One of the documents required when receiving insurance payments is a certificate from the traffic police. But, for various reasons, it may not be issued: for example, a State Traffic Inspectorate employee hurried to an urgent call, or the motorist himself did not want to waste his time after a minor accident. In any case, the car owner is faced with the question of whether it is possible to receive CASCO payments without a certificate.
Why do you need a traffic police certificate?
A certificate from the traffic police in form F-154 is needed so that the insurance company can begin considering the driver’s application for CASCO. This paper indicates basic information about the accident: circumstances of the incident, participants, etc.
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The certificate is issued directly at the scene of the accident by a traffic police officer (his data is also recorded). He must issue it without fail (there are exceptions, but more on that later). Subsequently, the paper is transferred by the participant in the accident to the insurance company along with the main package of documents.
After receiving the certificate, the driver must make sure that it contains only reliable information about the accident. Even if there are only slight distortions, it is advisable to clarify them with a traffic police representative.
What to do if not all damages are indicated in the certificate
If the accident certificate does not indicate all the damage, then you can influence the situation in two ways. To expand the list of external damage to the car, you can present photos and videos from the scene of the incident to the traffic police, but in most cases they are not recognized as evidence in the case.
The second and more successful option, according to lawyers, to expand the list of damages is to conduct an independent examination. It is able to identify internal damage to the car that was the result of an accident and is not noticeable during the initial inspection.
After submitting documents under compulsory motor liability insurance or
to the insurance company or any other service, participants in the incident should know where to get a copy of the accident certificate. This information will be useful, since cases of loss or damage to such documents often occur.
A copy of the certificate is provided at the same traffic police department where it was issued previously. The recipient needs to present a passport, which will confirm his identity as a participant in the incident and the right to receive it again.
Thus, the road accident certificate form 154-1 is an official confirmation of damage to the car as a result of an accident and can serve as the basis for receiving insurance compensation. Any inaccuracies in this document may cast doubt on the legitimacy of the injured person’s claims regarding the fulfillment of the insurance company’s obligations. That is why it is necessary to check the correctness of the contents of this paper before signing.
In order not to get confused after a driver hits or collides with an immovable object, you need to know at least the basic steps.
It should immediately be outlined in more detail in which cases insurers usually recognize an accident with one participant.
These may be the following situations that lead to devastating consequences for the vehicle:
- hitting a curb - visible or out of sight (for example, hidden under snow);
- collision with a pole, tree, bus or tram stop (pavilion), traffic light, etc.;
- hitting a hole, an open sewer manhole or water well manholes, a rut in a deformed asphalt surface, etc.;
- if the driver crashed his car into a concrete fence, drove into a store, breaking a window;
- when a driver hits a garbage can or other roadside object;
- hitting sharp-edged pieces of ice, nails, etc.;
- drove incorrectly into the garage box, damaging the sides, mirror and something else of the car;
- throwing into a ditch resulting in damage to the car and other similar types of damage to a car with one participant;
- the open door of another car, which was not moving at the time of the accident.
The insurance company needs this diagram so that specialists can understand how everything happened.
This document should reflect the following important details:
- The location of the vehicle in relation to various real estate objects adjacent to the road and the collision site.
- Braking distance is its length.
- Map of travel routes - width, markings on the road, directions of traffic lanes, islands, fences, traffic lights, etc.
- Date and time of the incident.
- Two eyewitnesses - their contacts, names and signatures.
- Personal data about drivers.
- Registration and technical information about the car.
- The direction in which the participant in the accident was moving before the collision.
However, there is more serious damage to cars after a single collision with an object.
Then you, as an insured person, or rather a policyholder with insured property, fall into the category of clients who should contact the company only if you have certificates from the traffic police.
As soon as you encounter a real obstacle, your car is damaged because of this, immediately follow the following algorithm of actions:
- Call the traffic police officer using the following methods:
- call from a mobile phone - Beeline (020, 002), Megafon (020), MTS (112), Utel (020), or, for example, such operators as in Yekaterinburg - “Motiv” (902);
- call the city traffic police number;
- if a road patrol officer happens to be nearby, then you can call him, asking one of the eyewitnesses to help with this, if you cannot do this for some reason.
- Call the emergency commissioner. Especially if your policy includes VIP service, then the policy form must indicate its telephone number.
- Call your insurer and report the incident, then the insurance company will send an expert to the scene of the collision to calculate the extent of the damage.
- Call an independent expert appraiser if necessary.
- Call an ambulance if the driver is injured. If he himself is not able to call doctors, then he can ask someone else to do this - a witness to the collision. In principle, any person who sees an accident of one car and an injured driver can take the initiative and call an ambulance.
- Do not move the car under any circumstances, and especially do not leave the scene of the accident.
- You can photograph all the consequences yourself while you wait for specialists to arrive on site.
- Before going to the insurance company’s office, you should wait until the traffic police officer has completed everything properly and given you all the necessary certificates.
You should also receive a report from an expert appraiser reflecting the amount of damage. The emergency commissioner will record the consequences of the incident using photos or videos, and will help you with sketching the diagram, collecting and filling out the necessary papers.
The procedure is as follows:
- You need to go to the website of your insurance company, download the accident notification form it offers, or use the form approved by the Central Bank. After downloading, print it out and take it with you in the car. If an accident occurs, you will need to issue this notice while awaiting the arrival of traffic police representatives. It is important to familiarize yourself with what is on this notice so that you can fill it out correctly. After filling out this form, you need to sign the second party involved in the accident. Next, you need to write in paragraph 15 of this document (if you are innocent) “I do not consider myself guilty of the accident.” If there are disagreements with the second participant, you need to wait for the traffic police to continue joint proceedings.
- In the case of drawing up a European Protocol in case of an accident, the traffic police officer on duty who arrived at the scene of the accident may offer to independently draw up documents about the accident by filling out a notification form issued by the Investigative Committee.
You can agree to this option only if the following conditions are simultaneously met:
- there are no victims in the accident;
- Only two cars were damaged;
- there is no disagreement regarding the circumstances of the accident;
- the limit of damage caused to a vehicle is no more than 50 thousand rubles; if it is more, the injured party will have to pay the difference independently.
In case of disagreement with the drawing up of the Europrotocol, you must:
- notify the traffic police officer on duty about the incident, who will send police representatives if necessary;
- record the circumstances of the accident, the location of the participating vehicles, damage in any possible way;
- draw up a map of the accident scene.
The arriving traffic police officers will draw up a report and provide a copy each to the perpetrator and the victim. But a copy of the decision is given only to the culprit. How can the innocent party obtain a copy from the traffic police? The police can only allow you to photograph this document. But in accordance with Art. 29.11 clause 2 of the Code of Administrative Offenses, the victim may ask to be given a copy of the decision.
IMPORTANT! Without these documents to submit to the insurance company, it will be impossible to receive insurance compensation. The insurance company has the right to refuse payment if documents are not provided, so you will have to go to court.
Video about help
Next, you need to go to a stationary post together with the other party involved in the accident to complete the registration.
It is advisable to install a DVR on your car so that in controversial situations there are weighty arguments.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to predict whether a driver will have a traffic accident or not. Even if we are talking about a professional who carefully follows all traffic rules, since he may also be to blame for the accident.
If a driver behaves confidently behind the wheel of a car, this does not mean that all other road users feel exactly the same.
It is possible to smooth out the negative consequences of an accident a little only if you receive the correct compensation from the insurance company, the amount of which will be enough to compensate for all the damage caused to the vehicle and the victim. However, this can only be achieved with proper registration of the accident.
There are several ways in which a car owner can find out in advance what kind of payment awaits him in the event of an insured event under the CASCO policy.
- The vehicle is inspected by an accident commissioner, who makes an inventory of all damage received by the vehicle as a result of the collision. Only after this the vehicle will be sent to a service center with which the insurer has a partnership agreement, where a specialist will inspect all the damage, draw up a calculation and transfer it to the office of the insurance company. Depending on what exactly is specified in the insurance contract, the owner can contact the service station of his choice or trust the insurer’s partner.
- You cannot begin repairing a vehicle until it has been inspected by a representative of the insurance company or a technician at a service station.
- Experts advise not to waste your time and immediately after an accident, seek an independent examination to determine the real damage caused to the vehicle as a result of the collision. In this case, a representative of the insurance company must be present at the examination and must be notified of the upcoming examination 3 days before it is carried out.
Registration of a certificate for CASCO insurance
So, the form indicates key information about the accident, the details of those involved, the damage caused, as well as the title, name and telephone number of the inspector. He will have to put his signature.
A traffic police representative can refuse to issue a certificate from the traffic police for CASCO insurance only in three cases.
- The vehicle had to be evacuated as soon as possible.
- The traffic police officer had to go to the scene of another incident and did not have time to complete the filling.
- The vehicle was needed to provide assistance to the victims.
In all of the above situations, the paper must be issued within 24 hours of the accident. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify in advance which branch the issue will be carried out.
If the inspector evades, refers to the lack of forms, etc. - his actions are illegal. In this case, you can file a complaint with his superiors.
What should you do if your car is damaged by a tree falling on it?
As a result of natural disasters, poor work of utilities or other circumstances, a tree may fall on your car. What to do if such a nuisance happened to you? Check out the list of basic actions that need to be taken:
- Turn off the engine and perform the actions provided for by the traffic rules if the incident occurred while driving.
- Call law enforcement officials. Where exactly to call depends on the circumstances of the incident. If the car was moving, we call the traffic police, if not, we call the police. Recording of the incident by employees of these state authorities. authorities, if you have CASCO insurance, this is a prerequisite for receiving payment.
- Call the insurance company and report the incident. This requirement is usually provided for in the terms of the contract. Some insurers send a representative to the scene of the accident.
- Interviews witnesses (if available). You must remember to write down your personal information and contacts. They may be needed if you go to court.
- Finds out who is responsible for the trees that grow at the scene. Information will be needed. If the insurance company refuses to pay, having legal grounds. In this case, it will be necessary to prepare a claim in court.
- Finds out if there are CCTV cameras nearby. The footage they took will help restore the picture of what happened.
- Takes photographs or videos of the damaged vehicle from different angles.
A fallen tree can only be removed after the police or State Traffic Inspectorate have completed the registration procedure.
Payments under CASCO without a certificate from the traffic police
If for any reason it was not possible to obtain a certificate from the traffic police, you must proceed as follows.
- The first thing you need to do is check your CASCO insurance contract. Quite often, it indicates possible situations when paper from the traffic police is not required to receive compensation.
- Next, you need to make sure that the consequences of the accident actually fall under the terms of the contract. If this is the case, then you can move on to the next point.
- It is necessary to contact the Insurance Company office with a package of necessary documents and clarify whether receiving compensation is really possible.
- The company will conduct an examination, and its representatives will be able to say with certainty whether payments will be made.
If the certificate was simply lost by the driver, then you can take a photocopy of it from the traffic police department. The document is drawn up in two copies, so there should be no problems with this. For issuance, you need to take your passport with you. The validity period of a certificate from the traffic police for payments under CASCO is not limited, so there is no need to worry about it.
As already mentioned, sometimes an agreement with an insurer allows for the provision of payments without a certificate from the traffic police. However, this possibility is often limited by the maximum amount of damage. A list of specific injuries may also be highlighted. Most often it includes:
- Damage to glass elements (a sunroof usually does not apply here).
- Damage to only one body element or two adjacent parts (the bumper may not be included here).
- Damage to paintwork.
Sometimes insurance companies indicate an additional condition that compensation without a CASCO certificate can be paid only once in a certain period of time (most often once a year). This also needs to be taken into account.
Deadlines for application and consideration
There are no rules defining the exact time of filing an application with the insurance company and completing paperwork, but there are insurance rules and contract terms that must clearly state the deadline for filing the application.
The insurance company has the right to independently determine such conditions, but they must be specified in the contract, and if they are not, you should draw the attention of a company employee to this detail during the transaction.
These deadlines may be extended by the insurer, but the insurer must notify the client of this in writing.
The insurer does not have the right to postpone the deadline if there are no grounds for this, for example:
- not the entire package of documents was collected by the client;
- inaccuracies, blots or obvious errors were found in the documents;
- insurance experts have not yet had time to consider all the factors of the covered event;
- these are the difficulties associated with repairing a car at a dealer.
According to the rules of CASCO insurance, 3 days are always given to inform the insurance company about the occurrence of an insured event.
Provide the car for inspection by an expert no later than 5 working days from the date of the accident.
However, already at the scene of the incident an examination can be carried out by an expert witness, in which not only the victim, but also the culprit can directly participate if he remains at the scene of the incident.
This is possible in case of an accident or crime, and in case of natural disasters or accidents, the appraiser will simply inspect the car on site or at a gas station after it is delivered by a tow truck.
Any deadlines for providing documents and checking them will be calculated from the date the insurer makes a positive decision on the insured event, and not from the date the client submits the application.
Car repair
In any case, you need to check all the conditions directly in the contract with the insurance company that issued CASCO. Basic information will be provided here. It is also necessary to check the document in order to ensure its legality in case of refusal by the insurer.
So, the driver must find out exactly what damage can be covered by insurance without a certificate from the traffic police. Typically, insurance companies give a positive answer if the amount of compensation does not exceed 3-5% of the total insurance amount. Sometimes the amount itself may be limited (for example, 15,000 rubles).
The agreement may have additional conditions. Insurance companies refuse compensation under CASCO when two cars were involved in an accident, and the driver of his own free will refused to call the traffic police.
Submitting a claim to the insurance company
Casco is a voluntary type of car insurance and allows the car owner to avoid unnecessary expenses associated with the restoration of a vehicle damaged in an accident or as a result of the actions of third parties.
Depending on the contents of the policy, it covers expenses associated with damage to the vehicle in an accident or possible expenses of the owner arising from theft of the car.
After the occurrence of an insured event, the car owner must inform the insurer about the incident as soon as possible and submit a certain package of documents and an application for payment. In most cases, in addition to documents, insurers require you to provide the damaged car to establish the extent of the damage and determine the amount of compensation.
Appealing an insurance company's CASCO refusal
The insurance company may well refuse to make payments to the driver under CASCO insurance without a certificate from the traffic police. If the motorist has carefully studied the terms of the contract and believes that the refusal is unlawful, it is necessary to contact higher authorities.
First, you need to contact the RSA and/or the Central Bank (you will need to prepare the same documents as for receiving insurance payments). These organizations closely monitor the activities of insurance companies. If violations are discovered in the activities of the insurer, its license may be revoked. Therefore, if the company is obliged to carry out repairs, the problem will be solved as soon as possible.
If the appeals did not help, and the driver still believes that he is right, it’s time to appeal the decision through the court (although, usually, the matter does not reach this authority). In this case, you need to prepare a written refusal from the insurance company to pay under CASCO, a description of the accident with the signatures of the participants, documents for the car, insurance policy and passport. If the court determines that the motorist is right, the insurer will have to pay for the repairs and also pay a penalty.
Occurrence of an insured event without an accident
You know the insurance conditions well. One fine day you realize that your car is damaged and the CASCO insurance payment has been made. What should you do? What is the right thing to do to ensure you receive all the benefits you are entitled to?
Your actions will depend on the circumstances and type of insured event. There are several general categories to consider.
Let's say you come out of your front door in the morning and see that hooligans have worked on your car. What to do and what not to do? Driver's first actions
- Carefully inspect the damaged car.
- You take photographs of all damage.
- Make sure that the damage was caused by someone else's misconduct and not by a collision between two cars. Important: Do not attempt to wipe, clean, pick up spills, or pick up weapons that may have been damaged. Leave the scene as you found it.
- Try to interview witnesses, and if there is someone who actually saw or heard something, get their contact information.
- Write down your vehicle's location and exact address.
- Call the police with a brief message.
While you are waiting for the police To ensure smooth receipt of insurance payments, you must promptly notify the insurer of covered events. Now is the right time for this. Call your insurance agent. If necessary, make sure you're doing everything right by reviewing your contract with the company again.
When dealing with police officers It is very important how you behave when the police arrive on the scene. It is important to familiarize yourself with general tips on what not to say and what is important to emphasize when filling out various government documents.
- Never say that the damage caused by an accident is not that big or significant for you.
- Do not sign documents or say verbally that you have no claims against anyone and that the certificate is just a formality for you.
- When you are asked to give an approximate amount of damage, state that it is huge for you.
What documents should you receive after contacting the police?
- Make sure that the fact that a case has been filed against you is officially recorded. This will be indicated on the information sheet.
- Obtain the certificate necessary to receive payments from the insurance company. Important: This certificate must not state: “Damage caused under unknown circumstances.” With such a certificate, you can forget about compensation from the insurance company.
- Please check the information provided on this certificate. It must accurately indicate this information: - personal information; — registration number and model of the car; - scene.
- Request a copy with a wet round seal of the decision to refuse to initiate a case or a copy of the decision to initiate a case.
Important: If you have been denied a criminal case, you should carefully check the grounds for this. Appeal the decision to the prosecutor's office if the refusal is based on Article 24 of the Criminal Procedure Code, section 1, part 1 (according to this article, the initiation of a case is refused in cases where the policeman has not established the crime, and this may be the reason for the refusal to pay insurance) .
Your next step
- Do not tow your vehicle without checking with your insurer.
- Do not repair the vehicle until payment is received.
- Do not miss the deadline for filing a claim with the insurance company - this may result in a denial.
- Follow the prescribed appeal form strictly and take copies of all forms.
- When submitting your application, ask for the document registration number and keep it for yourself.
- If you have CASCO insurance without an accident, contact your insurance company and write down a list of required documents.
- Please write down your insurance claim registration number.
- Do not be late to have your car inspected by your insurer or independent appraisers.
- Try to deliver documents to the company by registered mail - this will make it easier to obtain confirmation that the documents have been received and confirmed.
- Make copies of all documents you submit.
- Do not accept payments if they are less than stated in the contract. In this case, file a claim, collect documents and go to court.
If you find yourself in this situation, it is very important to take the right steps to receive your full insurance payout. Most of the steps you should take are very similar to the first case described. Below we will consider only some of the features of this case.
First steps if an icicle or tree falls on a car
- If an accident occurs while driving, stop immediately, get out of the car and turn on your sirens.
- Determine the exact address of the accident. If the accident occurred on a highway, use the mileage indicator to determine where the accident occurred.
- Call the police, not the traffic police. Since this is not an accident, traffic authorities will not provide assistance to you.
- Call the road authority responsible for your area. If the accident occurred on private property, contact the property owner.
- Tell your insurers if you have a CASCO insurance claim. Establishing a relationship with the company will only speed up the process of your claim.
It is also worth looking for witnesses, recording the scene of the incident in a photo or video, and not touching anything until the police arrive.
When the police arrived. When police officers arrive at the scene, you need to behave in the same way as in the first case. Make sure your paperwork and records correctly indicate the cause of your vehicle's damage.
It is important that the documents provided to you by law enforcement contain accurate information about the scene of the incident.
The process for contacting your insurance company is the same as for other covered events.
The shock of a driver not finding his car where he left it is difficult to compare with anything else. Much may depend on how precise and coordinated the actions of the driver and law enforcement officers are.
Possible nuances
There are some seemingly insignificant details that few people pay attention to. However, it is precisely because of such nuances that a motorist may be left without insurance payments. Here are the main pitfalls of receiving CASCO payments:
- If two cars were involved in an accident, you will definitely have to obtain a certificate from the traffic police. Such an accident is processed in the standard manner, so you have to call the traffic police and collect a full package of documents. Compensation for damage falls on the culprit's insurance company. If the culprit has CASCO insurance, then the damage to his car can also be compensated (except for cases provided for by the contract).
- A similar situation arises if the damage was caused by third parties, and the owner of the vehicle did not want to call the police.
- Perhaps the contract contains a restriction on the maximum amount of compensation under CASCO without a certificate from the traffic police. Typically, it is 3-5% of the cost of the car. That is, if it is estimated, for example, at 400,000 rubles, then the driver will be able to receive no more than 12,000-20,000 rubles.
- Damage to some elements may not be included in the contract by insurers. This should also be remembered.
- Sometimes, after an accident, it can be difficult for a driver to accurately assess the extent of the damage. However, if the amount exceeds the established limit, compensation will be denied. If you have any doubts, it is advisable to obtain a certificate.
- Often, insurance companies limit the maximum number of cases when compensation can be issued without a certificate from the traffic police during the period of validity of the contract. This point should also be taken seriously.
- There are a number of situations when receiving CASCO payments is generally impossible. For example, repairs will have to be carried out at your own expense if the accident occurred outside the insurance coverage region, the driver was not included in the policy or was intoxicated, traffic rules were seriously violated, the damage was caused intentionally, etc.
The motorist needs to know the terms and conditions of the insurance in detail when taking out the insurance. You also need to re-read the contract immediately after an accident to make sure that the case falls under its scope.
Important nuances when designing
Having enormous opportunities to provide maximum financial protection for a car, comprehensive insurance requires knowledge of many nuances, without which the policy will not cover and will not meet the expectations of its owner.
To avoid misunderstandings when communicating with your insurance company, here are some helpful pieces of information:
- A CASCO policy does not mean that the car is protected from all risks. They must be indicated in the contract, and their list is quite detailed. Even the well-known term “full CASCO” means only an extensive list of conditions under which the insurance company guarantees payment. It should always be remembered that effective compensation is possible in the absence of grounds for refusal and in strict compliance with the insurance rules. Often motorists themselves violate one or another provision, and the insurance company simply skillfully uses the identified circumstances, giving the right to refuse to pay money.
- Payment of the policy does not mean that payment of compensation is obligatory and complete. It is necessary to familiarize yourself with the conditions and type of CASCO paid. In some cases, if there is a deductible or partial CASCO insurance, no compensation is paid.
- There is an interesting nuance related to taxation - the insurance payment is considered taxable income. Be prepared for the insurance company to deduct this fee from the amount transferred.
- Police officers are not always trained to deal with accidents unless they are involved in an accident. Sometimes the policyholder is asked to refuse to consider the case due to minor damage. It is important to remember that failure to file a claim and failure to open a case is fraught with problems. By doing so, the insurer is deprived of the opportunity to bring a claim against the offender on the basis of subrogation.
When you sign up for a CASCO agreement, the company’s employees tell you about all the benefits, additionally paid and free options, without paying too much attention to the procedure for applying the policy itself. Don't count on the insurance company to make a positive decision if you have taken out the maximum coverage. You should always look for witnesses, eyewitnesses who could explain the circumstances of the accident and the arguments of the car owner if the case goes to court. And as judicial statistics show, excluding such a possibility is unprofitable.
Insurance companies with CASCO registration without certificates
In order to better navigate the terms of contracts with various insurance companies, below is a comparative table of the work of the main companies.
Insurance Company | Contact us regarding damage to glass elements | Reporting damage to body parts |
Agreement | Any elements, with the exception of the sunroof and glass roof. The number of requests is not limited. | No more than two CASCO claims during the policy period. |
INGOSSTRAKH | Any elements without limitation on the number of requests. | Only if the paintwork is damaged. |
MSK | Any elements without limitation on the number of requests. | Only if the amount of damage does not exceed 30,000 rubles. But no more than 5% of the insurance amount. |
VSK | Any elements without limitation on the number of requests. | The number of requests is not limited. But no more than 5% of the insurance amount. |
AlfaInsurance | Any elements. The number of requests is no more than two times during the policy period. | The number of requests is no more than two times during the policy period. If several elements were damaged, the decision is made at the discretion of the insurer. |
RESO-Garantiya | Any elements without limitation on the number of requests. | Only if the amount of damage does not exceed 25,000 rubles. The number of claims is one per policy period. |
There is one general rule for all insurance companies: the car must not be involved in an accident with other vehicles. If another vehicle is also damaged, calling the traffic police, obtaining a certificate and collecting the necessary documents is mandatory. Regardless of the amount of damage, compensation will not be made without a certificate.
So, if the question arises about whether it is worth paying extra for the opportunity to receive insurance payments without a certificate from the traffic police, then the answer will definitely be positive (if, of course, the budget allows). However, you should always remember that the amount of damage allowed is limited. The insurance company may also include additional conditions in the option at its discretion. Therefore, it is imperative that you carefully study the contract. By showing excessive arrogance, the driver may end up without compensation at all.
Payments for significant damage to the car
Practicing auto lawyers and insurers are well aware that a car can receive significant damage not only in an accident. They may appear as a result of:
- illegal actions of third parties;
- natural Disasters;
- collisions with animals;
- hitting an obstacle;
- falling of a tree (facade elements, snow) onto the car.
In case of serious damage, the car owner is entitled to more significant payments. The procedure for obtaining them under any circumstances is almost identical, so I propose to consider it using the example of damage resulting from a tree falling on a car.