Fines for driving without insurance in 2021: what is the punishment for lack of compulsory motor liability insurance?

Good afternoon, dear reader.

In this article we will talk about a fine for lack of MTPL insurance , which can be imposed both on a driver who forgot to renew an expired MTPL policy, and on a driver who just left this policy at home. Naturally, the size of the fine in the first and second cases will be different.

Within the framework of this article, several situations will be considered that involve a fine for driving without insurance:

Fine for leaving your policy at home.
Fine for using compulsory motor liability insurance for an unspecified period of time.
Fine for a driver who is not included in the insurance.
Penalty for expired insurance.
Do automatic cameras record the absence of compulsory motor liability insurance?
Discount on fines for lack of compulsory motor liability insurance.
Possibility of evacuation of the car to the impound lot.

Let me remind you that a table of traffic police fines is available for download on pddmaster.ru, which also includes the amount of the fine for lack of insurance.

Fine for driving without MTPL insurance

A fine for lack of insurance in 2021 in Russia can be imposed in three different cases:

if the driver has not taken out a compulsory motor liability insurance policy;
in the case of driving a vehicle without insurance with you (but it is issued);
if the policy is expired.

It is worth noting that cameras currently do not penalize people for not having a compulsory motor liability insurance policy.

In this section we will talk about liability when the driver deliberately does not take out insurance. We will examine the remaining cases in detail later in the article.

So, the fine for driving without compulsory motor insurance is 800 rubles. At the same time, traffic police officers have the right to fine you for driving without insurance an unlimited number of times a day. The repeated fine for lack of insurance does not increase and amounts to 800 rubles.

Please note that if a traffic police inspector stops you without insurance, he only has the right to issue a fine; he does not have the right to evacuate the car.

Innovations for 2021

Driving without insurance in Russia in 2021 will become more “transparent”: video cameras will monitor violators. The equipment will record the vehicles and then check if they are insured. Drivers who decide to save on compulsory motor liability insurance will receive letters indicating they will have to pay a fine.

The State Duma is also considering a bill that provides for a significant increase in sanctions for those who do not draw up an insurance contract at all. It is planned that the fine will be 5 thousand rubles (which is approximately equal to the cost of insurance). According to traffic police statistics, about 10% of motorists drive without an insurance certificate. If the bill is approved, then driving without insurance will no longer be profitable.

Why is it necessary to conclude an insurance contract?

A fine for driving without insurance is nothing compared to the possibility of getting into an accident. If another car is damaged due to your fault, or harm is caused to a person’s health or life, you will have to pay for everything yourself. If the car is insured, then the insurance company will handle the payments: the maximum compensation for damage to property is 400 thousand rubles, and to health and life – 500 thousand rubles. Thus, the presence of compulsory motor liability insurance is a guarantee of your peace of mind and the safety of your budget.

Today you can get insurance even without visiting an office. Companies offer online purchasing. You need to provide personal data and information about the car, select a suitable insurance program and expect a document by email.

OSAGO: not as expensive as it seems

Drivers often refuse to purchase insurance for financial reasons. However, there are several ways to save:

Choose the insurance company with the lowest base rate.
Buy a certificate for a shorter period if you use the car temporarily.
Drive carefully: if you have never had an accident during the year, then the Bonus-Malus coefficient will allow you to get a 5% discount.
Take advantage of comprehensive insurance programs. Sometimes insurers offer a discount if the client takes out several policies at once and insures not only a car, but also an apartment, life, and health.
Choose a car with average engine power. The more powerful the engine, the more expensive the policy. The recommendation is relevant for those who have not yet purchased a car.
Indicate in the policy a specific list of persons who have the right to drive the car. If you select the “No restrictions” column, then the cost of the policy increases almost 2 times.

The reform of the Central Bank is also aimed at creating more favorable conditions for policyholders.
Thus, the base rate decreased by 20%, and the system for calculating the coefficient by age and experience increased the number of levels from 4 to 58. Now insurance for experienced drivers is cheaper than for motorists without experience. Another useful innovation is the preservation of the discount during a break in service. Calculate CASCO

What to do if insurance is issued, but you don’t have the policy with you

By law, you must have your insurance policy with you while driving. If there is no insurance for the car, but it is issued, this is also a violation. Responsibility for driving without compulsory motor liability insurance is specified in Part 2 of Article 12.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses. In accordance with the law, a traffic police officer has the right to fine a violator or limit himself to a warning.

The traffic police fine for not carrying compulsory motor insurance in 2021 is 500 rubles.

Please note that a fine can be avoided if the driver provides the traffic police officer with the series and number of the insurance policy to check the availability of insurance in the database.

Those who have issued an electronic MTPL policy must also have a supporting document with them. For example, you can print it out or download it to your e-OSAGO smartphone. Otherwise, you can get a fine for not having compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance.

Regression requirement

In some cases, the insurance company has the right to demand reimbursement of the insurance payment from the client. This means that the person at fault for the accident is obliged to reimburse the insurance company for the funds it spent on paying the victims. The recourse requirement is regulated by Article 1081 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation and applies, among other things, to insurers.

It can be applied if the culprit:

caused harm to the life or health of the victim due to intent;
drove a car while intoxicated (alcohol, drugs or other) or did not comply with the requirement to undergo a medical examination to check for this condition or used alcohol, narcotic or psychotropic substances after an accident in which he was involved;
did not have the right to drive the car he was driving at the time of the accident;
fled the scene of an accident;
is not included in the MTPL agreement as a driver authorized to drive the car he was driving at the time of the accident;
used the vehicle during a period not provided for by the compulsory insurance agreement (if the agreement was concluded with the condition of using the vehicle during the period provided for by the compulsory insurance agreement);
before the expiration of 15 calendar days (except for holidays) from the date of the accident, filled out documents about the accident in a simplified manner, began repairs or disposed of the car, and (or) did not present it at the request of the insurer for inspection and (or) independent technical expertise;
when purchasing a policy, MTPL provided the insurance company with false information, which led to an unreasonable reduction in the amount of the insurance premium;
I drove with a diagnostic card that had expired at the time of the accident. (This paragraph applies only to certain types of vehicles: a passenger taxi, a bus or a truck designed and equipped for the transport of passengers, with more than eight seats (except for the driver), a specialized vehicle designed and equipped for the transport of dangerous cargo);
caused harm while driving a car with a trailer, but did not mention it when concluding the MTPL agreement (valid for drivers of all cars, with the exception of trailers for passenger cars owned by citizens).

Fine for a driver who is not included in the insurance

By law, only those persons specified in the insurance can drive a car. If the driver is a person whose name is not included in the insurance policy, in accordance with Part 1 of Article 12.37 of the Administrative Code, the driver will receive a fine for driving without insurance in someone else’s car. In this case, it does not matter whether the owner of the car, indicated in the OSAGO, is nearby or the car is driven in the absence of the owner.

The fine for a driver who is not included in the MTPL insurance is 500 rubles.

The exception is driving only a purchased car without insurance. In this case, the law allows a person who is not included in the MTPL policy to drive a car within 10 days from the date of registration of the transaction. But only if he has a document confirming the fact of sale or purchase.

Time to re-register

Until recently, after the expiration of the service life of a car insurance policy, an additional 30 days were provided to contact the insurer for a new document. However, this law has now been repealed. For this reason, it is advisable to contact the insurer in advance to subsequently obtain the document.

If the insurance is expired

The insurance policy is issued for 1 year. Also, many car owners who use their car at certain times of the year (for example, in winter and spring the car is parked in the garage) take out OSAGO for 6 months, as it is more profitable. Thus, drivers need to ensure that their insurance does not expire and renew it on time. If you do not issue a new MTPL policy in a timely manner, you may receive a fine for driving with expired insurance.

The fine for expired insurance is 800 rubles.

Please note that many drivers think that the fact of registration of compulsory motor liability insurance is enough to safely drive a car. They often think that there is a certain amount of time they can drive with expired insurance. But driving a vehicle with an expired insurance policy is equivalent to driving a car without an MTPL policy. Therefore, in this case, the penalty is the same as for driving without insurance.

Do traffic cameras record the absence of compulsory motor liability insurance?

The vehicle tracking system using automatic cameras has been launched in test mode in Moscow. The experiment is still ongoing in 2021. So there is no exact time frame for introducing this practice throughout the country yet.

The detection system thanks to traffic cameras will work with the traffic police and RSA databases as follows:

The video camera records the license plate number of the car.
The information is sent to the traffic police database.
The state number is compared with the vehicle identification information (chassis number, body number or VIN).
Using the machine identification information, a document is searched in the RSA database.
Information about car insurance is sent to the traffic police.
In the absence of a motor vehicle license, a penalty is issued.
The notification is sent to the owner by email.

If you have insurance, then you don’t need to worry about the new system. But if it is overdue by at least a day, then punishment is guaranteed to follow. Its size will not differ from the standard one - 800 rubles for each violation.

Is it possible to appeal

You can appeal a fine for not having a car insurance policy if the driver considers the actions of the traffic police officer to be unlawful. Reasons for appeal may be as follows:

a traffic police officer refused to check the insurance policy in the database by number and series and issued a fine for driving a car without insurance for not 500, but 800 rubles;
the fine was issued for a car that was purchased less than 10 days ago, or if the person is not included in the insurance of the car given to him less than 10 days from the date of registration of the deed of gift;
the fine was issued for a vehicle that does not require a mandatory insurance policy.

The complaint must be filed within 10 days of receiving the decision. You can send your petition to the department that issued the fine, or to the court.

Road accident without compulsory motor liability insurance policy

If you have an accident and do not have a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, the fine for its absence will remain the standard amount of 800 rubles.

Culprit

In addition to the fine, the culprit will have to pay at his own expense for repairs to the damaged vehicle and reimburse the costs of treatment for those injured in the accident.

The culprit may be subject to a regressive claim from the insurance company for damages if it makes the payments itself.

Victim

For the victim, only the procedure for applying for compensation from the insurance company will change. Since he does not have his own insurer, he will write a statement to the insurance company of the person responsible for the accident or to the RSA. And of course he will be fined.

Appeal

The procedure for challenging the actions of a traffic police officer most often concerns the incorrect establishment of an article when qualifying a violation.

There are two ways to defend your right:

pre-trial procedure - when a complaint is written to the head of the traffic police department;
judicial method - a person draws up a statement of claim to appeal the administrative protocol.

You must file a complaint or claim within 10 days.

Clause 3, Part 1, Article 30.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses provides for the possibility of appealing a decision made by an official to:

superior body/official in the manner prescribed by Federal Law No. 59-FZ dated 02.05.2006;
court - in the manner prescribed by procedural rules.

Art. 30.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses establishes a 10-day period for appealing the punishment, the starting point is considered to be:

day of delivery of the decision;
date of receipt of a copy of the document.

Expert opinion
Artemyev Dmitry

Experience as a forensic expert in the field of automotive technical examination for more than 2 years, more than 3 years of work in the field of insurance disputes, appealing guilt in road accidents.

Ask a Question

Part 2 of Article 30.3 provides that the period can be restored if the person proves that the absence occurred for a good reason. To do this, the citizen must submit a corresponding petition addressed to the authority where the application is sent (the head of the traffic police department or the court). The person authorized to consider the complaint must inform about the satisfaction or refusal to restore the deadline.

What it is?

Expired insurance is a MTPL policy whose validity period has expired . It doesn’t matter whether it expired a couple of days ago or a year ago. The main thing is that in the event of a traffic accident that requires compensation for the costs of paying off your damage from the insurance company, the policy issued to you will be valid until its expiration date.

It turns out that a citizen, moving along the roads with such a document, directly violates the requirements of the law, namely Federal Law No. 40, which requires citizens to have an insurance document that is valid.

ATTENTION : That is why, if the traffic police and other law enforcement agencies establish a violation of the law, the violator will immediately be held accountable.

Do I need to purchase a new document?

In fact, insurance in the form of compulsory motor liability insurance is not cheap . Therefore, citizens who take out insurance in this way more than once look for ways to circumvent the requirements of the law.

For example, they do not want to purchase documents immediately after the expiration of the existing policy. That is why it is worth talking in more detail about how long you can drive if your car insurance has expired, and what are the chances of such drivers avoiding punishment?

Having expired insurance is a violation in itself. Therefore, it absolutely does not matter how long the policy is overdue: one day or one year. In any case, the penalty for an expired policy will be the same.

Validity period of OSAGO

Each insurance company offers clients not only individual insurance conditions, but also its validity period . After all, some may be satisfied with a very short period of time, sometimes not even six calendar months, while others, on the contrary, are interested in long-term cooperation.

ATTENTION : The standard contract for MTPL insurance is concluded for a period of one year. Therefore, every year citizens change their insurance documents. The minimum validity period of an MTPL insurance policy is only three months.

In a number of situations, agreements between the parties are allowed that provide for the issuance of a compulsory motor liability insurance policy for a longer period. For example, this applies to corporate clients who purchase MTPL insurance for several cars at once and for several years in advance.

Watch the video about the validity period of the MTPL policy:

Exception to the rule: who can drive without insurance?

There are five cases when a compulsory motor liability insurance policy is not needed, all of them are prescribed in Federal Law No. 40. So, the following can drive without insurance:

Cars and vehicles owned by the RF Armed Forces.
Vehicles that, due to design features, cannot reach speeds above 20 km/h;
Vehicles that are, in principle, not allowed on the road (by law);
Non-wheeled transport (for example, tracked or sled);
Vehicles with foreign registration (however, they must still have international insurance).

The list is quite specific, and the average car owner is unlikely to be included in it. Are there any concessions for ordinary drivers?

How to avoid paying traffic police fines in full

I will say right away that it is possible not to pay traffic police fines in full on legal grounds. True, not all, but insurance fines are among them.

For your information. Fines that can be paid at a discount:

Don't be afraid, you are not breaking any law and nothing will happen to you for it.

The state , in order to increase collections to the treasury, gave conscientious payers a 50% discount on fines . Federal Law No. 437.

The only BUT!

You can pay the fine with a 50% discount within 20 days from the date of the decision on the administrative violation.

Note! Within 20 days from the date of the decision, and not from the moment the offense was committed!

Payment of the fine with a discount must be made in advance, since it will take several days for the transaction to credit the fine to the account.

And if the money is credited within 21 days, the discount will be canceled and you will have to pay the fine in full.

Now, if you were stopped by a traffic police officer on the road and drew up a report on an administrative violation, then it is not difficult to track the start of the period within which you can pay the fine with a 50% discount.

How to renew?

If your MTPL policy has expired, you can renew such a contract by going to the office of the insurance company. To do this, you need to deposit funds again, as well as provide the necessary package of documents. Today, it is possible to renew your MTPL policy through online services .

Therefore, you can easily go to the insurer’s website, where you will receive an e-MTPL policy electronically for a new term. But it is impossible to renew via the Internet if you do not have a registered personal account on the resource. Be sure to complete it, and then complete the registration following the instructions on the site.

In some cases, issuing a policy online is cheaper than visiting a company branch.

Is it possible to pay less?

Having committed an offense for which a fine is provided, there is the possibility of some savings. In this case, the “discount” is provided absolutely officially, regardless of whether the expired insurance is paid for or the fact of its absence during the movement. This innovation was included relatively recently and provides a fifty percent discount if the fine is paid within a period of no more than twenty days from the date the fine was issued.

Payment of half the fine is possible for all offenses related to driving vehicles, with the exception of those expressly specified in the law.