The Central Bank’s OSGOP tariffs for passenger taxis raised questions among insurers

Tariffs for compulsory civil liability insurance of carriers for passenger taxis, developed by the Bank of Russia, have raised questions among insurers. According to insurance market participants, there is a risk that they will be insufficient for high-loss categories of drivers. This may lead to a repetition of the situation with compulsory motor liability insurance, when, despite the mandatory nature, insurance companies avoid concluding contracts. However, for taxi drivers, the absence of such a policy can pose serious risks.

The Central Bank has established insurance rates for compulsory civil liability insurance of carriers (OSGOP) in the passenger taxi segment, according to a draft directive published on Wednesday, December 6. The minimum cost of the OSGOP policy will be 1.3 thousand rubles. per year, maximum – 5.4 thousand rubles. Within the established corridor, insurers will independently determine the base rate for calculating the cost of the policy depending on the individual risk profile of the policyholder. According to preliminary calculations by the VSS, the average cost of an OSGOP policy for a taxi will be 2.5–3 thousand rubles. in year. In the fall of 2024, provisions of the law will come into force, according to which taxi drivers will be required to have an OSGOP policy. Otherwise, they will face a fine of 40–50 thousand rubles. for officials and individual entrepreneurs and 0.5–1 million rubles. for organizations, and in extreme cases – suspension of permission to transport passengers.

“First of all, the introduction of OSGOP for taxis will protect passengers of this type of transport,” notes the VSS. At the same time, according to experts, the new requirements expand the market for insurers. An additional market is emerging in the amount of about 1 billion rubles, estimates Kommersant’s interlocutor from among the insurers. According to the VSS, the volume of the current OGSOP market is about 8 billion rubles.

From a market point of view, as is the case with any new compulsory insurance segment, this will lead to the emergence of additional volumes, which will be especially beneficial for companies that are already actively working in this segment, notes Olga Vostrikova, partner of the B1 group of companies. This type of insurance covers the carrier’s liability only for the life and health of the passenger, as well as for his luggage, that is, the coverage for this type is narrower than for compulsory motor liability insurance. In this regard, it is likely that the loss rate of this type should be less, since the bulk of losses under compulsory motor liability insurance are damage to third-party cars, explains Banki.ru expert Alexander Makarov. At the same time, the insured amount for causing harm to the life of a passenger under OGSOP can be at least 2 million rubles, while under OSAGO the maximum compensation for the death of a person is 500 thousand rubles.

At the same time, experts fear that the proposed tariff may be insufficient. The VSS notes that the frequency with which taxis become the culprits of road accidents, based on the results of January-November 2023, was 24%, which is 5.5 times higher than the average frequency of accidents in the Russian Federation. “At the same time, there are vehicle fleets with both much lower and much higher accident rates. And whether the tariff will be sufficient for highly unprofitable parks is now difficult to assess,” the VSS believes.

If the insurance market does not support tariffs, then a situation may arise of evading the conclusion of OSGOP contracts, says Kommersant’s interlocutor in the insurance market. This risk is certainly not zero, but it is significantly less than under compulsory motor liability insurance, Mr. Makarov believes. However, the ARIA notes that OSGOP operates a reinsurance pool, which should reduce the risks for the solvency of the insurer accepting a high-loss vehicle fleet for insurance and help distribute the increased risk across the entire market.

Yulia Poslavskaya