Subtleties and nuances of auto repair under CASCO: procedure, calculation and timing

In accordance with the Federal Law “On the organization of insurance business in the Russian Federation”, if an insured event occurs under a CASCO policy, the insurer can replace the cash payment with compensation for the costs of repairing the vehicle.

The conditions for restoring the car are specified in the contract concluded between the company and the client.

You should carefully read all the nuances of the document before signing it, especially with the terms of compensation in the form of repairs under CASCO.

Peculiarities

The main distinctive feature of insurance compensation under CASCO in the form of car restoration at a service station is the lack of clear regulation of the timing of repairs in regulations.
Unscrupulous insurers can take advantage of this by delaying restoration work.

On the other hand, in some cases, repairs are preferable to cash payments .

For example, if the car is insured taking into account wear and tear, if you choose to have it restored at a service station, you will not have to pay extra for new spare parts.

Will body repairs be carried out if the driver himself is at fault?

In most cases, the insurance company compensates for the damage, even if the policyholder himself is to blame for the damage to the car. However, there are a number of reasons for refusing to carry out repairs:

1. the vehicle was damaged intentionally in order to obtain payment;
2. the driver is not included in the CASCO policy;
3. the person driving the car was intoxicated or grossly violated other traffic rules;
4. The car, known to the owner, was in a faulty condition, which could have caused the accident.

When should the owner demand that the insurance company replace the part?

Elimination of damage by replacing rather than repairing a part (bumper, glass, including windshield, etc.) is possible in the following cases:

• the malfunction cannot be eliminated due to technical reasons;
• the damaged body, cabin or frame of the vehicle does not meet the requirements for acceptance for repairs;
• structural elements and stiffeners are complexly deformed;
• parts have damage, the elimination of which is impractical from a technological or economic point of view.

Conditions after a traffic accident

The conditions for repairs under CASCO are specified in the insurance rules . To obtain compensation for damage, a number of conditions must be met:

1. The event that occurs is recognized as an insured event. To do this, the policyholder must provide the company with:
   documents confirming the occurrence of an insured event;
2. evidence of interest in preserving the vehicle insured under the contract;
3. confirmation of damage.
4. The policyholder fulfilled its obligations under the contract in full. If payment of the insurance premium in installments was discussed, then the cost of repairs is calculated minus the unpaid part.
5. At the time of the event, the insurance contract was valid.

Is it possible to get it if the damage is not confirmed by a certificate of an accident?

In cases provided for by insurance rules, you can receive compensation, including through repairs, without providing a certificate of an accident.

To do this, you need to present the vehicle for inspection by an employee of the insurance company.

Typically,
a simplified procedure for accepting payment documents applies in case of minor damage :

• if the paintwork of one or two body elements is damaged;
• if parts such as headlights, glass, mirrors, antenna are damaged;
• if the amount of insurance compensation is no more than 3% of the insured amount (regardless of the amount of damage).

The number of such requests is limited to 1-2 times during the policy period.

Will they repair cars with damage not caused by an accident or caused by third parties?

If the car is damaged as a result of illegal actions of third parties, the insurance company will send it for repair if all supporting documents are provided. In this case you will need:

1. a certificate from the police department or from a local police officer, to whom you will need to contact with a statement about the offense committed;
2. a copy of the resolution to initiate a criminal case (or refusal to initiate one).

Are there damage limits: do they carry out minor repairs to chips/scratches?

In case of minor damage to the car, it is more profitable to agree to monetary compensation , if such an option is provided for in the insurance contract.
Repair is also possible, but it is likely that it will take a long period of time, although the owner could continue to use the vehicle during this time and restore it himself or in a workshop of his choice in a shorter period of time.

Important! The voluntary car insurance contract does not provide for compensation for minor damage to the paintwork as a result of wear and tear.

Other difficulties when performing repairs under CASCO

In addition to refusing to repair the insured car, the car owner may also face other difficulties. Typical similar situations currently include:

• ​ the car owner has in his hands an insurance contract that stipulates conditions that deliberately delay the completion of repair work;
• ​ various delays and delays on the part of the service station when accepting the car for repairs;
• ​ actual failure to perform repair work when formally accepting the vehicle for maintenance.

To ensure that such situations have not occurred, it is necessary, even at the stage of concluding a car insurance contract, to carefully study all its clauses regarding the timing of repair work under CASCO.
In the event that they are absent, it is necessary to require their inclusion in the car insurance contract. In the event that this circumstance becomes known after the occurrence of the insured event, it is necessary to contact the insurer with a pre-trial claim, in which you independently establish a reasonable time frame for completing such work.

Rules and laws

Voluntary types of insurance, which include CASCO, are regulated by the provisions of several legislative acts. Among them:

• Federal Law “On the organization of insurance business in the Russian Federation”.
• Federal Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights”.
• Civil Code of the Russian Federation.
• Resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court (for example, Resolution No. 20 of June 27, 2013).

There is no separate regulatory act regulating the conditions for the provision of voluntary transport insurance services.

The main documents regulating the relationship between the insurance company and the client are the insurance contract and rules. They vary from company to company, but generally may not conflict with federal law.

Is it possible to choose which service will provide the service?

When concluding a voluntary insurance contract, all conditions for possible compensation for damage are discussed .
Typically, the insurance company offers three compensation options:

1. monetary compensation (cost of spare parts and work to restore the vehicle);
2. repairs directed by the insurer;
3. repairs at a service station of the policyholder's choice.

Attention! A separate item is the restoration of a car that is under warranty from an official dealer.

How is the type of compensation selected? The policyholder can specify any of the options presented. The choice of the type of compensation is made at the stage of registering a CASCO policy.

If the contract specifies only repairs directed by the insurer, then in most cases it will not be possible to choose the service yourself .

However, if the insurance company violates the deadlines for completing restoration work, the policyholder will be able to choose a service station himself, and then recover the losses incurred from the insurer.

Will a replacement car be provided?

In accordance with Part 2 of Art. 20 of the Federal Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, when repairing a durable product, the owner is provided with a similar one for a while.

However, there is a list of exceptions established by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 55 of January 19, 1998, and vehicles are included specifically in them.

But the possibility of getting a replacement car during repairs still exists in the following cases:

1. This condition is provided for in the insurance contract.
2. The car is under warranty and the official dealer is ready to provide a replacement. Often this service is paid, and the insurance company does not compensate for its cost.

Time standards

The maximum period for repairs is not regulated by law .
It is only stated that it must be “reasonable”.

What is the maximum time frame for restoration repairs? The insurance company's rules must indicate the duration of the work (usually from 15 to 45 days).

In case of serious damage to the car, it makes sense to wait a month for restoration work at an official dealer, in other cases - up to a month and a half.

How long should I wait for approval from the moment I submit the documents?

The average processing time for an application is 15 days from the date of submission of the package of documents.

How long does it last?

On average, repairs last about a month , but the time may increase if the service station is very busy, or there is a lack of necessary spare parts or a specialist with a certain qualification.

Reference! The period for carrying out restoration work must be recorded in the direction for repairs.

Nuances of franchising

Franchise is an agreed amount within which insurance compensation is not made.
If the voluntary insurance contract for a vehicle stipulates the presence of a deductible, then part of the repair costs will have to be borne by the owner of the car.

If the culprit of the accident is another driver, you can compensate for the amount spent by applying for compensation under OSAGO .

Let us clarify that through the culprit’s insurance company it will be possible to reimburse only the deductible. Applying for payment in full for the same case under CASCO and OSAGO is illegal.

How to receive a TTS payment?

UTS - loss of marketable value of a car . The term applies to foreign cars no older than 5 years and domestic cars no older than 3 years with a mileage of up to 100 thousand or 50 thousand kilometers, respectively.

TTC means deterioration in the appearance of a vehicle or a decrease in its value as a result of an accident or repair work.

The Presidium of the Supreme Court, in its review “On certain issues of judicial practice related to voluntary insurance of citizens’ property,” recognizes the insurance policy as real damage requiring compensation.

During the process of repairing a car after an insured event under a CASCO agreement, loss of marketable value may occur as a result of:

• body geometry corrections;
• replacement, repair of its removable or non-removable parts;
• painting the outside of the body, plastic parts;
• disassembly of the interior, which may damage the factory assembly.

To receive payment for TCB, you must take the following steps:

1. Submit an application to the insurance company for compensation for damages associated with loss of commodity value.
2. Conduct an independent examination confirming the fact of harm.
3. If there is no response from the insurer, file a lawsuit, citing Article 1082 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, as well as the Federal Law “On Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance” (Clause 2 of Article 12, Clause 2 of Article 15).

In this matter, the court usually takes the side of the plaintiff - the position of the Supreme Court on the issue of payment of TTS has been expressed more than once, and there are a sufficient number of judicial precedents.

Rights of the policyholder when repairing a car under the insurance policy

The owner of a CASCO car policy, in case of failure to carry out repair work on his car within a reasonable time, has the right to:

• ​ compensation for moral damages from the service station;
• ​ demand for full payment of the cost of repairs;
• ​ search for another service center that will perform similar repair work in the shortest possible time;
• ​ independently set deadlines for completing certain repair and restoration work;
• ​ receiving a discount from the service station.

Such requirements can be satisfied either voluntarily or by court decision. In the event that pre-trial settlement of the dispute is unsuccessful, it will be necessary to go to court. This can be done either independently or through a representative. In this case, it will be necessary to keep in mind not only the provisions of the Civil Code, namely Article 314, but also the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”.

Features for a machine under warranty

According to the “Review on certain issues of judicial practice related to voluntary insurance of citizens’ property” approved by the Presidium of the Supreme Court, a car under warranty can only be repaired by an official dealer.

This is due to the fact that when repairs are carried out at another service station, the car owner loses the opportunity to be serviced under warranty at an authorized service center, which is fraught with additional costs for him in the future.

Important! If there is no official service station nearby, the owner of the insured vehicle has the right to demand monetary compensation for restoration work at the cost of repairs at the dealership.

What actually influences the choice of service?

Dealers offer policies to visitors of car dealerships not for reasons of improving the level of service or customer comfort. The dealer’s motivation is material remuneration (commissions), which sometimes amounts to a third of the cost. Additionally, a period is agreed upon during which the capacity must be loaded with repair orders for a certain amount. Naturally, insurers make every effort to fulfill their obligations by sending victims to the required service station. It’s nothing unusual when insurance documents require someone to replace a windshield in a remote area of ​​the city, neglecting the alternative quality service on the next street. That's how this business works.

The policy for issuing referrals is simple - the company owes the dealer insurance sales, and therefore income. In the event of a cessation (reduction) in the flow of equipment for repairs, the seller activates leverage - stops trading in contracts on the territory of dealership centers.

How is the cost calculated?

The cost of repairing a vehicle insured under CASCO can be determined as follows:

1. Insurance company experts draw up estimates based on the results of the vehicle inspection. Moreover, if the insurance rules do not specify the method for calculating damage, it can be carried out at the average market cost of repair work from an official dealer, repair centers specializing in a specific brand of car, or universal service stations.
2. The policyholder provides documents from the repair organization or an opinion from an independent expert company (by prior agreement with the insurer).

Which option will be used in a particular case depends on the behavior of the owner, because he must order the examination at his own expense.

What does the estimate look like and why doesn’t the insurance company hand over the file for review?

Estimate - a document calculating the cost of restoration repairs . It indicates the details of the vehicle and its owner, a list of repairs carried out and spare parts installed, as well as their price.

Sample estimate for repairs:

If you want to get acquainted with the cost of repairs, the policyholder may face restrictions on the part of the company.

Currently, there is no legislation regulating the possibility of requesting payment documents from the insurance company.

The procedure for reviewing the documentation is regulated by the internal rules of the insurance company.

The insurer will be required to provide documents only if the car owner files a claim in court (for example, in the case of poor-quality repairs).

Time period for consideration of a decision on compensation for damages

Each company has its own payment terms. Typically, the insurance company has 15-30 days to pay the damage after the application is accepted. During this period, the insurer is obliged to study the documents received and determine the amount of loss.

If the contract stipulates that payment is made based on the results of the examination, then the timing of compensation depends on how quickly it is carried out. Next, the company draws up an insurance act and makes the payment itself or sends the client to a service station, whose bills it then pays.

Procedure

When an event stipulated by the insurance contract occurs, the car owner must notify the insurance company about the incident as soon as possible.
Usually the contract sets a period of 3-5 days, but some insurers must be notified immediately by telephone.

Then you will need to submit an application for payment , accompanying it with all the necessary documents.

What documents are needed?

To contact the insurance company you will need:

• claim for damages;
• original insurance policy;
• documents from law enforcement agencies (certificate f-154, accident report);
• policyholder's passport;
• Vehicle title;
• driver's license;
• inspection certificate.

How to get a referral for service?

A referral for repairs is issued after the policyholder provides a complete package of documents to receive compensation. It must indicate:

1. a list of problems to be corrected based on the inspection results;
2. dates of commissioning for repairs and completion of restoration work.

Attention! Unless otherwise established by the contract and insurance rules, the insurer is obliged to issue a referral within a week from the date of submission of documents (Part 2 of Article 313 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

What does it look like?

There is no single form of referral for repairs .
Each company has its own. The document contains the following information:

• policy number;
• information about the car: make, model, number, year of manufacture;
• owner details;
• name, address, telephone number of the service station;
• sum insured;
• franchise (if established by agreement);
• list of problems, planned types and timing of work (filled out by service station employees).

The direction is issued to the policyholder.

Where is the purpose stated in it?

It is impossible to find out in advance about the repair or replacement of parts from the repair order . The list of damage and planned work to restore the car is filled out by car service specialists after a detailed inspection of the vehicle.

Referral validity period

The repair order is valid for 3 years.

What to do if they delay implementation?

The timing of car repairs must be fixed in the contract (Article 943 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). Additionally, the completion date of the restoration work must be indicated in the repair order.

If the insurance company is delaying repairs, then the following actions must be taken if the deadlines are delayed:

1. Send a claim to the insurer demanding replacement of the repair organization, payment of the work order, or elimination of any other reason preventing the restoration of the vehicle.
2. If there is no response, contact a service center of your own choice, then present to the insurer documents confirming the cost of repair work and spare parts.
3. If settlement is not possible at the preliminary stage, file a claim in court.

Penalty amount

The penalty for delays in repairs ranges from 1% to 1.5% of the cost of repairs for each day of delay. Additionally, the insurer may be subject to a fine in the amount of 50% of the insured amount for failure to comply with the requirements of the plaintiff-applicant on a voluntary basis.

How to accept a car?

Upon completion of the repair, the owner accepts the vehicle . If the work is done efficiently and the specified defects are eliminated, the client signs an acceptance certificate for the car.

This document confirms the absence of claims on the part of the insured against the service station and the insurer. The car must be accepted within 1 to 3 days.

Required documents

The policyholder collects a package of documents, which includes:

• Driver's license.
• Insurance policy.
• Confirmation of maintenance completion.
• Certificate confirming the registration of the vehicle.
• Certificate of vehicle damage.
• Information about the participants in the accident.
• Protocol on offense (copy).

If the cause of the insured event is caused by a natural disaster, then an additional document from the Hydrometeorological Center service is submitted. In case of fire, the car owner presents a fire report issued by the territorial division of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

The repair and restoration period begins from the moment the documents are accepted by the insurer. If the terms of insurance do not provide for this period, then the citizen has the right to draw up an application demanding to indicate the period of work.

In this case, the insurer can:

• Reply to the policyholder about agreeing on the terms at the service station in writing.
• Refer the applicant to the service station for an answer or refuse the information.

If this situation does not suit the client, who has the right to be familiar with the timing of the work, then he can turn to the law that protects consumer rights. In this situation, the court finds the insured in the right.

Actions upon detection of a low-quality service

If it is discovered that the repair was carried out poorly, the insurer, and not the car service center, is responsible for this (Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court No. 20 of June 27, 2013).
What the car owner needs to do:

1. Conduct an independent examination confirming the errors of the repairs performed.
2. Make a claim and send it to the insurance company.
3. If there is no response from the insurer, you should go to court.

Making a claim

In case of improperly performed repairs, a claim is filed with the insurer . It should list all the signs of poor-quality restoration work and offer options for resolving the situation.

You can offer the insurer one of three compensation options:

1. eliminate the deficiencies of the repair work performed free of charge;
2. pay the costs of re-repair;
3. reduce the cost of work performed by compensating the policyholder for the difference in cash.

The claim should be sent by registered mail or delivered personally to a representative of the insurer. The document is drawn up in two copies.

If you hand over the claim, the insurance company employee must put the date of receipt and signature on the client’s copy.

Sometimes deficiencies in the repairs made are revealed after the vehicle has been accepted.

In this case, you should remember that a claim can be sent to the insurance company within 2 years from the date of receipt of compensation .

How to do an examination?

To assess the quality of the restoration work carried out, you should contact an independent expert organization.

The specialist conducting the examination must be certified and included in the state register of experts.

When assessing repairs performed at a service station, the expert is guided by:

• Rules for conducting an independent technical examination of a vehicle No. 433-P dated September 19, 2014, approved by the Bank of Russia.
• The unified methodology for determining the amount of costs for restoration repairs in relation to a damaged vehicle No. 432-P dated September 19, 2014, adopted by the Bank of Russia.

Whose side is the court on?

An analysis of judicial practices in cases of poor-quality repairs shows that courts more often make decisions in favor of the plaintiffs, that is, the policyholders . In this case, you can demand compensation from the defendant for the following expenses:

• compensation or additional payment for repeated high-quality repairs;
• funds spent on a lawyer;
• compensation for moral damage.

Does the company have the right to refuse?

Find out what happens if the insurance company refuses to pay for full car repairs.
The vehicle is repaired at a service station, if possible and economically feasible.

For example, if a car is stolen or completely lost, the insurance company will only be able to pay monetary compensation for the harm caused to the client. also a number of grounds for refusing any form of compensation .

Why does the insurer sometimes not want to approve and send the vehicle for restoration?

In some cases, restoring a car may not be profitable for the insurance company:

1. The insured vehicle is still under warranty (prices from an official dealer, who in this case must be contacted for repairs, are usually significantly higher than the market average) or, on the contrary, is quite old (the company loses money on installing spare parts without taking into account wear and tear).
2. The insurer and the repair organization cannot agree on the list of necessary work.

Important! If the possibility of compensation for damage through repairs is provided for in the insurance contract, the client may insist on restoration work. If necessary, you should submit a written claim to the insurer.

In what case can he refuse to pay?

The insurance company may refuse to pay the full cost of repairs in the following cases:

• Defects on the vehicle appeared due to wear and tear.
• An element was damaged that, at the time of concluding the insurance contract and inspecting the vehicle, had deficiencies, and these were not eliminated after the policy was issued.

Disappointing conclusion

The opinion of the policy owner is not decisive; the tone is set by mutual financial agreements between dealers and insurers. The buyer is simply manipulated and turned into an additional source of profit. There is no doubt that in case of “unreasonably high” expenses, the cost of the next insurance will be immediately adjusted. The new price will necessarily include real expenses that occurred over the past period of time, commissions due to agents and car dealers. In this cycle, only the client who pays for everything is left in the cold.

How to get money?

Whether it is profitable to agree to repairs under CASCO at the direction of the insurer or to demand payment in cash depends on the insured event.
For example, for minor damage, it is more advisable to agree to monetary compensation .

How can you get money instead of repairs? To receive compensation in cash equivalent, when notifying the insurer of the occurrence of an insured event, this must be indicated in the application.

If the policy does not provide for the right to choose the form of compensation, the decision is made by the insurance company.

Is this always possible?

When concluding an agreement, you can significantly save on the cost of the policy by choosing as compensation only repairs at service stations with which the insurance company has an agreement.

In the future, this option does not imply the possibility of receiving funds. Therefore, ideally, the terms of the policy should provide for an alternative.

Then you can act depending on the circumstances, choosing the fastest and most profitable option for yourself.

In case of total damage to the car or its theft, the insurance company always compensates for the damage in money .

Moreover, in the second option, the value of the remaining property suitable for sale is deducted from the total insured amount (or the remaining balance is transferred to the insurer).

If deadlines are missed

It is possible to receive monetary compensation instead of repairs if the insurance company violates the repair deadlines specified in the contract.

In accordance with the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 20 dated June 27, 2013. In such circumstances, the policyholder has the right to entrust the work to third parties or to carry it out independently, and then demand reimbursement from the insurer for the costs of restoring the vehicle.

Judicial practice in this matter depends on the region.

Often the courts are content with the calculation of an independent expert and do not require the provision of documents confirming the repair of the car, but in some cases it happens differently.

It is advisable to familiarize yourself with judicial precedents in advance and, if necessary, repair the car at your own expense, keeping the contract, receipts and other evidence of the work performed.

Is cash compensation always beneficial?

Which option for receiving compensation is ultimately more beneficial for the policyholder? It all depends on the circumstances. Repair should be preferred in the following cases:

1. The car is under warranty and will be repaired by an authorized dealer.
2. The policy specifies the condition of providing a cash payment taking into account depreciation.

You should agree to monetary compensation under the following circumstances:

1. The damage caused by the accident is minor and the vehicle is drivable.
2. The insurance company has a conflict with the service where repairs are planned to be made. This often happens if the insurer delays agreeing on the list of works or does not transfer money to the service station on time.

Where is the best place to get your car repaired?

The main alternative in the question of where to repair a car under CASCO is associated with 2 options - an official or unofficial dealer. In the first case, we mean service maintenance carried out under a long-term contract.

The official dealer ensures that the work is carried out by highly qualified specialists; issuance of a guarantee for at least 1 year; repairs using high-tech equipment and installation of original spare parts; ordering missing parts from the vehicle manufacturer. Main disadvantages: increased cost (20-30% higher than that of an unofficial dealer); risk of fraudulent schemes; delay in repair time (sometimes more than 2 months).

It is better to use the services of an unofficial dealer if it is necessary to repair a vehicle more than 3 years old. The cost of repairs will be noticeably lower. At the same time, private service stations provide a fairly high quality of work.