Insurance did not reach the front – Kommersant

The Sogaz insurance company, which is the only player in the segment of life and health insurance for military personnel, began to delay the transfer of funds. Experts explain the situation by the incomplete provision of documents or errors in the calculation of deadlines. But if customers prove that the delay was unreasonable, they will be entitled to additional payments.

In July, military personnel and their relatives began to complain that Sogaz was delaying payments on life and health insurance, although it confirmed receipt of documents. Messages about this appeared on the websites of Banki.ru, Sravni.ru, and others.

So, according to one of the victims, on June 27, 2023, Sogaz received documents from the military unit, no payment was made on July 20, and after contacting the company on July 15, they only gave the application number and said that they would call back in three days. According to another citizen, the payment is expected from December 2022. By law, payment is made within 15 days from the date of receipt of the necessary documents.

At the same time, a number of citizens note that Sogaz makes payments as a result. Sogaz did not answer “Kommersant”.

According to experts, the delay in payments may be due to a lack of documents and citizens’ mistakes in calculating the terms. “It is worth starting with the fact that it is necessary to provide the insurance company with the entire list of documents that are established by by-laws and local acts of the insurance company,” emphasizes Ekaterina Bulygina, senior lawyer at the De Jure Law Office.

“It is important to calculate the time correctly — it does not include holidays and non-working days,” says Alisa Andreeva, partner of the Legal Assistance agency. “If an incomplete package of documents provided for by the list has been received, the insurer is obliged to send a corresponding letter with a request for missing documents within five days.” Sometimes, the lawyer adds, the person entitled to the payment does not indicate the method of receiving it or provides outdated data.

Ms. Bulygina admits that the problem may be that the insurer’s staff does not match the increased number of applications in this category. However, according to the head of the regional block of the project “For the rights of borrowers” Galaktion Kuchava, “we should not forget about the desire of companies to refuse to pay.”

Experts note that both a military unit or a commissariat, and citizens can send documents to an insurance company.

“As part of the order of the Ministry of Defense, the documents necessary to make a decision on the payment of the sum insured are drawn up and sent to the insurer through the military commissariats at the place of residence of the insured person,” explains Ekaterina Bulygina. “At the same time, a package of documents can be handed over to relatives or other beneficiaries of the injured (deceased).”

If the military unit is disbanded, the documents are sent to the insurer through the successor unit, and in the absence of such, through the military commissariat at the place of residence of the insured, Ms. Andreeva clarifies.

If the sum insured is not received on time, the serviceman or beneficiaries may claim additional funds.

According to Mr. Kuchava, in case of an unreasonable delay, recipients have the right to expect a fine of 1% of the amount per day of delay. To restore rights, he recommends filing a complaint with the military unit at the place of service or the commissariat at the place of residence of the serviceman or members of his family, as well as the Ministry of Defense, the Prosecutor General’s Office and the military prosecutor’s office.

Julia Poslavskaya, Ekaterina Volkova, Olga Sherunkova