Limited assignment: Russia will ban payments on CTP above 400 thousand
In the Russian Federation, they want to stop payments on CTP above the limit of 400 thousand rubles. In addition, only the victim himself or his legal representative will be able to receive compensation. These measures are aimed at reducing schemes with car lawyers and increasing the share of car repairs instead of payments through the courts. The changes proposed by insurers should be included in the draft law on the reform of in-kind compensation for CTP, which may come into force as early as this year. The Central Bank conceptually supported the initiative. Now car lawyers are increasingly demanding payments from insurers through the courts that are significantly higher than the limit, but the victim does not receive this money — he is given only a small amount agreed upon in advance. The new measures will be included in the draft law on extending the repair period to 45 days.
What will change in the CTP law?
The Russian Union of Motor Insurers (RSA) has proposed a new approach to the reform of in-kind compensation for CTP. Industry representatives called for the adoption of an abridged version of the bill aimed at increasing the share of car repairs, the head of the RSA Evgeny Ufimtsev told Izvestia. In 2025, according to the mandatory car insurance, cars were repaired only in 6.1% of cases, in the rest, the victim received monetary compensation.
There are now widespread practices where insurers are sued for compensation above the legal threshold of 400,000 rubles. This is mainly done by car lawyers, who, after an accident, buy out the victim's right to claim compensation from the company instead of the person, and the Russian himself receives only small compensation.
As a rule, courts collect excess limits when the insurer has difficulties organizing repairs at a service station. According to the law, the insurer is given 30 days to repair a damaged car, but the delivery of spare parts in the current conditions is often delayed for a longer period. At the same time, customers often do not agree to use used parts, the RSA explained. Because of such overlays, car lawyers are increasingly receiving millions of rubles from insurers, despite the established limit on CTP.
— Such practices are planned to be stopped. The insurance company needs to understand that if it was unable to arrange repairs due to a shortage of spare parts and long delivery times, it will pay a maximum of 400 thousand rubles. Anything above this amount must be recovered from the culprit of the accident," explained Evgeny Ufimtsev.
He added: according to the bill, only the victim himself or his legal representative (for example, a relative) will be able to receive compensation. This will avoid cases when car lawyers intentionally delay repairs (do not arrive at the station immediately or require additional documents) so that the 30 days allotted by law are over and it is possible to file a lawsuit.
These provisions will be added to the bill, which has already passed the first reading in the State Duma, on increasing the repair time for CTP to 45 days. Such changes were previously proposed due to the increased delivery time of spare parts due to sanctions.
The described amendments will become the main ones in the short version of the in-kind CTP compensation reform. They are conceptually supported by all participants in the discussion, said Evgeny Ufimtsev. The Central Bank and the Ministry of Finance also spoke in favor, as they want to increase the share of repairs under compulsory insurance. The bill should start working this year, the head of the RSA expects.
The Ministry of Finance clarified that the issue is being discussed with the professional community, a decision has not yet been made.
At the same time, another amendment under discussion — the payment of wear and tear after repairs — is planned to be postponed for the time being. There are many technical issues to be considered there — the timing of applying for a second compensation, covering hidden damages, and inspections at stations. They still need to be worked out, Evgeny Ufimtsev explained. Therefore, this change may be postponed until next year, he believes.
How Russians overpay for CTP
Today, the main reason for motorists' dissatisfaction with the CTP settlement is difficulties in organizing repairs due to a sharp increase in prices for spare parts and a shortage of parts, said Viktor Tolstoy, head of the analytics department of the Loss Settlement unit at Rosgosstrakh. Because of this, it is very difficult to meet the deadlines set by law.
Auto lawyers actively use this situation. The number of payments in excess of the CTP limit due to property damage increased dramatically in December 2025, and since then the practice has spread to the entire market, said Mikhail Mosesov, Deputy Director of the Underwriting and Reinsurance Department for Motor Insurance at Absolut Insurance. By mid-March, their number in the company had doubled compared to last year. Their compensation exceeds the average payout by six to seven times.
The current judicial practice leads to payments of up to 1-2 million rubles for policies with a set threshold of 400 thousand rubles, added Dmitry Vishnyakov, Director of non-life insurance Business Development at Zetta Insurance. Therefore, the proposed changes are of great importance for the market.
If the law specifies a limit on CTP of 400 thousand rubles, and insurers actually pay more, all market participants will compensate for the additional amount. That is, the excess payments are actually paid by other motorists, explained Ilya Smirnov, director of the Insurance Market Department at the Bank of Russia.
— I think it's unfair. The rules of the game should be the same for everyone. If we think that 400 thousand is not enough, then we need to raise the limits. And this should be decided by the society. However, now the average payout has not even reached this level yet — depending on the region, it varies from 110 to 150 thousand. If the limits of CTP payments are raised, then insurance will become more expensive. And we need to look at how much society is ready for this," he told Izvestia.
He added that the Central Bank also advocates clearer restrictions on who receives CTP payments. Now there are cases when car lawyers apply to the insurance conditionally 2.5 years after the accident with the purchased claim rights. They are trying to prove that the company misjudged the damage several years ago, for example, by a broken headlight, and the payment was not enough for repairs. As a result, they require four times as much. Such cases are considered by the courts, and it is the car lawyers who receive the money, whereas the victim himself has long since repaired the car and has no claims against the insurer. At the same time, payments are actually paid by all other consumers, Ilya Smirnov emphasized.
He added: a person should be able to send their legal representative to court. However, there is already a well—established scheme for this - the victim himself can receive compensation, and then give a commission or a pre-agreed amount to his representative.
Conditions are now being created in CTP for the development of deceptive schemes, when the rights of claim are transferred to intermediaries and unscrupulous "auto lawyers" who act solely for the purpose of extracting maximum personal profit, Igor Ivanov, Vice president of RESO-Garantia, agreed.
The described amendments are intended to limit the actions of such intermediaries and expand the possibilities for in-kind compensation, according to Sogaz. The share of repairs has been falling in the last few years, which directly reflects the economic health of the CTP system, Mikhail Mosesov noted.
Its increase will help to relieve social tension, as well as reduce the share of fraudulent losses, where the goal is not to restore the car, but to make illegal profits, said Dmitry Vishnyakov from Zetta Insurance. Many Russians prefer compensation precisely because of repairs, as this saves them from having to search for stations on their own and monitor the process. This significantly saves time and makes it easier for the customer to repair the car, said Sergey Demidov, Vice President of Renaissance Insurance.
The innovations will lead to a reduction in the number of insurance disputes and a reduction in the burden on the judicial system, as well as contribute to improving the CTP market, curbing price increases and increasing the availability of policies for motorists, Sergey Demidov added. This will help make the CTP payment system more transparent and fair for both sides, agreed Viktor Tolstoy from Rosgosstrakh.
The proposed measures have been overdue for a long time, according to Irina Frank, CEO of Frank Auto.
— When the repair period is extended to 45 days, and the payment of money to car lawyers is effectively blocked, insurance companies will have both time and incentive to develop a network of service stations. If the law becomes fully operational in the second half of the year, then by 2027 we may see an increase in the share of repairs to 20-25%," she estimated.
According to her, there is a risk that with complex repairs, payments of 400 thousand will not be enough. However, according to the current rules, these costs can be recovered from the culprit of the accident. In addition, it is necessary to preserve for the client the opportunity to receive an additional payment if the insurance company cannot arrange the restoration of the car. To do this, an initiative is currently being worked out so that the insurer will compensate for the cost of wear and tear if the person made the repairs themselves.
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