Repairs with a limit: the court limited payments on CTP
Motorists injured in an accident will no longer be able to recover losses from insurers in excess of the limit of insurance compensation for CTP of 400 thousand rubles. The Constitutional Court concluded that this practice violates the balance of the rights of participants in insurance relations and the stability of the economic situation of insurers. From whom to collect additional compensation for damage now and how the insurance company will be able to pay less than the limit — in the Izvestia article.
The unconditional right
The reason for the proceedings in the Constitutional Court was an ordinary dispute between the victim of an accident and the insurer. The owner of the wrecked car insisted on repairs at the service station and did not want to receive a cash payment.
The insurance company, following the methodology approved by the Central Bank, estimated the damage at 320 thousand rubles. However, the car service counted 580 thousand rubles and refused to repair the victim. The car owner turned to the insurer again and received a payment of 320 thousand rubles, later increased to the maximum amount of the insured sum of 400 thousand rubles. It didn't seem enough to him. and he went to court, which ordered the insurance company to pay the difference between the amount already transferred and the actual repair costs.
The decision of the first instance was supported by other courts, up to the Supreme Court. They proceeded from the fact that the CTP law provides for the unconditional right to repair repairs at the direction of the insurance company and at its expense, if, according to insurers, the cost of repairs does not exceed 400 thousand rubles. In case of violation by the insurer of the obligation to organize and pay for repair work, the victim has the right to make repairs on his own and demand compensation from the insurance company without taking into account wear and tear.
Upsets the balance
The insurance company filed a complaint with the Constitutional Court, questioning the constitutionality of a number of provisions of the CTP law. The complaint stated that they were actually forcing the company to carry out repairs, the cost of which exceeds the limit of the insured amount, as well as to compensate for losses in full if repairs are impossible. This has a negative impact on the financial stability of insurers, the company said.
The Constitutional Court agreed that the provisions contested by the insurance company do not comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The current practice, which imposes full property liability on the insurer if he was unable to ensure the repair of the car, violates the balance of rights of participants in insurance legal relations. It contradicts the goals of ensuring the balance of rights, the stability of the economic situation of insurers and the accessibility of their services to the public, taking into account the risks of rising insurance tariffs.
The Constitutional Court noted that the rise in prices of cars and their components, caused among other things by sanctions, led to a significant increase in the difference between the assessment of repairs according to the methodology of the Bank of Russia and its actual market value.
The law hasn't been changed yet
The legislator must now make the necessary changes to the rules of law. In the meantime, the following procedure will apply. If the market value of the repair exceeds the maximum payment of 400 thousand rubles, and its cost, according to the Central Bank's methodology, does not exceed the insured amount, the victim, if he does not agree to pay extra for repairs at the service station, has the right to demand insurance compensation in cash.
Since restoration repairs, which are a priority form of insurance compensation for damage, do not take into account its wear and tear, when replacing insurance compensation in kind with a cash payment, vehicle wear and tear should also not be taken into account.
"If it is impossible to repair a vehicle due to the excess of the market price of its restoration over the insured sum of 400 thousand rubles, the victim must be paid exactly this maximum amount," the court ruled.
It's a massive problem.
The insurance community welcomed the decision of the Constitutional Court.
"I am particularly pleased with today's decision of the Constitutional Court. This is not only a legal assessment, but also a client assessment," said Evgeny Ufimtsev, President of the RSA.
The plenipotentiary representative of the RSA, Yuri Kolesnikov, speaking at a meeting of the Constitutional Court, complained that the insurance market is on the "red line", behind which "the car insurance system is being destroyed under the guise of protecting the rights of victims."
The problem of collecting the difference between the amount of insurance compensation determined according to the Central Bank's methodology and the market value of repairs has become quite widespread, the press service of the VSK Insurance House told Izvestia.
— In recent years, judicial practice has begun to shift dangerously towards replacing the institution of CTP with full—fledged tort (from Latin delictum - misconduct, offense) liability of the insurer. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation explicitly stated that such a practice threatens the financial stability of insurers, leads to an increase in tariffs and undermines the availability of CTP for millions of citizens," said Andrey Mishin, head of the judicial claims Department of the legal department of RESO—Garantia.
The French version
Igor Morzharetto, partner of Autostat, considers this decision to be sound.
— The law establishes a fixed upper limit. You paid, relatively speaking, 7 thousand for an annual policy, and it is calculated that you will receive 400 thousand in case of anything. If you want to get more, you can buy a DSAGO, a supplement to the CTP, or a hard hat. We took the French version for OSAGO, not the German one. The French say: we have a welfare state, the policy itself is inexpensive, but you can't get 100% of the funds for repairs. You can switch to the German scheme, where you will be compensated for €1 million or more. But for the Germans, everything is calculated very individually. The policy can cost €5,000 per year," the expert told Izvestia.
The figures in the reference books are underestimated
Now car owners are left alone with reference books in which prices for spare parts and work are underestimated, said Anton Shaparin, vice President of the National Automobile Union (NAS).
— If you choose repairs, then you get paid without wear and tear, but in any case, this money is not enough, because the figures in the reference books are underestimated. The maximum 400 thousand rubles in the case of Chinese cars is not even a pair of headlights. The windshield on a Lixiang is more expensive than on a Rolls Royce Cullinan. Expensive spare parts are also available for mass—produced Chinese cars, look at the cost of bumper dealers on Omoda," Shaparin said.
They pay based on wear and tear
There are not many cases when courts have charged insurance companies for repairs in excess of the limit, Sergei Radko, a lawyer for the Freedom of Choice automobile movement, told Izvestia. He said that the court's decision concerns a situation where the victim did not agree to pay extra for repairs.
— Insurance companies often trick the victim by submitting a statement in which there is already a column stating that he agrees to monetary compensation. According to the practice of the Supreme Court, if the victim indicated the details, he thereby accepted the insurance company's offer for a cash payment," Radko said.
Such a payment is made taking into account wear and tear, the entire difference will have to be taken from the culprit of the accident.
Despite the fact that repairs are a priority form of compensation, the law provides for a list of circumstances in which the insurer is entitled to fulfill its obligations in cash, the press service of the VSK Insurance House noted.
"The actions of insurers when changing the form of compensation from repairs to cash payments are directly provided for in the legislation of the Russian Federation with appropriate restrictions," the company noted.
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