Vehicle inspection for MTPL insurance

Is a pre-insurance inspection required under MTPL?

The issuance of compulsory motor liability insurance policies provides for the mutual rights and obligations of the policyholder and the insurer, provided for by the “Regulations on the rules of compulsory insurance of civil liability of vehicle owners.” This resolution was approved in 2014 by the Bank of Russia and has been amended several times since then. One of the most controversial rules of this by-law is the procedure and grounds for conducting a vehicle inspection before concluding an MTPL agreement.

The procedure for conducting inspections under compulsory motor liability insurance until 2015.

Until July 2015, when amendments to the Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” came into force regarding the introduction of the possibility of remote purchase of a policy, there was a rule regarding the right of the insurance company to inspect the car. At the same time, clause 1.7 of the Rules regulated that such an inspection could be carried out at the citizen’s place of residence, however, the exact place of the inspection could be established by agreement between the parties.

Thus, if the insurance company decided to inspect the car, i.e. to exercise their legal right to establish the actual condition of the vehicle, the policyholder did not have the opportunity to refuse such a condition when taking out a compulsory motor liability insurance policy. The parties could only discuss the location of the examination, while its possibility was entirely at the discretion of the insurance company.

In practice, this led to abuses on the part of insurance companies, which, under the pretext of the need to conduct an inspection before concluding a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, determined the possibility of avoiding it by purchasing additional services.

A citizen who applied for MTPL insurance could only influence the choice of inspection location, but not the company’s right to conduct it. This circumstance created uncertainty and gave rise to complaints from car owners, while in most cases there was no actual need for an inspection by insurance companies.

What has changed in 2015?

Since July 2015, this rule has undergone significant changes, the essence of which is as follows:

the insurance company retained the right to conduct a vehicle inspection, but now it depends on the outcome of the parties’ agreement on the location of its conduct;
agreement on the location of the inspection depends on the mutual consent of both parties, and if it has not been reached, the insurer cannot oblige the citizen to fulfill this condition;
If the MTPL policy is issued remotely (via online electronic services), the vehicle is not examined under any circumstances.

Thus, since July 2015, new legal provisions have allowed citizens to legally avoid the inspection procedure. To do this, it is enough to provide the insurance company with a written objection regarding any proposed location for the vehicle inspection when applying for compulsory motor liability insurance. In this case, insurance companies will have no grounds to exercise their right to inspect the car.

Remote issuance of an MTPL policy does not require a personal contact with the insurance company; the vehicle owner can perform all necessary actions online through electronic services. In such circumstances, conducting a vehicle inspection is not only impractical, but also difficult to implement in practice, because the insurer and the citizen may be located in different regions of the country.

Procedure for resolving disputes

With the introduction of new rules for issuing compulsory motor liability insurance policies, including regarding the pre-insurance inspection of a vehicle, insurance companies no longer have one of the grounds for refusing to conclude an insurance contract. Previously, if a citizen refused to provide a car in kind for inspection, the insurer had the opportunity to justify the refusal to issue a compulsory motor liability insurance policy with this particular provision of the law.

Currently, there is no such basis, and compulsion to conduct an inspection has become virtually impossible. If representatives of the insurance company still impose a condition on the applicant to provide the car for inspection, the vehicle owner has the right to:

contact another insurance company that does not make the issuance of a policy dependent on passing the examination;
file a reasoned complaint against the actions of the insurer.

Conclusion

Changes in legislation have allowed citizens to receive guarantees that the lack of consent to conduct an inspection will not lead to a refusal to issue an insurance contract. A step-by-step gradual transition to the system of remote issuance of MTPL policies should finally solve the problem associated with the unreasonable compulsion to perform a pre-insurance inspection of the car.

Features of registration of compulsory motor liability insurance from July 3, 2015

Good afternoon, dear reader.

This article will discuss changes in the rules of compulsory civil liability insurance for vehicle owners, affecting the specifics of issuing MTPL policies.

Just in case, let me remind you that on July 1, 2015, another rule change came into force, which allows you to issue insurance policies remotely (via the Internet). This was discussed in the article “Concluding an MTPL agreement via the Internet from July 1, 2015.”

The changes that will be discussed today also apply to the remote issuance of compulsory motor liability insurance policies . They came into force on July 3, 2015.

Inspection of a car when purchasing compulsory motor liability insurance

The first change relates to the inspection of the car when concluding an MTPL agreement:

1.7. When concluding a compulsory insurance contract, the insurer has the right to inspect the vehicle, including at the place of residence of the insured - an individual (at the location of the insured - a legal entity), unless otherwise provided by agreement of the parties.

1.7. When concluding a compulsory insurance contract, the insurer has the right to inspect the vehicle. The place for inspection of the vehicle is established by agreement of the parties. If no agreement is reached regarding the place of inspection of the vehicle or if a compulsory insurance contract is drawn up in the form of an electronic document, the insurer will not conduct an inspection of the vehicle.

As before, the insurer may, at his own request, inspect the vehicle. However, starting from July 3, 2015, the inspection place is established by agreement of the parties . If no agreement is reached, no inspection will be carried out.

For example, a driver offers to inspect a car near his home. If the insurer does not agree to this, then the inspection will not be carried out. One more example. The insurer offers to come to his office for an inspection, but the driver does not agree to this. There is also no inspection.

Second important change. Inspection is not carried out when purchasing MTPL via the Internet . If you conclude a contract remotely, the vehicle will not be inspected in any case.

What is the situation with inspections in practice? Usually, when purchasing compulsory motor insurance, an inspection is not carried out at all. This procedure does not bring anything useful to the insurance company and requires certain costs. Over the past 5 years, when purchasing OSAGO, I have never undergone an inspection. Also, I have never heard of other drivers having to go through this procedure.

However, in practice, insurance companies may use the inspection procedure to fraudulently sell life insurance.

Features of purchasing MTPL electronically

The following important change affects the features of concluding a compulsory motor liability insurance agreement in electronic form:

1.11. A compulsory insurance contract can be drawn up in the form of an electronic document.

1.11. A compulsory insurance contract can be drawn up in the form of an electronic document. A compulsory insurance contract in the form of an electronic document can be concluded only when extending the compulsory insurance contract in accordance with paragraph 1.12 of these Rules, including expanding the circle of persons allowed by the owner to drive the vehicle.

Starting from July 3, you can buy MTPL electronically only when renewing the contract . Those. You can only buy a second contract with this insurance company online. The first contract can only be drawn up in the office.

Those. If you have been purchasing compulsory motor liability insurance from the same company for several years in a row, you can issue policies via the Internet. However, if you switch to a new insurance company or buy a new car, you will have to contact the office again.

This change can hardly be called positive. From July 1 to July 3, 2015, it was possible to buy any (including the first) OSAGO policy via the Internet. It is a pity that this state of affairs lasted only 2 days.

Note. From October 1, 2015, the possibility of purchasing the first MTPL policy via the Internet has been returned to the insurance rules.

However, since July 3, 2015, it remains possible to renew the MTPL agreement via the Internet. It will save drivers time.

Refusal to conclude an electronic MTPL policy

The clause providing for refusal to conclude an electronic MTPL policy has also undergone changes:

A compulsory insurance contract cannot be concluded in the form of an electronic document if there is a discrepancy between the information provided by the policyholder and the information contained in the automated compulsory insurance information system.

A compulsory insurance contract cannot be concluded in the form of an electronic document if the information provided by the policyholder does not correspond to the information contained in the automated compulsory insurance information system or is missing from it.

If your insurance company has not entered information about your previous policy into the automated information system, you will not be able to purchase a new policy electronically.

In practice, this change may lead to insurance companies artificially luring drivers into the office and preventing them from concluding contracts via the Internet.

Insurance R wants to impose additional services on the driver when applying for an MTPL policy. Employees of insurance company P deliberately do not enter information about the previous MTPL policy of driver B into the unified information system. Driver B wants to buy a compulsory motor liability insurance policy via the Internet, but receives a completely legal refusal from insurance company P, because There is no data in the information system. Driver B is forced to go to the office of insurance company R to apply for an MTPL policy. Managers of insurance company P are trying to impose additional services on driver B.

It is clear that this change did not provide for such a fraudulent scheme. However, in practice, insurance P may well take advantage of it.

In what cases can you insure a vehicle under MTPL without providing a car? How to do it right?

Before concluding a compulsory motor liability insurance contract, the insurer has the right to inspect the client’s car.

But with the development of electronic insurance, car inspections have gradually become a thing of the past.

The insurer simply checks a diagnostic card from future clients, which lists all defects or damage.

In what cases can this be done without a vehicle?

Is it possible to get insurance without presenting the car? There are many situations when you need to quickly insure a vehicle without inspecting the car. For example, you are in a hurry and do not want to waste time drawing up an inspection report from the insurer.

Another option: the insurance expired while the car was at the service station and you need to somehow get to the insurance company’s office.

Sometimes the policy is issued together with other agreements, for example, when applying for a loan, a collateral agreement, and there is simply no time for a detailed inspection of the car. It happens that insurance is purchased for a very short period only to get to the place of registration or technical inspection (read about how long the policy can be issued here).

The presence of a card is required when applying for compulsory motor liability insurance and the Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance Rules (clause 15). A DK is not needed if the vehicle is not subject to technical inspection in accordance with the law or the frequency of inspection is six months.

Do I need to provide a car when taking out insurance?

According to the MTPL Rules, mandatory for all insurers and their clients, when drawing up an MTPL contract, companies have the right to ask to provide a car for inspection (clause 19 of the Rules). We emphasize: this is the right of the insurer, and not his obligation, because it is not the car itself that is insured, but only the responsibility of its owner.

During the inspection:

an act is drawn up listing the identified defects;
photographs are taken.

If an agreement has not been reached between the parties on the location of the vehicle inspection, then the insurer has no right to refuse to conclude an MTPL agreement.

The situation is completely different, for example, with CASCO (car body insurance) programs. The requirement to conduct an inspection when concluding a CASCO contract is stated both in the policy itself and in the Rules of Voluntary Insurance. The insurer can sell without inspection only express CASCO with a small amount of the insurance limit.

The place for inspection of the car when purchasing compulsory motor liability insurance is established by agreement of the parties. This could be near the insurer's office or the client's home or office. The machine is checked during daylight hours or in a well-lit room. The insurer may postpone the inspection if the car, for example, is dirty and cannot be properly examined and photographed.

Procedure for resolving disputes

If the insurer insists on inspecting the car and refuses to sell you an MTPL policy, then you have the right to:

Apply for a policy online without an inspection (read how to do this using the State Services website here).
Choose another company that will be more loyal to customers.
File a complaint with the regulator (Bank of Russia) or go to court.

The client may demand the conclusion of a compulsory motor liability insurance agreement if there are no legitimate reasons for refusal (for example, indication of false information in the application, insurance fraud, intentional accidents in the past, etc.).

If you truthfully filled out the application and submitted a complete package of documents to the company, then you can safely refer to clause 14 of the Insurance Rules and insist that you have the right to purchase a policy.

In the case where the client agreed to the examination, but does not agree with the content of the expert’s report, he may not sign it and ask for the examination to be repeated (Article 18 of the Federal Law-170) with the participation of another specialist. The signed deed means that you fully agree with its contents.

Concluding an MTPL agreement via the Internet

Can a car owner conclude an insurance contract without a car online? The easiest way to avoid inspection: buy compulsory motor insurance on the Internet. The cost of electronic insurance is the same as paper insurance, but you do not have to go to the office, provide a car for inspection, fill out an application with a pen and sign an agreement.

It is enough to fill out an online application and sign it with a simple electronic signature (we talked about the rules for filling out a paper and electronic application for purchasing a policy in this material). To do this, you will need to log in to the website of the selected insurer, that is, enter a temporary password that will be sent to you on your phone and consent to the processing of your personal data.

The application will need to indicate:

car make, model;
number of drivers;
experience, age of all drivers;
insurance period and period of use of the car;
mileage, vehicle power;
numbers of all documents (registration certificate, PTS, driver’s license);
Personal Information;
diagnostic card number and date of issue;
old MTPL policy number (if any).

The completed application is saved in your personal account. The insurer receives it and sends an electronic signature code to the phone. But this is done only after the insurer sends a request to RSA to verify your data. If the client does not pass the test, the policy will not be sold to him.

After determining the insurance class, the final insurance rate will be calculated. After this, you will only need to pay for the policy in your personal account using a regular bank card. After payment, e-OSAGO will become available for downloading and you can print it and take it with you. If you wish, you can easily obtain a paper version of the insurance by visiting the insurer's office. This is done upon the client’s first request and absolutely free of charge.

Choosing a company

Since everyone has standard sales conditions, companies try to lure customers with various discounts or benefits. Including the opportunity to buy a policy without an examination or quickly undergo diagnostics and receive a diagnostic card at a partner maintenance center. You can view the list of insurers and their addresses on the website of the Russian Union of Auto Insurers (RUA). By the way, it would also be a good idea to study which service stations they cooperate with and how far they are located.

Appealing a refusal

If you are dissatisfied with the service and refusal of insurance, you can always prepare a complaint to the regulator in connection with the violation of your rights as a consumer.

The complaint must indicate:

When and where did you apply to buy a policy?
What rights were violated (with reference to the Insurance Rules or the law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance”).
Your requirements (to oblige the company to sell the policy).

The complaint can be accompanied by a written refusal of the insurer to sell you a policy, a recording of a conversation with the manager and other evidence of the company’s guilt. The scans will need to be either uploaded to the Bank of Russia’s online reception or the original complaint sent by registered mail. You can also go to court if you are determined to insure yourself with the very company that refused you.

If the court rules in your favor, the insurer will be obliged to enter into an agreement with you. However, keep in mind that the claim may take several months to resolve, and during this time you will have to drive without insurance or not use the car. By the way, the court may well rule in favor of the defendant, the insurance company, if it manages to prove that the client himself refused to purchase the policy.

Conclusion

When purchasing compulsory motor liability insurance, insurers have the right to inspect the car and record all damage and defects. This is necessary to correctly assess the insurance risk, because if the client drives a damaged car, then he has a greater chance of getting into an accident. But the insurer does not have the right to refuse a client who did not provide his car for inspection if it was not possible to agree on the location of the inspection.

If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl+Enter .

Why do insurance companies send you for inspection under MTPL?

After contacting an insurance company to issue an insurance policy, the vehicle owner may be faced with a situation where a representative of the insurer offers him to provide his car for a preliminary technical inspection. In this case, the car owner will have a question: “Why do insurers send the vehicle for inspection?”, “Is an inspection required by the insurance company?”, “Is it possible to refuse the required inspection of the car?”

Features, definition, legal basis for preliminary inspection of the machine

A pre-insurance inspection of a car is a mandatory procedure to determine the existing characteristics of the car and check the technical documentation for the car. It is carried out by a representative of the insurance company or an employee of an organization that has special permission to perform an inspection under MTPL.

An inspection by the insurance company of a vehicle before issuing an MTPL policy has a legal basis. This is provided for in paragraph 1.7 of the “OSAGO Rules”, approved on September 19, 2014, by regulation No. 431-P. The provision states that the insurer, before concluding an insurance agreement, has the right to inspect the car to determine its technical condition. This inspection can be done at the place of residence of the policyholder or in the territory where the insurance company is located. The place of inspection of the insurance company is determined by mutual agreement of the parties.

Calculate the cost of compulsory motor liability insurance with our insurance broker.
Reliable companies and free shipping!

Cases when an inspection under compulsory motor liability insurance is necessary

An inspection of the car before issuing an insurance policy is required by the insurance company in the following cases:

the potential policyholder does not have Russian citizenship;
the owner of the car does not have a Moscow registration and is registered in other regions of the country;
the insured vehicle is used in the passenger transportation industry in the form of a taxi.

Purposes of inspection

Insurance companies send a vehicle for inspection for several purposes. This is done in order to:

Establish the real (market) value of the car and compare it with the price of the car indicated by the owner of the vehicle.
Install the existing equipment of the car (presence of an anti-theft system, wheels, headlights, disks, built-in additional devices).
Record on video or photo the damage to the car that is inside the cabin, on the mirrors, glass (windshield, side, rear), body.
Make sure that the car is not stolen - for this purpose, the VIN code and body number specified in the documents for the car and on the car itself are checked, and the registration of the vehicle is also checked at the traffic police.

Inspection procedure

Inspection under compulsory motor liability insurance is carried out in a certain sequence. It consists of the following actions:

checking the identity of the numbers indicated in the car document and printed on the car body;
reconciling the car’s speedometer readings with the distance traveled indicated by the owner of the car;
descriptions of all the nuances of the vehicle configuration;
checking the presence of an anti-theft system;
checking the machine for external and internal damage;
drawing up a report on the inspection results.

Cases when a vehicle inspection is not required

There are several situations when an inspection under MTPL is not required. The inspection may not be carried out if:

the policyholder plans to insure a new car purchased at a car dealership;
the policyholder renews the new insurance agreement and does not have any traffic offenses for the current year.

Regulation No. 431-P (clause 1.7) provides the car owner with the legal opportunity to refuse to have the car inspected. You can refuse in a situation where an agreement has not been reached between the insurer and the policyholder on the place where the technical inspection of the car should be carried out. You can also refuse the inspection if the insurance policy is issued in the form of an electronic document.

Refusal to undergo an inspection, even on legal grounds, will cause the insurance company to refuse to issue insurance. Therefore, in order to obtain compulsory motor liability insurance, it is recommended to agree to an inspection of the car proposed by the insurance company employees.

Features of pre-insurance car inspection under CASCO

Everyone should know the actions of the person conducting the inspection.

Reasons and purposes of conducting a pre-insurance examination

A good car is an expensive pleasure. And ensuring its safety is the owner’s primary task. The main method of car protection is to issue a CASCO policy. After which the insurance company will be responsible for the integrity of the vehicle.

Moreover, compensation for damage is usually calculated in large amounts. Based on statistical data, payments for losses relating to minor damage to a car amount to about 50,000 rubles. But the theft or complete loss of a vehicle is covered depending on the market price of the car.

Therefore, an inspection of the car when concluding a CASCO agreement is carried out without fail by authorized insurance company specialists. All the nuances of the pre-insurance examination are prescribed in the CASCO insurance rules, which are drawn up by each company individually. It is the responsibility of every policyholder to provide your car for inspection.

When performing a pre-insurance inspection , the insurance representative pursues several goals:

Make sure that the vehicle matches the description given by the policyholder.
Reconciliation of VIN and vehicle body number with the numbers specified in the vehicle title.
Checking the completeness of the car.
Fixing existing damage.
Photographing a car.
Reconciliation of the value declared by the policyholder with the market price of the vehicle.

After a successful inspection of the vehicle, a report on its technical serviceability is drawn up, to which the photographs taken are attached, and the exact cost of the CASCO policy is calculated. These documents, together with a copy of the CASCO policy, application, PTS and STS form the insurance file and are stored in the archives of the insurer's company.

When can you not provide a vehicle for inspection?

The CASCO insurance rules stipulate only 2 cases when the vehicle does not have to be submitted to the insurance company for inspection. Firstly, this exception applies to new cars purchased on credit, since in such circumstances vehicle insurance is a prerequisite. And also in cases where the vehicle was insured before its actual use.

The start of vehicle operation, according to most insurers, is the vehicle leaving the territory of the car dealership. Thus, after you get behind the wheel and drive a couple of tens of meters, the car already loses its “new” status.

Secondly, the opportunity to conclude a CASCO agreement without an inspection is available to those clients who renew their insurance. But there are some nuances here too. Only those policy owners who have not applied for payment to the insurance company during the year can do this. Such clients are considered break-even. Retaining such policyholders brings significant benefits to companies, so they are provided with various bonuses and concessions.

Refusal of pre-insurance examination - is it possible?

Is it possible to refuse a pre-insurance examination ? This is exactly the question some policyholders are asking. Of course, submitting your car to the insurance company for inspection is voluntary. And no one can force you. Only such a decision can have its consequences.

The most pressing of these is the insurance company’s refusal to cooperate with you. to issue a CASCO policy without an inspection . This rule is stated in the job description for each insurance agent.

But there are cases when a CASCO policy is issued even before the pre-insurance inspection was carried out; the features of such an agreement are as follows:

The “Special Notes” section of the policy states that the contract begins to be valid from the moment the client passes the pre-insurance examination.
Or an unconditional deductible of 99% is established for the risks of damage and theft.

It is also quite common in a situation where the client refuses to carry out an inspection, to reduce the number of insured events in the event of which the insured is compensated for damage. Or the amount of payment is reduced as a percentage by the amount of the established deductible.

But the insurance agent’s request to provide the car for inspection is a guarantee of the company’s reliability. After all, if the insurer agrees to conclude a CASCO agreement with you without carrying out such a procedure, you should think about refusing this offer. Because if an insured event occurs, you may not receive the expected compensation for damage.

Requirements for the vehicle being inspected

Each insurance company has certain requirements for the vehicle being inspected . Basically they are the same for all vehicles and are as follows:

The owner of the vehicle or his authorized representative must have the originals of the PTS and STS. These documents are required to verify all VIN numbers, body, engine and frame.
Passed diagnostic card. This point involves certain nuances. The policy must be valid at the time of expiration of the insurance contract. Because if an accident occurs and the validity period expires, the insurance company may refuse to compensate you for the damage.
Availability of all original keys and immobilizer (alarm) key fobs. If this point is not observed, then problems may arise when registering a loss for the risk of theft.
Provide a clean car for inspection, as dirt can hide some minor damage, and you will end up with a refusal to pay. If this rule is not met due to weather conditions, the insurance agent may ask you to submit the vehicle for inspection again. One way to solve this problem is an on-site pre-insurance inspection , when an insurer’s employee can come, for example, to a car wash. But not every company can provide you with such a service.
Carry out the inspection only during the day or in a room with good lighting. At night and in the evening, photographing and inspecting vehicles is strictly prohibited. Since this can be a problem during the winter months, many insurance companies have their own pre-insurance inspection booths.

When concluding a CASCO agreement, it is worth considering that failure to comply with any of these requirements may result in a refusal to pay insurance compensation for a loss-making case.

Who has the right to conduct a pre-insurance examination?

Specially trained and authorized specialists or trusted representatives of the insurance company have this right. This is usually the responsibility of the claims department staff. But now insurers often enter into partnership agreements with organizations to conduct independent examinations. This is done so that at the time of registration of the insured event there are no questions about the quality of the pre-insurance inspection on both sides that have entered into the CASCO agreement.

Previously, every insurance agent and customer service manager had the right to inspect a vehicle. But due to the fact that these people are financially interested in taking out the policy and can give some concessions to the owner of the vehicle, they were deprived of this opportunity.

Technology of pre-insurance examination

For any person uninitiated in the intricacies of the insurance business, especially for the future policyholder, it will be interesting how a pre-insurance examination is carried out . After all, it is the quality of the service provided to you by the insurer’s employee that will determine whether you will receive compensation for the loss. Since even the slightest omission during the inspection of the vehicle may lead to a refusal to pay for damages. What actions must an authorized representative of the insurance company take?

He must carry out a mandatory verification of the vehicle’s state number and all numbers affixed by the vehicle manufacturer (VIN, body, chassis, frame) with the original documents - PTS and STS.
Check the mileage data indicated by the policyholder for compliance with its value on the speedometer.
Indicate in the inspection report the features of the vehicle configuration.
Make sure the recommended anti-theft systems are in place.
Record in the inspection report the standard and additionally installed devices and instruments accepted for insurance.
Carry out an internal and external inspection of the vehicle and make sure there are no any types of damage. Otherwise, for example, when concluding a CASCO insurance contract for a used car, register all detected defects.
Fill out the pre-insurance inspection report.
Take at least 8 photographs of the vehicle. It is recommended to take photographs from four corners so that two sides of the vehicle can be seen in the photo. In addition, a photo of the speedometer, brand and size of tires and wheels, interior trim and a plate with the VIN number should be attached to the inspection report.

You can see the recommended method of photographing a vehicle and a sample pre-insurance inspection report in the pictures below.

The natural completion of the pre-insurance vehicle inspection is the signing of the report. This is done by both parties involved in the transaction - the insurance company employee authorized to conduct the inspection and the policyholder himself. Moreover, the client must be provided with a copy of the vehicle inspection report, certified by the seal of the insurance company. This helps eliminate any contradictions at the time of registering an unprofitable business.