"Auto Citizen" is inevitable

It will cost rural motorists cheaper than those in the capital

The closer July 1st comes, the more Russians learn about compulsory motor third-party liability insurance, the law on which comes into force in the second half of the year. Time pressure is forcing officials and insurers to increasingly explain to car owners why and against what they will be insured. Yesterday, insurers once again talked about the impossibility of delaying the implementation of the law - this was the subject of a press conference “On some aspects of the implementation of the law on compulsory motor third party liability insurance.”

Tariffs and insurance rules, meanwhile, have not yet been approved by the government. Market participants themselves believe that the tariffs will be approved within one to two weeks. This, in their opinion, will speed up the preparation of all necessary documents. A compulsory “automobile” policy , according to Andrei Slepnev, general director of the Russian Union of Auto Insurers (RUA), will be cheaper than a voluntary one, and the package of services provided to the policyholder will be wider.

The general director of RSA recalled that with the help of correction factors for driving experience, driver age and engine power, introduced at the insistence of the government, the law “pursues precisely social goals.” If, for example, a Muscovite, the owner of a VAZ-2109 car, pays 3,960 rubles for insurance, then a rural resident will insure his liability on the same “nine” for only 554 rubles, that is, almost eight times cheaper. And for a foreign car with an engine power of up to 130 hp. A compulsory motor vehicle policy in the capital will cost 5,900 rubles, while in the countryside it will cost 1,100 rubles.

Russian companies intend to allocate $200 million just to prepare for the implementation of the law. Part of this money, Mr. Slepnev noted, insurers have already spent, for example, on expanding their regional network (it has more than doubled since the adoption of the law) and technological equipping companies.

Most insurers support the introduction of the law, although they fear that it may initially lead to losses and increased fraud. In turn, RSA, taking into account the desire of market participants to work with the “motor citizen”, plans to expand the trade union to 100 members (the union currently includes 61 insurers).

Alexey ROZHKOV