The military will be allowed not to bear civil liability

Mobilized citizens will be able to terminate the OSAGO policy ahead of schedule, returning the balance of the premium for the unused insurance period. This follows from the draft instruction of the Bank of Russia posted for public discussion. To use the option, the car owner needs to send an application to the insurer. Independent experts propose to freeze OSAGO automatically on the day of conscription.

The Bank of Russia has published a draft amendment to the rules for compulsory insurance of civil liability of car owners, introducing a new basis for early termination of an OSAGO contract by an insured (.pdf). Until now, there have been three such grounds: revocation of the license from the insurance company, replacement of the owner of the car, and “other cases provided for by law” (for example, the death of the insured or the owner of the car). Now the list is added “conscription for military service for mobilization in the armed forces of the Russian Federation.” The discussion of the project will last until November 10.

The Central Bank said that it will be possible to apply for the termination of OSAGO both at the office of the insurer and online – through a personal account on the company’s website (regardless of how the policy was purchased). “Another person will also be able to prematurely refuse OSAGO for a mobilized person by a notarized power of attorney, which will spell out the right to early termination of the contract,” the Central Bank explained.

Early termination of the policy means that part of the premium paid (the cost of insurance) is returned to the car owner.

Recall that according to the current rules, 23% of the bonus is non-refundable – they are intended for RIA (expenses for doing business) and deductions to compensation funds. Thus, for example, if a driver purchased an OSAGO policy for 6 thousand rubles. On October 24, and already on October 25 he was called up and he applied for a refund, the insurer will return only 4.6 thousand rubles, Kommersant calculated. If the policy was concluded 60 days ago (August 24), then the refundable balance of the premium will already be 3.86 thousand rubles.

The new grounds for early termination of OSAGO will most likely be used by mobilized insurers who are at the same time the only person allowed to drive a car, as well as those who, for some reason, do not want (or cannot) issue a power of attorney to another person to make changes to their contract, suggest in the Russian Union of Motor Insurers (RSA). The union noted that many contracts involve driving a vehicle by several drivers, so the termination of OSAGO in connection with mobilization may not be of interest to such car owners, since in this case they will have to obtain a new policy. “In any case, termination of the contract on the new proposed basis will be the right, and not the obligation of the insured,” the PCA noted.

“We support the initiative of the Central Bank, it will help simplify the procedure for early termination of the OSAGO agreement and the return of part of the paid insurance premium in the event of mobilization of the insured,” Kommersant was told in the press service of Alfastrakhovanie.

Tatyana Kudryavtseva, head of the insurance portfolio management center for OSAGO of the VSK Insurance House, calls the proposal of the Central Bank “timely and relevant.”

“Additional protection of the mobilized is an important task of the state,” she says. “Of course, the issues of law enforcement of these norms still need to be worked out, but the process has already started. And we are ready to actively participate so that such a service is as fast and comfortable as possible for such citizens.”

Vice-President of the National Automobile Union (NAS) Anton Shaparin proposes to introduce vacations for mobilized citizens: the OSAGO policy from the day of conscription into the army is automatically frozen and subsequently extended for the period during which the car owner is in the armed forces. “This will allow not only to support a person, but also to keep the clients of insurers,” Mr. Shaparin explained to Kommersant. “Because those who terminate the policy will most likely not conclude it again, as tariffs are growing, spare parts are becoming more expensive, OSAGO payments cover less and less losses.” At the beginning of October, NAS addressed Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin with a request to initiate a bill on such holidays.

Earlier, we recall, the authorities introduced a number of other benefits for the mobilized. At the end of September, for example, the Federal Bailiff Service announced the suspension of enforcement proceedings against debtors participating in hostilities. The Central Bank, in turn, recommended that credit institutions provide mobilized borrowers with vacations and restructurings, and without charging fines and worsening credit history, as Kommersant talked about earlier.

Ivan Buranov