Mutual fault in an accident, payment under compulsory motor liability insurance

Mutual fault in an accident, payment under compulsory motor insurance: compensation for damage

Having protected liability and the car to third parties under Casco and OSAGO, we begin to feel much more confident and safer when driving a car on the road. A policy that provides civil protection to the driver is a requirement for legal driving. In addition to being mandatory, the “automobile license” saves you from expenses that arise as a result of a car accident.

Road users have the right to receive payment to compensate for damage caused by the fault of the driver of another car. In case of proven innocence, insurers provide insurance compensation for their guilty policyholder to the one to whom he caused harm.

But it happens that there is more than one culprit in a car accident, which means that both may be involved in the accident. When traffic rules are violated by both parties, even the traffic police officer is sometimes unable to determine the degree of guilt of each participant. Therefore, it becomes interesting who is entitled to payment under compulsory motor liability insurance in 2019 due to mutual fault, the judicial practice of which is supposed to be based on the principles of reasonableness and fairness.

Mutual guilt what does it mean

The insured driver has the right to compensation for damages under compulsory motor liability insurance. But such a right applies exclusively to the innocent insured. This means that the most common case is a car accident in which one person is the victim and the other is the culprit.

Naturally, victims must contact the insurance company and wait for compensation for the damage. But sometimes, both drivers consider themselves victims, which means they are equally considered culprits. Consequently, when both participants in an accident and the traffic police officer are unable to establish the guilt of the parties, then it will become mutual.

But even here it is worth distinguishing the degree of guilt, since the law on compulsory motor insurance and the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation does not provide for such cases. This means that, according to the law, participants in an accident are both guilty, but the degree of their involvement in the incident is different.

How to file an accident in case of a collision

In the event of a situation on the road where both car owners are found guilty of an accident, both drivers, regardless of whether they consider themselves to be the initiators of the incident, must act according to the rules.

Therefore, even in the case of mutual guilt, a car accident must be filed according to the standard, with one small exception. That is, during the preparation of protocols and decisions of the traffic police, one must insist on innocence, even if this is not the case. Because after, at the time of administrative analysis, it turns out that not both are to blame, but only one.

In general, in order for the payment of compulsory motor liability insurance in case of mutual fault to be given to each of the drivers in an equal share, it is necessary:

Stop and do not remove the car until the traffic police arrive, putting up emergency signs and turning on the signals according to the rules;
To prove your innocence in court, document the damage yourself. Be sure to save the DVR recording, and without it, take a photo of the scene and damaged cars on your phone;
When calling the State Traffic Inspectorate, do not forget to notify the insurance company about the accident;
If a traffic police officer issues traffic police fines only to you, you cannot agree with this. Such actions by traffic police officers automatically deprive you of the right to receive payment under compulsory motor liability insurance.

How to prove mutual guilt in court

Repair of cars after an accident in the event of the fault of both parties is carried out equally, and also in proportion to the degree of participation in the disaster. Consequently, compulsory motor liability insurance will be paid on a mutual basis only if the fact of equal involvement in the incident is proven.

It is allowed to prove innocence with the help of certificates and a protocol drawn up and certified at the scene of the incident by traffic police officers. When deciding on the issue of establishing the degree of involvement of the driver in an accident on the road in court, recorded photos and videos of the consequences of a car accident will be useful.

Usually, the insurance company does not establish mutual fault in an accident, just as the traffic police inspector does not have the right to do this (in special cases). This means that compulsory motor liability insurance is paid solely on the basis of a court decision and nothing else.

Insurance payments for mutual fault

As we have already said, payments for civil liability in case of mutual fault of drivers are equal and different, in proportion to the degree of involvement. So, the driver who caused the harm and the one who caused it will be paid 50 percent of the required interest under the insurance policy, and also depending on how large the share of guilt of the second driver is.

An example, when the owner of a BMW car drove into the oncoming lane because of a large pothole on the road surface of his lane and crashed into a VAZ car, does not mean that the fault lies entirely with the first driver. Here we look at the circumstances of each participant's involvement in a car accident.

Thus, the VAZ driver may not have buckled up, was exceeding the speed limit, was intoxicated, or intentionally failed to prevent an accident by pressing the gas pedal instead of the brake.

In such cases, the involvement of the second party is also established. But due to some circumstances of the case, namely the driver’s indirect attitude to the incident, his guilt will be less. Therefore, the court has the right to assign a degree of guilt of 80 to 20%. Therefore, the BMW driver is 80% guilty, and the VAZ driver is 20% guilty.

Maximum payment under compulsory motor liability insurance facts and amounts of compensation

For all insured events (both participants are insured), the insurance company assumes responsibility for payment. But the amount of damage to recover is not measured 100%, but based on a court ruling, depending on the degree.

The maximum possible payment for a motor vehicle license for 2019 is 400 thousand Russian rubles. If people were injured, then the payment is no more than 500 thousand. But civil compensation in case of a traffic accident implies only half of the payment of these amounts, and since the court allows the degree of involvement in the accident to be established, the compensation can become very small.

For example, based on violations of traffic rules, the driver of a VAZ was assigned a fault equal to 20%, and the damage was caused in the amount of 176,000 rubles. The BMW owner was assessed accordingly for the damage and was awarded 320,000 rubles. The insurance company protecting the BMW driver is obliged to pay the owner of the domestic car 80% of the insured amount, i.e. RUB 140,800 The second participant in the incident, or rather the company where he is insured, must pay the foreign car 20% of the amount, i.e. 64,000 rub.

If the court rules on equal involvement in the incident, VAZ will be paid 88 thousand, and BMW 160 thousand rubles.

Who can count on insurance in case of mutual fault?

Based on the example, payment of compensation is due to both participants in the car accident and its amount is determined only by the court.

It is worth noting that if the amount of compensation paid is not enough to carry out high-quality repairs, the owner of the damaged car has no right to demand additional payment from either the insurance company or the other party to the accident. This means that the renovation will have to be completed at our own expense.

Pitfalls of the nuances of wallpaper design

The main stumbling block in resolving a car accident is the reluctance of the other party to admit involvement in the incident. Often the traffic police themselves are not able to determine the degree of harm to the driver. But in judicial practice, even a preliminary decision of the traffic police does not play a role, since many other nuances are taken into account that can turn the whole case upside down and the victim will turn out to be the same culprit.

In judicial practice, there are also difficult situations when the judge is not able to accurately determine the degree of involvement of drivers in the accident. In such situations, guilt is divided equally, i.e. 50 to 50.

Don’t forget about the reasonableness of the court, because in the case of a car driver simply not wearing a seat belt, who was hit by another car from the oncoming lane, there is no question of dividing the blame here, since the second one is 100% guilty, and the traffic violation of the first one did not contribute in any way disaster.

What consequences can happen if drivers leave the scene of an accident by mutual consent?

In order to prove innocence, the driver must collect the necessary documents and registration materials about the incident. If you get into a serious accident, where one or both drivers leave the scene of the accident without waiting for the State Traffic Inspectorate, such an offense will be subject to administrative punishment, regardless of the degree of involvement of the driver in the accident.

It is possible to avoid punishment only in the event of a minor traffic accident. In such cases, car owners have the right to disperse peacefully, or simply draw up a European protocol by drawing up an accident diagram, and then leave the scene of the accident without calling the traffic police.

Payments under compulsory motor liability insurance in case of mutual fault of drivers in an accident

The MTPL policy is an insurance guarantee for drivers in the event of an accident.

A driver who finds himself in such a situation has the right to count on partial or full reimbursement of vehicle repair costs.

But how is the problem of insurance coverage resolved if both parties are at fault in an accident?

Next we will talk about how payments are made under compulsory motor liability insurance in the event of mutual fault of drivers.

Mutual guilt: what does it mean?

Most accidents that occur on the roads are due to the fault of one of the drivers. But there are cases when an accident is caused by several participants.

The result is an offense order against both drivers. In this case, they talk about the mutual guilt of the drivers (in colloquial speech - “mutual guilt”).

Let us immediately note that in the legislation of the Russian Federation such a term is not used. It is used only by State Traffic Inspectorate employees when registering an accident if precise evidence of violation of the rules by both drivers was found.

A mutual violation in an accident must be recorded by the traffic police officer in the individual protocol of each participant.

The document must certainly indicate 2 points:

what rule was broken;
what responsibility is provided for this by law?

We should talk about mutual guilt only if each of the drivers has been issued a protocol and a resolution on the administrative offense they have committed.

Payments under compulsory motor liability insurance in case of mutual fault of drivers

When drawing up an MTPL agreement, every driver understands: if he causes an accident, the insurance policy will allow him to fully or partially cover the financial losses of the injured traffic participant.

But will the insurance company pay compensation if both drivers are found to be at fault for the accident? And how will payments be distributed between them?

If both drivers are at fault in an accident, payments under compulsory motor liability insurance in 2019 are made on the basis of Art. Federal Law No. 12, clause 22. This regulatory document gives the right to receive compensation to both accident provocateurs.

It is worth remembering that there are 2 degrees of guilt:

The insurance company does not consider the degree of fault. The degree of guilt of each driver is determined only by the court . Based on the court decision, the insurer makes payments.

To avoid various difficulties during the trial, it is necessary to behave correctly in the event of an accident and correctly fill out all the necessary documents.

It is also worth considering that not all traffic violations serve as a basis for the court to recognize mutual guilt.

For example, if one of the participants drove into the oncoming lane, and the second was not wearing a seat belt, only the first of them will be found guilty. The court is always guided by the principle of reasonableness.

Video: Mutual fault in an accident

How to file a traffic accident in the event of a traffic accident?

If an accident occurs, drivers need to take the following steps:

Stop the cars and do not leave the scene of the accident until traffic police officers or accident commissioners from the insurer arrive.
Independently record as much evidence as possible of the other participant’s guilt: take a photo, find witnesses and write down their contact information, save the DVR recording, etc.
Call the traffic police and notify the insurance company.
Monitor what the inspector records in the protocol.
Don't immediately take the blame.
When drawing up the protocol, clearly state your position, give explanations and ensure that they are included in the protocol. Draw the inspector's attention to circumstances confirming the guilt of the other party. It is possible that, as a result of the analysis of the accident, you will not be found guilty of the accident at all.

If you are sure that the guilt of the second participant is greater than yours, be sure to go to court and seek to establish the degree of guilt there. Otherwise, insurance companies will reimburse both parties only 50% of the amount.

In the case when the damage to both cars is insignificant, there are no casualties and there are no disputes, call only the emergency commissioner, draw up a “Euro protocol” and fill out documents for the insurance company.

With this method you can also get a refund. In 2019, its maximum amount is 50 thousand rubles. Thus, in case of mutual fault, each participant in the accident will receive no more than 25 thousand.

If an accident is registered by a traffic police inspector, the following documents must be drawn up:

A certificate about an accident, which is issued to each driver.
Protocol.
Resolution on an offense with legislative reference (Administrative Code of the Russian Federation).

The following data is entered into the protocol:

location of the vehicle after an accident with the inclusion of a diagram;
measurement results from control points to machines;
description of visible damage to vehicles;
explanations of the participants in the accident.

How to prove mutual guilt in court?

Each trial is individual, its course depends on the specific circumstances of the case. But in the case of an accident due to mutual fault, general recommendations can be given to drivers.

The most important thing is to prove that violations of the rules were committed by both participants . As evidence, you need to use certificates, protocols and decisions of the traffic police issued as a result of the case.

Testimony of witnesses, photographs and videos taken by you from the scene of the accident, indicating the location of the cars after the accident, the degree of damage, etc., may also be involved.

Remember that the court takes into account not only the actions of the participants in the accident, but also other circumstances of the case . For example, a participant in the process, when proving his position, may refer to the weather conditions at the time of the accident and the condition of the roadway.

True, this fact must be supported by a certificate from the local hydrometeorology center.

Professional knowledge is also important, so it is worth getting an expert opinion: evaluation, auto technical, etc. You can even call experts to court, especially if your opponent has objections.

No previous evidence has any certain force for the court, since the court examines it simultaneously, determining the degree of guilt based on the totality of the circumstances.

Thus, even documents from the State Traffic Inspectorate can be ignored by the court if other evidence does not confirm the circumstances stated in them.

Compensation for damage under compulsory motor liability insurance in case of mutual fault of drivers

If an accident occurs with mutual fault, both participants must contact their insurer with whom the MTPL agreement was concluded.

Previously, the law allowed you to receive payment both from your own insurance company and from the insurer of another participant in an accident. But today this practice is unacceptable, which is enshrined at the legislative level by the reform of the law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”.

Documents must be submitted to the insurance company no later than 10 business days after the incident. After this period, obtaining a refund will be much more difficult.

If insurance companies do not agree on the amount of compensation, a special trial is scheduled. Further, they will be required to make all payments according to the court decision.

If the amount specified in the court decision is not transferred to the client on time, a significant fine will be imposed on the insurer.

How is the amount of compensation calculated?

According to paragraph 22 of Art. Federal Law No. 12, insurance companies must pay the amount of damage in proportion to the degree of fault of the driver.

For example, if the driver is found 60% guilty by the court, then he will be paid only 40% of the amount of damage he suffered, and the second participant will be paid 60% of the amount required to repair his car.

However, judicial practice shows that payments under compulsory motor liability insurance in case of “mutual agreement” are most often distributed in equal shares between both culprits of the accident.

The courts rely on paragraph 2 of Art. 1083 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, which states that if it is impossible to establish the degree of guilt, it is automatically recognized as equal.

The waiting period is usually no more than 15 days. The degree of guilt is determined by the court. If there is no court decision, then the degree of guilt in any case is considered equal.

If the fault of none of the participants in the accident is established, then there will be no compensation at all.

Can I choose a refund method?

Since April 27, 2019, amendments to the law regarding compulsory motor liability insurance have been in effect. Under these changes, drivers have the right to receive cash compensation in lieu of repairs.

The size will be calculated in the same way as described above.

If the victim wishes to restore his car using in-kind compensation for losses, he will have to pay extra for the repairs from his own funds.

Process of receiving payment

If both participants in the accident are satisfied with receiving 50% compensation, then there is no need to go to court.

In this case, go to the insurance company as soon as you receive documents from the traffic police with the indicated violations on the part of each of the participants in the accident.

If you are not satisfied with a half refund, then you must:

Notify the insurer about the accident.
Wait for the court's decision with the established degree of guilt of each participant.
Receive compensation according to the ruling in an amount proportional to the fault.

The legal process usually takes several months, so you should go to court if:

According to the traffic police, there is not a single culprit.
The great degree of guilt of one of the participants is obvious.
The damage is serious, so it is important to obtain the maximum possible insurance compensation.

What to do if the insurance company refuses to pay?

The insurer may issue a reasoned refusal to pay compensation.

The most common reasons for refusal:

One of the participants was not included in the MTPL insurance.
The participant in the accident was driving a vehicle while intoxicated.
One of the perpetrators appealed the court's decision.
The culprit fled the scene of the accident.

But this does not mean that everything is lost and you will not receive compensation . Seek your rights, as it is profitable for insurance companies to latch on to any reason not to pay compensation.

So, if the son of the owner of another car drove into your car and he is not included in the policy, the insurer may refuse to review the documents. In this case, remind the company employee about clause 1 of Art. Federal Law - No. 14.

According to the law, the right to claim passes to the person who caused the harm. Based on this provision, the insurer is obliged to pay compensation.

In the second case, when one of the participants was under the influence of alcohol, the same rule applies. Do the same if the culprit left the scene of the accident.

If your opponent has appealed the court decision, the insurance company has the right to suspend the payment procedure, but in no case refuse.

It is impossible to obtain compensation under compulsory motor liability insurance only if the identity of the culprit cannot be established.

Mutual guilt in an accident is a difficult situation, since each of the participants becomes both a victim and a guilty party at the same time . Consequently, everyone himself bears the damage and at the same time must be responsible for the damage caused to the other.

Therefore, I would like to recommend to all drivers to be more careful on the road and try with all their might not to violate traffic rules.

Who will pay under compulsory motor liability insurance if both are at fault?

Every driver understands perfectly well that if he becomes the culprit of an accident, the MTPL policy will allow him to completely or partially avoid the need to compensate for the financial losses of the victim. But will the insurance company pay, and most importantly, how much and to whom, if the accident was partially caused by both parties? In other words, what will happen if the guilt turns out to be mutual.

What is “mutual guilt”?

Let’s immediately make a reservation that in administrative law (Civil Code, law on compulsory motor liability insurance) there is no such thing as “mutual guilt”. By the so-called “reciprocity”, insurers and traffic police officers mean situations where all participants in an accident, to one degree or another, turned out to be violators of traffic rules. So, in a traffic accident, three situations may arise:

The accident was clearly the fault of one of the road users. All the consequences of this are obvious, therefore, the victim receives the payment under compulsory motor liability insurance.
Traffic inspectors make an official decision to terminate the proceedings “due to the impossibility of establishing the picture of the accident due to conflicting testimony of its participants.” If the interested parties disagree with this decision, further clarification of the circumstances of the incident will take place in court.
Both participants in the accident are recognized as violators of traffic rules in the analysis group. Each person is issued a protocol and a resolution regarding the case of an administrative offense.

From the point of view of lawyers, we can only talk about mutual guilt in the third case.

Who will get paid and how much in case of “reciprocity”

Since our legislation does not in any way regulate issues related to mutual fault in an accident, insurance companies solve the problem of payments under compulsory motor liability insurance in such cases very simply:

Each victim-culprit is compensated for 50% of the damage, since the current judicial practice dictates exactly this development of the situation. The courts are based on the norm enshrined in the Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Article 1083), that if it is impossible to establish the degree of guilt, it is automatically recognized as equal. While how to prove the opposite, i.e. “inequality” turns out to be very difficult at times.
They refuse to pay all applicants, explaining that it is impossible to establish the degree of guilt of each participant in the accident. Often, insurers are well aware of the illegality of their actions and simply hope that clients will not go to court to prove their case.

Meanwhile, justice and paragraph 2 of Art. 1083 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation requires that payments to each party be made in proportion to the degree of guilt. Theoretically, no one argues with this. But it is very difficult to establish the measure of true guilt and convince the court of this. Courts, as a rule, follow the path of least resistance - they award payments to the participants in the accident in equal shares. However, it occasionally happens that with the participation of “virtuoso” lawyers, insurance companies oblige to make a payment in a ratio other than 50 to 50, for example, 90% to 10%, 80% to 20%, etc. But in reality, even if it is obvious that one of the parties is much less guilty than the other, and there is a chance to achieve a larger payment, rare car owners are ready to fight to the bitter end. Especially for small amounts.

In cases of mutual fault, most drivers easily agree to the insurance company’s offer of half compensation: “better a bird in the hand than a pie in the sky.” In a word, the “reciprocity” is beneficial to the insurance company, since the legal confusion leaves it considerable room for maneuver. As for the 50/50 payment procedure, let us explain with an example. Driver A received damages worth 50,000 rubles, and driver B – 100,000 rubles. If mutual guilt is recognized, they will receive 25,000 and 50,000 rubles, respectively.

Payment under compulsory motor liability insurance in case of mutual fault of drivers

Every driver knows how to act in the event of an accident that occurred due to the wrong actions of one motorist. But what if both participants are to blame for the incident?

In such situations, there are nuances that affect the receipt of compensation from the insurer. Let's look at how payments are made under compulsory motor liability insurance in case of mutual fault in an accident, what every driver should expect and what are the features of such accidents.

In what cases are we talking about mutual guilt?

In Russian legislation, the term “mutual guilt” is not fixed. It is used by traffic police and insurers if all drivers involved in an accident did not comply with traffic rules and were brought to administrative responsibility by drawing up a protocol.

It should be remembered that failure to comply with the rules does not always lead to an accident.

Example one. One motorist ignored the traffic light and continued driving, resulting in an accident. The second participant does not have insurance. Each of them violated a different rule. But a driver without a policy will not be charged for an accident. We are not talking about “mutual relationship” here.
Second example. One car owner did not give way to another road user who, according to traffic regulations, had the right of way in this area. The second one was driving over the speed limit, crossed into the oncoming lane, ignored the double traffic light, lost control and collided with the first one’s car. In this situation, we can assume that both are to blame for the accident.

Thus, “fault” in an accident under compulsory motor liability insurance is recognized if:

each driver committed a traffic violation;
failure to comply with the rules by each motorist led to an accident;
analysis of the circumstances of the accident does not allow us to understand whose fault it occurred;
Both participants admitted their guilt when drawing up the European Protocol.

Receiving payment

One of the common questions about incidents in which everyone involved is at fault is: who should pay whom? Many people think that motorists are obliged to solve the problem themselves, since each of them is not only a victim, but also a provocateur of an accident.

In such situations, the law provides for payments under compulsory motor liability insurance. To receive them, participants in the incident need:

notify your insurance company and the nearest State Traffic Inspectorate office about the accident;
try to collect facts confirming that the other driver is at fault (or more), take photos/videos/audio recordings, interview witnesses and take their contacts;
control the execution of the protocol - you do not need to immediately admit that you are the sole initiator of the accident; on the contrary, it is worth focusing the employee’s attention on the circumstances confirming the guilt of the other car owner;
file a lawsuit if the equal distribution of blame is not satisfactory.

How payments are calculated and made

In accordance with paragraph 22 of Art. 12 of the Law on OSAGO, compensation is paid in an amount proportional to the degree of guilt of each car owner. Participants in an accident can receive either equal or different amounts.

Equal amounts

This type of compensation is used when it is proven that both drivers are equally to blame for the accident. Signs of such a situation are the following facts:

non-compliance with the rules by every motorist;
connection of actions that do not comply with traffic rules with the incident;
The severity of each violation is approximately the same.

The last paragraph takes into account the number of rules violated, as well as the amount of penalties established for each of them. It is this option for determining the mutual guilt of drivers that is most often used by judicial authorities.

By analyzing the submitted documents, it is established which rules were not followed. If the number of violations and the degree of punishment for them are approximately the same, mutual guilt of motorists is recognized to an equal degree.

Various amounts

This option is used much less frequently, only when it is really possible to prove different degrees of guilt by studying the case materials.

Example. One motorist was driving a faulty vehicle and stopped on the highway. However, he did not turn on the emergency lights and did not put up a sign. Another driver was driving at a speed higher than the speed limit and hit a stationary car, causing harm not only to the car, but also to the person in it.

In such a situation, it can be established that:

both car owners are guilty of what happened - one exceeded the speed limit, and the second violated the emergency stop rules;
The guilt of the first driver is less significant - if the second one had moved at the required speed, he would have had time to react to the broken car even without a stop sign.

Compensation calculation

In accidents in which both participants are at fault, when calculating compensation, the key factor is not the amount of damage, but the degree of fault of each driver.

So, compensation for damage is made in one of two ways.

50/50 – if the parties decided not to file a statement of claim or if the court decided that their guilt was the same.
In this situation, each driver will receive half the amount of established damage. For example, two cars were damaged. The expert estimated the amount of damage to one of them at 60 thousand rubles, and the other at 70 thousand rubles. In this case, the first driver will receive 30 thousand rubles, and the second – 35 thousand rubles.
According to the degree of guilt.
If there is a court ruling on the unequal degree of guilt of the participants in the accident, the insurance company makes payments based on the ratio established by Themis. Let's say the expert assessed the size of the damage in the same way as in the previous example. In case of another court decision (the fault of the first car owner is 10%, and the second – 90%), the first will be paid 54 thousand rubles, and the second only 7 thousand rubles.

Registration of the incident

If all participants in the accident admit their guilt and do not make claims against the others, you can get by with the Europrotocol. But it is important to remember that the maximum payment amount for such registration is 100 thousand rubles. This means that each driver can receive 50 thousand from the insurer. If the amount of damage is significant, it is worth spending time and waiting for the traffic police.

In the latter case, documents will be prepared that need to be provided to the insurer or the court. This:

certificate of accident - both drivers receive one copy;
protocol;
resolution on the offense - one copy for each driver (based on them, guilt will be distributed).

The protocol is also used to determine the degree of guilt of each car owner, as it states:

location of cars after an accident (also in the form of a diagram);
measurement indicators;
damage that can be determined visually;
statements from each driver.

When and how to prove mutual guilt in court

To be successful in court, several recommendations should be taken into account:

It is necessary to prove mutual guilt if the party does not agree with the position of the opponent or with the conclusion of the insurer.
To prove the crime, you can use materials from the traffic police, as well as witness testimony and personally collected arguments (photos, videos, etc.).
Give other circumstances of the case, for example, weather conditions. If it was a rainy day, you can refer to the condition of the road surface (you will have to provide a certificate from the hydrometeorological center).
It is advisable to provide the court with expert reports - on the technical condition of the car, the extent of damage, etc.

It is important to consider here that the court makes a decision based on the totality of the circumstances. Therefore, as the process progresses, the parties decide what evidence is worth bringing and what is not.

If the insurance company refuses compensation

As in any other insurance case, the insurance company may refuse to pay compensation under the policy. The possibility of challenging depends on the legality of the company's actions.

Thus, the insurer’s refusal will be legal if:

deadlines for notification of an insured event were violated;
an incomplete list of documents is provided;
unauthorized leaving the scene of the incident before the arrival of traffic police officers was recorded;
the car owner was intoxicated;
the absence of an insurance policy or the absence of the person driving the car from the list of those allowed to drive the car was recorded.

If the insurance company refuses payment on legal grounds, you need to eliminate the reason and file a claim again. For example, supplement the package of documents or provide valid reasons why deadlines were violated or the scene of the incident was left behind. In the latter case, it is necessary to provide evidence (for example, a certificate from the hospital where the driver was in a hurry).

If you can't get the money, you need to:

submit to the insurance pre-trial claim;
go to court.

Let's sum it up

When an accident occurred due to violations committed by both participants in the incident, we are talking about mutual guilt. Such accidents have their own characteristics:

guilt is recognized as mutual if both drivers violated the rules and an appropriate protocol has been drawn up against each of them;
We are also talking about a “mutual relationship” if the guilt of each participant cannot be established;
in such accidents, the insurance company recognizes the same degree of guilt of each driver if they do not go to court;
during court proceedings, the guilt may be equal or different, based on this, the amount of payments is assigned;
in case of mutual guilt, a European protocol can be drawn up (if the participants do not disagree and the damage is small) or a protocol can be drawn up with a call to the traffic police;
if you disagree with the determination of the degree of guilt, you need to go to court and prove your position, citing as much evidence as possible;
if the insurer refuses to pay, you should send a pre-trial claim to the company, then go to court if the issue cannot be resolved amicably.

Thus, in a situation where both drivers are to blame for the accident, the insurer also pays. But it is important to follow the procedure and requirements for registering an accident and contacting the Investigative Committee.

Mutual fault in an accident: a lawyer on the peculiarities of receiving insurance payment in 2019

Every driver is well aware that damage caused to his car by another vehicle will be compensated by MTPL insurance. However, in situations where mutual fault in an accident has been revealed, the compulsory motor insurance payment can be reduced by 50% or more. In addition, in some cases, insurers completely refuse to make payments to those responsible for the accident. What is the right thing to do if mutual guilt is established? Let's take a closer look at this issue.

What does "mutual guilt" mean?

Mostly, incidents on the roads occur due to the actions of certain individuals. However, in some situations, the blame for the accident lies not with one driver, but with several motorists, against whom a decision is made on committing an administrative violation. It is generally accepted that several people driving the cars were mutually to blame for the collision.

You also need to take into account that there are situations when both drivers were violators of traffic rules, but the accident was provoked by the actions of only one of them. In particular, another car crashed into a car driven by a drunk driver stopped at a traffic light. In this case, the culprit of the accident is only one participant in the collision, since the actions of a drunken motorist could not lead to a collision. Therefore, it is extremely important to identify not only all the facts indicating that motorists are violating traffic rules, but also to establish cause-and-effect relationships.

Which insurance company should a driver contact?

Let's figure out which insurance company should a victim of an accident contact? If as a result of the collision there are no injured citizens, and the damage was caused exclusively to vehicles, the motorist must apply for compensation for damage to the insurer from whom the auto insurance policy was purchased.

How is damage compensated under an MTPL policy?

In order to receive an insurance payment under MTPL, a motorist needs to collect a package of documentation, which includes:

identification;
State Traffic Inspectorate protocol;
certificate of damage received by the car;
documents for the damaged vehicle;
bank account certificate for transferring compensation.

The amount of compensation drivers may be entitled to is determined based on their degree of fault in the incident. This norm is provided for in paragraph 2 of Art. 1083 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. If the degree of guilt of motorists has not been determined in court, it is generally accepted that all drivers are equally to blame, therefore the insurance payment between the participants in the accident is distributed in a ratio of 50 to 50 percent. Practice shows that drivers in most cases agree to receive half the amount of compensation, refusing to go to court.

How is the cost of damage calculated?

To determine the amount of damage under compulsory motor liability insurance, an automotive technical examination must be carried out, during which all visible as well as hidden damage received by cars and the reasons that provoked the accident are identified. In addition, as part of the examination, the conditions on the highway in which the collision occurred and other parameters are determined. During the examination, a holistic picture of the accident is formed, on the basis of which conclusions are drawn on all controversial situations and the amount of damage is established.

There are known cases when, in the process of assessing damage, insurers tried to hide various damage to cars, thereby lowering the amount of payments. In order to challenge the results of an automotive technical examination, it is necessary to obtain the opinion of an independent expert who will re-examine the car, assess the damage and provide his conclusions about the damage to the vehicle.

Motorists often want to check whether the insurance company is being honest with them. To understand whether the amount of damage under compulsory motor liability insurance is calculated correctly, you should perform an independent calculation using data from the RSA database. This database contains information on prices for auto parts in various regions of the country, standard hours and other parameters on the basis of which insurers calculate the amount of damage.

How can a driver receive payment?

If an incident on the road occurred due to the mutual fault of motorists, drivers are required to submit applications to the companies where they previously purchased policies within 10 working days from the date of the accident. If the ten-day period is missed, it will be very difficult to receive the due compensation.

Based on the fact that each driver is initially found to be equally guilty, motorists receive 50% of the compensation amount. If one of the parties disagrees with the amount of compensation, the amount of compensation must be established during the trial. The court, when considering the case, will determine the degree of guilt of each of the participants in the collision, as well as the amount of damage that the insurer will be obliged to pay within the prescribed period. If the deadlines for transferring funds to the client are violated, penalties will be imposed on the insurer.

The amount of compensation a motorist receives is determined by the degree of his guilt in the accident. For example, the court may rule that driver Ivanov is 80% to blame for the accident, and driver Petrov is 20% at fault. Therefore, Ivanov will receive 20% of the compensation amount, and Petrov - 80%.

Is it possible to independently choose the method of compensation for damage?

Today, a motorist who is a participant in a road incident that was committed through mutual fault, instead of paying for repair work, has the right to receive financial compensation for the damage caused.

If the motorist chooses to pay the insurer for repair work, the participant in the accident will have to pay the difference between the amount of compensation and the actual cost of repairs out of his own pocket. Please note that all spare parts installed during repair work must be new. The use of used parts and elements is permitted only with the consent of the insurer.

A referral for repairs is issued to the motorist within 20 calendar days after the insurer receives the application. However, obtaining a referral to a service station not included in the insurer's list may require additional time.

The repair period should not exceed 30 working days from the date of delivery of the machine to the service station. Extension of deadlines is permitted only if the duration of the repair is determined by the technological features of the work, as well as in agreement with the car owner. In any other cases, the insurer is obliged to pay a penalty for delaying work. A guarantee is given for the repair work performed: body repairs - 12 months, other types of repairs - 6 months.

As for the car service center that performs car repairs, each insurer has a list of service stations with which cooperation agreements have been concluded. However, for repairs, the insurer’s car will not be transferred to any car service from the list, but to a service station that is located at a distance not exceeding 50 km from the place of the road incident or the house where the motorist lives. This rule can be violated only when the insurer pays for a tow truck that will deliver the vehicle to a car service center. For example, if an accident occurs on a highway 400 km from the motorist’s place of residence, the insurer can send a tow truck to take the car to any service station chosen by the company at its discretion. At the same time, the policyholder must remember that the insurer is obliged to transport the car not only to the service station, but also back.

What to do if the insurer refuses to pay?

Insurance companies often refuse to pay compensation under compulsory motor liability insurance. The following situations may be considered as grounds for such a decision:

deadlines for submitting an application have been missed;
the driver left the scene of the traffic incident;
the driver being intoxicated;
one of the motorists involved in the accident was not included in the policy.

Drivers who are faced with a similar problem are advised to seek help from auto lawyers who can defend their right to receive compensation.

Having received a refusal to pay, the motorist can challenge the insurer’s decision in court. To do this, you need to contact independent experts who will assess the financial damage incurred by the car. Having an expert opinion in hand, the motorist should try to resolve the dispute out of court. For this purpose, the policyholder sends a claim to the insurer, supplemented by a package of supporting documents (an independent expert report, checks confirming all expenses specified in the claim, as well as documents that the motorist previously submitted to receive payment under compulsory motor liability insurance).

The claim and a package of accompanying documentation are sent to the legal address of the company by registered mail. If, within 10 days from the receipt of the claim, the insurer does not satisfy the motorist’s demand, the policyholder has the right to appeal to the courts.

The insurer’s refusal to pay under compulsory motor liability insurance falls under the law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”. Therefore, the plaintiff can submit an application to the city or district court at his place of residence. The duration of the trial can range from 3 weeks to 3 - 4 months.

If the court partially or fully satisfies the plaintiff’s claims, the insurer will be obliged to transfer the amount determined by the judicial authority to the account of the policyholder. If the insurer does not make payment within the time limits established by law, the court will issue a writ of execution.

If the case is lost, the policyholder has the right to further appeal the decision.

From the point of view of legislation, the only reason for refusal to pay insurance under compulsory motor liability insurance is a situation where the identity of the motorist whose actions provoked the accident cannot be determined. In order not to find yourself in a situation where the insurer refuses to pay due to the inability to identify the culprit of the accident, the motorist must be attentive to the documents drawn up by the traffic police inspectors immediately after the road incident. In addition, the driver cannot immediately take responsibility for the collision that occurred, since a detailed examination of the situation may reveal that the driver is not to blame for what happened. It is important to ensure that all information in the protocol drawn up by State Traffic Inspectorate employees is reflected as correctly as possible, and that wording such as “culprit” and “violator” is not used.

A video recorder can provide significant assistance in a situation where the specific culprit of the accident is not identified. If, due to various circumstances, video recording was not carried out, a motorist who is confident of his innocence needs to obtain evidence from eyewitnesses of the accident. Ideally, the driver should find 2 - 3 citizens who witnessed the accident and who are ready to confirm the fact of his innocence. The names and contact information of these persons must be recorded by traffic police inspectors in the protocol.

Considering the stressful situation in which the driver finds himself after a collision, the motorist should immediately call a competent auto lawyer to represent his interests to the scene of the incident.