In this article, we will learn how to check the insurance policy of MTPL insurance for authenticity, and why it is needed. Don’t worry: clarifying the issue takes very little time, but you will be prevented from many problems associated with the presence of “fake” insurance.
Why authenticate OSAGO
Since OSAGO is a kind of “obligation”, some drivers consider its acquisition a formality and do not suffer from doubts about its reality.
But in vain! Checking the authenticity of the MTPL policy by number is a matter of one minute, but these sixty seconds will save you from very serious problems. Firstly, if it turns out that your insurance is false, a criminal case may be opened against you under Article 327 of the Criminal Code, “Forgery of Documents”.
Secondly, if an accident occurs through your fault, you will have to pay damage at your own expense. It doesn’t matter to the insurance company if you knew that your policy was fake or not. If the document is fake, then this agreement has not been concluded. Therefore, the company did not receive an insurance premium from you, and you are not entitled to any compensation from it.
In such a situation, you can only contact the police to find the intruders who sold you a fake, and to recover damage from them. And here there are no guarantees of success. Therefore, it is easier to lay straws and ask yourself a question in advance about how to check the MTPL insurance policy for authenticity.
Online quick check
The most convenient way to make sure that everything is in order with your insurance is to “break through” it on the basis of the RSA (Russian Union of Insurers). To do this, go to the website of this organization and verify the authenticity of the insurance policy by ten-digit number.
It is not necessary to wait for the purchase of insurance to complete this operation. Verification can be done directly during the transaction. When you go to execute CTP, take your mobile phone or tablet with Internet access. Ask the agent the form in which he is going to enter your data, and using the PCA website verify the authenticity.
If the "piece of paper" has the status of damaged, lost, stolen, then do not buy such a policy. Also, if you find that the form is drawn up for another insurance company instead of the one with which you intend to conclude an agreement, then cooperation should be refused.
By the way, using the PCA database, you can not only verify the authenticity of the CTP insurance policy, but also find out about its presence if you are an injured party in an accident. You can only find out by registration number whether your “offender” has insurance.
The disadvantage of this method is that the lack of a policy in the database does not yet indicate its invalidity.
Visual inspection
It is possible to verify the authenticity of the MTPL policy without a PCA base, if you know well what signs of protection the forms of this document have. Take a good look at your insurance and make sure that it has all the features listed below.
- The document has a green tint. If you purchased CTP after May 1, 2015, then the policy series should be EEE. If shortly before this date, then BBB. The remaining series are no longer in use, as are the blue forms.
- The form is approximately one centimeter longer than a sheet of ordinary A4 format (210 x 297 mm).
- The policy number consists of ten characters and has a relief (that is, it can be felt with a finger).
- The front side of the policy has a special texture. By touch, it differs from ordinary paper and resembles the surface of a banknote.
- On the back side there is a metal thread 2 mm wide. It should be diving and be on the same level with the paper, that is, when you feel it, its relief is not felt.
- The guilloche pattern on the front side has a relief.
- On the surface of the form there are small red villi. In the ultraviolet they glow, but it is unlikely to be able to verify this in everyday conditions. But faking the villi is not as easy as it seems, so their very presence already inspires confidence.
- When considering the form in the light should be visible watermark "PCA".
In other words, forms are protected no worse than banknotes. Therefore, it is quite realistic to verify the authenticity of the CTP policy only with the help of just examining and feeling. However, scammers are also on the alert, and technology is developing. Therefore, such an inspection still will not give a one hundred percent guarantee.
Contacting an insurance company
Perhaps you do not trust electronic methods and visual study, or these methods did not lead to an unambiguous result. Then there is nothing left but to verify the authenticity of the MTPL policy by contacting the insurance company personally. Explain to employees that you have any suspicions, and ask them to see if there is an agreement with you in the insurer's database.
Electronic CTP
Separately, it is worth talking about electronic insurance policies that began to be issued in the summer of 2015. Since this method of selling a motor citizen has a number of difficulties, it is currently available only to customers of Rosgosstrakh, RESO-Garantii, Renaissance Insurance, and IC Tinkoff.
It is possible to check the CTPL insurance policy for authenticity only by contacting an insurance company or an RSA database. Visually this is not done. But there are very few chances to get a fake. Unless in a very big carelessness. After all, the document is drawn up directly on the official website of the insurance company. Enough precautions:
- When completing the document, make sure that you are indeed on the official website of the insurance company - check its address in the corresponding field of the browser.
- Refuse offers to buy insurance on the agents website, even if a significant discount is offered. An auto citizen cannot be sold at a discount; its prices are regulated by the Central Bank. Buy a policy exclusively on the site of the insurer company!
If a fake is detected
If it turns out that your insurance is a "linden", immediately get involved in the design of this policy. Next, take the fake to the police and write a statement. So you protect yourself from accusations of falsification of documents.
Now you know where you can check the insurance policy for authenticity, and how to avoid the tricks of scammers. Be carefull!