Today in news feeds you can increasingly see information that the next insurance company has lost its license, and car owners who are its customers do not know what to do with their poles now. Some believe that it is impossible to achieve the truth and it is not realistic to return financial investments. Others turn to the court and believe that the legislation provides for such situations, and, accordingly, methods for resolving such disputes.
To date, the Companion insurance company has its license revoked. What to do to those who were clients of this organization? How to know in advance that the UK may lose the license? Is there a chance to return the money? Let's consider everything in order.
Which companies usually fall into the stop list of the Central Bank
The Central Bank of the Russian Federation has already closed about 31 companies and 17 private insurers. Similar measures are being taken in respect of offices that do not comply with the requirements of the Central Bank regarding the financial stability and solvency of organizations. Thus, if companies do not confirm their financial situation, then such insurance companies are bankrupt, accordingly they are put on the stop list and can no longer carry out their activities on insurance of citizens.
Quite often, offices that provide the Central Bank with inaccurate accounting information lose their license. This is usually done in order to form insurance reserves. However, the recommendations of the regulator are not taken into account, which, in turn, is a rather serious violation.
According to these regulations, Companion Insurance Group lost its license and was put on the stop list on June 3, 2015.
What else is happening license revocation
It is worth saying right away that the termination of the company may be due to a host of reasons. There are frequent cases when the Central Bank sends requests to organizations, but receives nothing in response. This is the first signal that the company's activities are being carried out improperly. Of course, after this begins the global audit, during which violations are detected.
It is also worthwhile to understand that revoking a license is an extreme measure that is resorted to only if the insurer has not responded to other methods of interaction.
In addition, it is worth considering that saying that Companion IC is bankrupt is not entirely correct. Since in this case, consumers of insurance services would not have any problems.
Bankruptcy
If this measure of restraint was applied to the insurer, then all victims are guaranteed to receive the due payments.
By and large, bankruptcy is the procedure necessary for the sale of property of the UK. Such events allow the company’s assets to be sold in order to compensate the injured party, that is, motorists and other creditors.
The financial insolvency of the company is proved in court. In this case, the owner of the company, as well as dissatisfied customers, can act as the initiator.
Companion Company History
How events developed in 2015 and before that. Companion LLC insurance company was opened back in 1998 under the name "Middle Volga Transport Insurance Company". However, after 6 years, the management decided to rename the organization in “SOK”.
Starting from the first day of work, the company experienced constant structural changes. To prevent this from scaring off customers, insurers decided to rebrand and re-renamed the company into Companion Insurance Group in 2007.
Since that time, SK began to actively advertise and pretty quickly it became the leader in sales of CTP and CASCO. In 2013, Kompanion even entered the rating of the largest insurers of the Russian Federation.
This increase in position was associated not only with sales of insurance policies to private car owners. The company actively provided services to legal entities. In total, 401 offices of this company were opened in the territory of the Russian Federation.
The Companion insurance company was located at the address: Samara, st. Gagarina d. 141A, and at first the clients of the office left extremely positive feedback about her. Thanks to favorable insurance conditions , the company was able to build up a huge clientele and earn 6.7 billion rubles in 2013. This amount was 87% higher than UK earnings in 2012.
At the end of 2013, Kompanion was already a member of the RSA and was a member of various insurance associations. Thanks to higher incomes, it became possible to conduct more aggressive advertising activities, which the company took advantage of.
However, in April 2015, the Companion insurance company closes for technical reasons. The company’s customers in indignation call the hotline, but it doesn’t work.
Why was closed
As mentioned earlier, SOK has been renamed. Until now, no one knows what exactly this rebranding was related to. However, most likely, the owners of SOK declared bankrupt, after which they could not re-enter the market with a "dirty" name.
Despite all its tricks, the Kompanion’s Directorate was not able to fulfill all the necessary instructions from the Central Bank, as a result of which the most severe punishment measure was taken against the company - deprivation of a license. The reason for this was the numerous negative reviews from the company's customers. Car owners complained that the insurance company did not pay them money and refused to take into account official statements and contracts.
Lawsuits
Initially, by decision of the Arbitration Court of the Samara Region, the company was declared bankrupt. Within 6 months, the property of the office was to be sold in favor of car owners who did not receive their money.
However, negative reviews and complaints from customers served as an impetus for more serious inspections of the UK. During the checks, it was possible to identify criminal acts by the managers of the company. Of course, after this a new stage of litigation began. To date, the Companion insurance company has its license revoked. What to do to those who suffered from the criminal actions of this organization?
How to recover CTP loss
Today, in many cities of the Russian Federation, there are still a large number of deceived customers. Car owners affected by the action cannot be compensated. Many were very surprised to learn that the Companion insurance company had its license revoked. What to do in such a situation, we consider in more detail.
If the company has had its license revoked, then the only way to get the money is to contact the judicial authority. It is also necessary to prepare a pre-trial claim, a sample of which can be found either at the place of circulation or at the RSA (Russian Union of Car Owners). The same organization can clarify whether the insurance company was really deprived of a license or it was declared bankrupt.
The claim drawn up indicates that the car owner requests that he return the unused portion of the insurance premium to him. It is also worth considering that the term of the claim is about 2 years. Therefore, you should hurry up and do not delay to solve this problem.
The most correct action algorithm is as follows:
- A pre-trial claim is being drawn up, a sample of which can be seen in our article or asked for by the PCA. This paper (the car owner’s bank account must be indicated on it, to which money must be transferred) is sent directly to the insurance service.
- After the management of the company does not respond to the claim, a lawsuit is drawn up, which is submitted to the judicial authority.
CASCO
To terminate the insurance contract for a voluntary type of transaction, you must first contact the special department for the settlement of losses, which should be in every organization providing such services. To do this, you can send a letter to the head office of the company and request damages.
If no action on the part of the insurance company has occurred, then you need to act on the same algorithm as in the case of compulsory motor liability insurance.
Is it possible to return the money
By law, the client is entitled to terminate the contract with the insurance service at any time. After that, the company is obliged to return the remaining funds to it. But, as practice shows, to implement this is not so simple.
One of Companion’s clients shared his story of attempts to return money from a negligent insurer.
When he decided to sell his car, he turned to the office for services. Since the car was purchased on credit, the car owner had several policies at once in his hands: OSAGO and KASKO. To save a little and get part of the unused funds, the driver turned to Kompanion. After some time, it was decided to terminate the contract. Upon arrival at the office of the company, the car owner was met by the only employee who informed him that the company had its license revoked. She invited him to fill out an application and returned a return document. However, this paper did not indicate exactly when and how much money will be returned to the client. After 1.5 months, the situation has not changed.
The defrauded client could not get any clarification, as the company’s office is closed and the hotline’s phone does not work.
If an accident occurs
There are situations when a client of an insurance company gets into a traffic accident after a license has been revoked from the insurance company. In this case, you can receive a refund only through the courts.
For the court, it is necessary to prepare papers confirming the fact of an accident, a request for insurance payments, policies and a prepared protocol of an administrative offense.
If during the court hearings it is proved that the company went bankrupt, then the deceived client will have to wait for the start of bankruptcy proceedings. Typically, the sale of company assets begins within 3 months after the recognition of bankruptcy. During this time, you need to send a statement to the arbitration manager as soon as possible with a request to add the car owner to the register of creditor claims.
In custody
Having studied the history and reasons for the fact that the Companion insurance company had its license revoked, it becomes more clear what to do. However, it is better not to fall into such situations at all. In order not to lose money, it is necessary to study the contract with the insurer in detail. The document must list all possible situations and outcomes. If the contract does not say about a possible bankruptcy or loss of a license, then it is better not to sign it at all.