incident does not have a compulsory motor liability insurance certificate;
the insurance company deliberately underestimates the required compensation;
The insurance company does not recognize this case as insured.

It is worth noting that only companies that are registered as self-regulatory organizations of appraisers (SRO) have the right to carry out this procedure. Moreover, they themselves must be insured by a third-party company in case of an error.

Types of damage caused in road accidents and methods for assessing them

Any accident carries with it certain consequences. Conventionally, they can be divided into three groups.

Property damage.

It consists of the cost of things damaged in the accident and the degree of damage to the car itself. If the price of things can be confirmed by receipts or testimony, then with a car everything is a little more complicated. To assess the damage caused to a vehicle, all restoration costs are added up, taking into account related factors:

repair and painting;
replacement of parts;
cost of painting materials;
the amount of physical wear and tear;
marketable spoilage coefficient.

In theory, the damage assessment is made exactly based on the damage received. But in practice this is impossible. No expert can determine with 100% certainty that any damage was caused today, and not, for example, two days ago. Therefore, he simply sets the amount that should cover the damage caused by the accident.

Harm to life and health.

It is estimated by adding up the cost of treatment and recovery after an accident, as well as compensation for lost wages due to forced downtime. The evidence in this case is the results of a forensic medical examination, a medical examination, receipts from the hospital and pharmacy.

Moral injury.

According to Article 12 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, actions that entail moral and physical suffering must be compensated in monetary form by the person responsible for the incident to the injured person. In this case, the assessment of damage is made by the victim himself. The decision on the need for such a payment can only be made by the court, taking into account the degree of guilt of the offender, the reasons for the incident and the degree of suffering caused (Article 151 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The fairness of these payments is regulated by Article 1101 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and the financial capabilities of the culprit of the accident.

A claim to court for compensation for damage can be filed either as one general claim or as separate claims (Article 1099, clause 3 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

How does the assessment work?

Assessing the damage to a car after an accident begins with the preparation of a report by a traffic police officer. At this stage, the most important thing is that he records with utmost accuracy all the damage to the car that occurred as a result of the accident.

This determines what assessment of damage the expert will make.

You should not completely rely on the correctness of filling out the protocol. The driver must try to obtain all possible evidence of damage. To do this, you can take several personal photographs that will reflect the current situation as accurately as possible:

vehicle position;
car braking distance;
position of glass fragments;
leaked liquid from the car;
all road signs located nearby;
approximate time;
weather.

It is also advisable to obtain witness statements and video from surveillance cameras, if there are any nearby. All this data will help prove innocence and receive compensation.

If you have a valid MTPL policy, you must report the incident to the insurance company within 5 business days. In this case, you need to submit the following documents:

the insurance policy itself;
passport;
ownership;
purchase and sale agreement or power of attorney;
driver license;
vehicle registration certificate;
traffic police expert’s report drawn up during the accident;
notification of an accident;
a copy of the administrative violation report (optional);
certificate of the decision made when considering this act (optional).

The insurance company examines these documents and sets a date and place for the examination.

The decision to pay compensation must be made within 20 working days.

By law, such an assessment can be carried out in three ways:

self-assessment of damage;
insurance company examination;
independent examination.

It is possible to personally assess the damage only if the vehicle was slightly damaged and the total amount of compensation does not exceed 50 thousand rubles.
Therefore, if payment of compensation was refused or you are not satisfied with its amount, then an independent examination can be carried out.

Terms for assessing damage after an accident

If the insurance company delays the assessment of damage after an accident, the party injured in the accident has the right to conduct an independent examination in any assessment company.

Independent assessment of car damage after an accident

The reason for the discrepancies in the amount of compensation is the manipulations of a specialist, who almost always tries to minimize the costs of the insurance company. In this case, turning to a third-party organization to conduct an independent examination may be the only chance to get money and restore your car.

The procedure takes place in several stages:

concluding an agreement for the examination of a vehicle by its owner and an employee of the company, completing all necessary internal papers;
payment for the services of an independent appraisal organization;
choosing a date and place for inspecting the damaged vehicle;
preparation of a formal invitation indicating the time, place and date for which the examination is scheduled, sending it by mail to the address of the insurance company and all participants in the accident.
inspection of vehicle damage in a selected location;
recording of all damage on a special form from an independent organization, with photographs attached, each of which must have a registration number;
calculating the cost of damage caused and drawing up an expert report, which usually does not exceed three days;
transferring the expert's opinion and photographic materials to the client.

Useful video

Here you can find out how damage is assessed after an accident:

Conclusion

Having the conclusion of an independent examination in hand, a person can soberly assess his chances and if he is completely confident that he is right, he will decide to go to court for monetary compensation.

Payments under compulsory motor liability insurance after an accident

Both the culprit and the victim have the right to receive payments under compulsory motor liability insurance after an accident if the vehicle has a CASCO insurance policy. To determine the amount of damage, participants in the incident must inspect the vehicle, register it, or order an independent assessment, the results of which determine the amount due for payment

Car assessment after an accident

When a car owner applies for payment after a traffic accident, the insurer is obliged to make an assessment report of the car within five days after its damage. The insurance company must agree with the car owner on the place where the car will be inspected, and it is necessary to take into account the work schedule of the insurance company and the expert service.

In turn, the owner of the car must ensure its availability for a given time for inspection.

If the technical condition of the vehicle does not allow it to be delivered for examination to the insurer or to another place, then the assessment is carried out at the location of the car.

If, after the inspection procedure, the parties agree and agree on the amount of damage, then the insurer pays exactly that amount. If a compromise on the amount of damage is not reached, then an examination is carried out with the participation of an independent expert. If within five days after registering the application the insurance company does not carry out an assessment or examination of the property, then the victim can independently contact an independent expert for an assessment and demand that the insurance company pay the amount of damage determined by the independent examination.

If the examination or inspection of the car does not make it possible to accurately determine the amount of damage caused and the causes of the road accident, then the expert may demand that the vehicle belonging to the culprit of the road accident be presented for examination. The results must be drawn up in the form of a conclusion and secured with the signatures of the expert, the owner of the vehicle and a representative of the insurance company.

Main changes in the new law

More details about the new features of compulsory motor liability insurance related to the replacement of payments with repair work can be explained as follows:

When carrying out repairs, only new spare parts are used. As an exception, in agreement with the owner of the car, the use of used spare parts is allowed;
if we consider how payments are made under compulsory motor liability insurance if the car is 15 years old, then when assessing damage and the cost of repairs under the new law, the aging of parts and natural wear and tear will no longer be taken into account, so the age of the car will not affect the amount of payment;
the insurer offers its list of car repair stations, and the owner of the car can offer another workshop, but the insurer’s consent is required for repairs;
the car service should not be located more than 50 km from the vehicle’s location;
the longest period for repairs is 30 days, excluding weekends;
A 12-month warranty is provided for body repairs, and 6 months for other work;
Cars under 2 years old can only be repaired at authorized dealer service stations;

According to the new law, cash payments are not completely excluded; they are possible in the following cases:

if the car cannot be restored;
if the repair amount is more than 400 thousand rubles;
the owner of the vehicle was seriously injured or died;
the car owner is disabled;
the insurance company is not able to provide car repairs on time, or there are no spare parts, repair experience, or technical documentation for a rare brand of car;
the insurer and the car owner have agreed to compensate for the damage in money;
by decision of the Russian Union of Insurers, which took into account the difficult situation of the car owner.

Insurance payments

OSAGO involves insurance of liability of the car owner to another owner for damage caused to him. Money is paid not to the culprit, but to the victim of the culprit’s actions. However, if both owners are at fault, then payment is made to both parties depending on the damage.

The amount of payment is equal to the amount of insurance, which is within 120,000 rubles. The rest is collected from the guilty person. Therefore, during the examination, the presence of the culprit of the incident is necessary so that he does not have any doubts.

After an accident, the following actions should be taken:

Inspect the scene of the incident, take contacts of witnesses, take photographs of the place.
Traffic police officers do not need to be called if the damage is assessed by the driver independently, and the second participant in the accident agrees with him. A Europrotocol is being drawn up, according to which you can get no more than 50 thousand rubles. At the same time, there should be no errors in the documents that are the reason for the insurer’s refusal to pay. Another option is to call the traffic police when there is no agreement on the guilt of the accident and the amount of damage. The European protocol has not yet found wide application, since many errors are made during registration.
When the police prepare a certificate of the incident, it is necessary to ensure that all the nuances are indicated, since after this no one will correct the documents, and the insurer uses only the information specified in this certificate.
While waiting for the police, you can call the insurance company and report the incident.
You must fill out an accident report together with the other driver.

Within 15 days after the traffic accident, the victim is obliged to come to the insurer with the following documents:

certificate of traffic accident;
statement;
notice;
violation protocol;
PTS;
owner's passport;
diagnostic card;
driver's license;
payment details.

Car repair after an accident

There are two alternative options: get money for the damage, or send the car for repairs. If you take your car to a service center for repairs at the expense of the insurer, then there are the following negative factors:

the car service is chosen by the insurer;
there is no possibility of repair control;
it is difficult to find someone responsible for the poor quality of repairs;
it is impossible to control which parts were installed.

If you choose a repair service yourself, the car will be repaired faster. If you choose payment in lieu of repair, you should not send the car in for repairs until the money has been paid in full. Many insurers do not pay for damages on time.

When going to court against an insurer, most often the court sides with the victim and fines are collected, for example, for late payment. Usually, when reviewing documents, the court discovers that the examination report has been formatted incorrectly, and the payment amount is assigned significantly higher.

As a result, if you become a victim in an accident, you can choose: submit documents to receive insurance payments, or send the car for repairs at the direction of the insurance company. The choice of the optimal option remains with the injured party.

Experts advise that if the car is under warranty, then it is better to apply for payment, since in this case only original quality parts should be installed during repairs.

A car service center may install parts of questionable quality, and filing claims will be problematic. In this case, it is better to carry out car repairs at a car service center of an authorized dealer.