Insurance ceiling: Russia will limit CTP payments
In the near future, the State Duma may legislate a ceiling on CTP payments, previously established by a decision of the Constitutional Court. We are talking about clarifying the compensation limit at the level of 400 thousand rubles, in the case when the insurer is unable to provide repair work within the framework of avtograzhdanka. Izvestia found out how this will affect insurers and motorists.
No more paying!
Parliamentarians plan to adopt a bill on setting a ceiling on property payments in CTP before the end of the current spring session of parliament. This was stated by Anatoly Aksakov, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on the Financial Market, during the last Financial Congress of the Bank of Russia.
"There are no plans to consider other significant insurance bills for this period," Interfax quoted the parliamentarian as saying.
According to the law "On CTP", the maximum insurance payment for damaged property for each victim is 400 thousand rubles. However, due to the difficulties in organizing CTP repairs associated with long delivery times for spare parts and an increase in their cost, situations have recently become more frequent when the cost of such repairs has exceeded the established limit. And often the courts, based on the provisions of the Civil Code, which allows the victim to repair the car on his own and demand full compensation from the insurer, ordered insurance companies to compensate for losses in excess of the established limit.
One of these disputes recently reached the Constitutional Court of the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation, which eventually recognized a number of provisions of the law "ON CTP" as inconsistent with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and ordered lawmakers to change them. According to the amendments already adopted by Parliament in the first reading, "in case of violation by the insurer of the obligation to organize and pay for the repair of a damaged vehicle, the amount of losses not exceeding the amount of the insured sum established by subparagraph "b" of Article 7 of this Federal Law is subject to recovery from the insurer," that is, the same 400 thousand rubles.
Fines and penalties without restrictions
The amendments to the law "On CTP" were prepared to develop the position of the Constitutional Court, the Russian Union of Motor Insurers (RSA) emphasized. At the same time, according to the draft law, the provisions on limiting the payment limit do not apply when determining the amount of penalties (penalties) provided for by law, the amount of financial sanction, fine, the organization noted.
"Thus, the courts are not limited to applying penalties to insurers in case of violations in their actions," the RSA noted.
The Union recalls that over the past few years, a negative practice has developed in which payments for CTP by court decisions reached 1 million rubles or more. The RSA said that the practice of the courts in 2023-2025 shows that the proportion of such payments has been growing. This amount of payments is not included in the reserves of insurers, which are created to provide current insurance reimbursements under CTP contracts.
— The increase in payments led to an increase in the average premium for all car owners. The adoption of amendments by the State Duma should lead to a decrease in the share of such payments and reduce pressure on the amount of premiums, as well as partially resolve the issue of disputes over the organization of repairs, the RSA believes.
Clarify the wording
The amendments that the State Duma plans to consider in the near future do not establish any new restrictions, said Sergei Radko, a lawyer for the Freedom of Choice movement. They only clarify the wording of the law in relation to the existing limit of CTP payments of 400 thousand rubles, as prescribed by the Constitutional Court, he explained.
— Practice shows that the courts do not always make a decision obliging the insurer to pay compensation in excess of the limit. They often operate precisely on the provisions of the law "On CTP", which sets a limit on compensation. Nevertheless, since the Constitutional Court ordered lawmakers to amend a number of provisions of this law, parliamentarians are obliged to comply with this instruction," Sergei Radko told Izvestia.
Igor Morzharetto, an auto expert and partner at the Autostat analytical agency, shares a similar point of view. The bill does not radically change the legislation in the field of CTP, he emphasizes. The amendments only specify the rules and regulations for the application of the 400,000-ruble payment limit for property damaged in an accident that has been in effect for several years, the expert explains.
Forget about repairs
The procedure that existed until recently was the only way for car owners who were injured in an accident to receive a more or less adequate amount to repair a broken car, said Anton Shaparin, vice president of the National Automobile Union (NAS). Now she will be gone, he believes.
— The law specifies that rehabilitation repairs are a priority form of compensation for CTP. But in recent years, the share of compensation in the form of referrals to the technical center has been negligible. This is due to the fact that car service stations simply cannot repair a car at insurance rates: practice shows that both the "official" cost of work and the "official" prices for parts have little to do with the real state of affairs. Previously, having been refused a referral for repairs and having restored the car on their own, the motorist had the opportunity to fully compensate for the losses incurred at the expense of the insurance company by filing a lawsuit in court. Now there will be no such opportunity," Anton Shaparin told Izvestia.
It is obvious that rising prices for parts and difficulties in meeting deadlines do not allow insurance companies to organize car repairs at the proper level, says Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine. In his opinion, if the existing limits on CTP payments are already insufficient for objective reasons, it is time to raise them.
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