MOSCOW, February 28 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's new
regulations regarding mandatory liability insurance for motor
vehicles, which is also known under its Russian acronym of
OSAGO, will come into effect March 1.
The regulations envision a system of direct damage claims,
which means that in the event of a car accident, the injured
party could claim damages directly from the insurance company
that it signed an OSAGO contract with. Up until now, the
injured party has had to claim damages from the insurance
company that insured the party at fault.
The new regulations will also make it possible to
formalize the required documents on minor car accidents without
having to summon traffic police to the accident site.
At present, people involved in car accidents in Russia
have to wait for traffic police arrival for long hours even if
the damage is minor. Otherwise, especially if there are
disagreements between the involved parties on the circumstances
of the accident or damage inflicted, they could have their
driver's licenses suspended or even be arrested for up to 15
days for "illegally leaving the accident site."
Direct damage claims will be possible on condition that
people are not injured and that both affected parties are
insured not earlier than March 1, 2009.
Insurance companies have voiced fears that the new
regulations will trigger a boom of fraud cases, because it
would be easier to stage car accidents without having to summon
police officers to the place of staged accidents.
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