Currently, a huge number of vehicles travel on the roads of our country. Since situations during the movement can happen different, each driver should know that he should always have an insurance policy in accordance with applicable law. A lot of motorists are faced with a problem when for some reason they do not have time to extend the insurance for their vehicle. Therefore, they have a question: “Is it possible to travel with expired OSAGO insurance?”. According to the current legislation, it is strictly forbidden to drive a car out of the garage without an insurance policy. But what happens if you still leave the car with an invalid liability insurance? What types of punishment are imposed for this by traffic police officers, as well as what fines and what amounts are applied. You will learn more about this and much more.
Why do insurance delays occur?
Expired compulsory motor liability insurance is not a crime or a verdict, but just a consequence, for which there are certain reasons. According to statistics, every year on the roads there are more and more drivers who move in their car with an expired citizenship.
The reasons for this are:
- lack of time to visit the insurance company;
- forgetfulness or negligence of drivers;
- voluntary refusal of insurance services.
These are the most common reasons why many motorists drive with expired insurance. Recently, however, the cause of this problem has a different nature, not related to the factors mentioned above. The thing is that nowadays it became simply impossible to extend insurance on time due to huge queues. Thus, after a few hours of waiting, many drivers simply turn around and leave.
What is the reason?
Responsibility for expired compulsory motor liability insurance in many respects lies with the insurance companies themselves. The thing is that over the past few years, the cost of the policy has increased significantly due to the inclusion in it, in addition to insurance of the vehicle itself, many additional services, such as life, health, property insurance and others. This led to the fact that OSAGO began to hit very hard on the pocket of car owners.
In order to attract new customers and increase their income, many insurers began to offer motorists the opportunity to apply for an insurance policy without unnecessary services. There were quite a few who wanted to take advantage of this opportunity, which, in turn, led to the formation of huge lines.
Expired CTP: definition of the term
Every driver should know that there is no such thing in the law. Of course, this term is used to establish the fact of non-extended insurance, but it does not have any legal support. Until 2009, according to the SDA, each driver had the right to drive a vehicle even if the insurance policy expired, but today they do not have this option.
How are things today?
The month prescribed by law was given to motorists in order to think about the need for compulsory insurance of their vehicle and to extend expired OSAGO insurance. During this time, the policy was considered to be expired, but it did not lose its strength, and traffic police officers did not have the right to fine the driver.
These days things are completely different. The police have the right to issue a fine the very next day after the policy has ceased to be valid. This is due to the fact that state authorities have revised the legislation and decided that each driver should worry about extending the insurance policy in advance, even before its expiration.
What will be for driving a car with an expired insurance policy?
Each driver is interested in the question: "MTPL expired, what threatens for it?" The answer to it can be found in the first part of Article 12.37 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, which was amended in 2014, which entered into force on November 15, 2015. According to this legislative act, for driving a car in the absence of insurance or if the policy has lost its force, a pecuniary penalty of 800 rubles is provided. After paying the fine, the driver will immediately be able to continue driving.
The amount is quite small, so many drivers prefer to pay a fine several times than spend fabulous money on renewing a car. Moreover, you will have to pay a monetary penalty only if a traffic police officer stops you.
How many times can a monetary penalty be imposed for overdue insurance?
So, you already know what the penalty for overdue CTP insurance is. However, another completely logical question arises here: “How many times a day can a driver be fined for missing or delaying an insurance policy?”
According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, traffic police officers do not have the right to issue fines to one driver several times for the same offense. However, in the case of overdue insurance, things are a little different. The penalty in case the driver expired mandatory motor vehicle liability insurance for 1 day is imposed upon the fact of detection, so if you are stopped three times a day, then you will have to pay the penalty the same number of times. This is due to the fact that the fine is not issued for the delay of the policy itself, but for driving an uninsured vehicle, which is a separate violation and requires a separate monetary penalty in each case.
The amount of monetary penalties for an overdue policy for legal entities
With the amount of monetary penalties for private individuals, everything is clear, but what is the penalty for overdue CTP insurance for legal entities? Everything is not so simple here, since this area of legislation is still far from perfect. The whole problem is that a legal entity has the right to purchase an insurance policy for each vehicle owned by the company. However, everything related to car insurance is not dealt with by the employer, but by the employee who drives the car. It is he who pays the fine issued for the expired insurance policy.
How to be in this situation?
If you work as a driver in a company, you need to promptly remind your management of the need to extend auto citizenship. It’s best to start doing this at least three months before the policy expires. If the extension of the expired CTP is not completed in a timely manner, and you were fined, then you should seek compensation from the employer. If the director of the company refuses reimbursement, then the only way out in this situation will be to go to court.
Validity of the insurance policy
Before answering the question of whether it is possible to extend an expired insurance policy, it is necessary to talk about the validity period of a motor citizen.
Today, there are three categories of vehicles that are subject to insurance:
- Foreign cars temporarily residing in the territory of the Russian Federation. This category is subject to compulsory insurance, and the driver is offered a temporary policy valid for 5 to 15 days. At the same time, the cost of OSAGO is the same regardless of the term.
- Foreign cars moving around the country. In this case, it is mandatory to purchase a 20-day CTP.
- Any vehicle that will be put on a permanent register in the traffic police. Absolutely all cars registered in the Russian Federation fall under this group. An insurance policy is purchased for them for a period of validity from three months to one year.
When making insurance, it is necessary to take into account the fact that not all drivers use their car throughout the entire time. Some leave the country for leisure or work, while others travel only in summer or winter. There are also those who plan to sell their cars in the near foreseeable future. If you have an expired MTPL policy, what to do in this case will be described later. It is imperative to take into account the period for which you need a new policy so as not to overpay for the months that the car will be idle.
CTP extension: what is needed for this?
Each driver is interested in the question of whether OSAGO can be extended. If the policy has expired, then you just need to extend it. To do this, you need to find a suitable insurance company offering the most favorable conditions and low rates.
In addition, you will need to prepare a package of documents, which includes:
- statement of established form;
- passport of a citizen of the Russian Federation for private individuals;
- certificate of registration of a legal entity for legal entities;
- a document on the registration of the car in the traffic police;
- technical certificate;
- inspection pass.
This package of documents is mandatory for registration or extension of the insurance period, so it should be prepared in advance to speed up the whole process.
What to do in case of an accident if the MTPL expires?
If you have got into a car accident, but you have expired compulsory motor third-party liability insurance in your hands, then the best way out of this situation is to solve problems with the other party without involving the relevant law enforcement agencies. Indeed, in addition to paying repair to the injured party, you will also have to pay a fine.
If the driver of the accident is another driver, then you can receive compensation for the damage caused on the spot or through a court. If the accident happened through your fault, then the repair of the vehicle, compensation for moral damages and reimbursement of other associated costs will be entirely on your shoulders. At the same time, refusing to pay compensation is not recommended, since the injured party or his insurance company may file a lawsuit.
Is there a chance to avoid a fine with an expired insurance policy?
Probably, each driver is interested in the question of whether responsibility for driving a vehicle can be avoided without a compulsory insurance policy or if its validity period expires. No matter how strange it may sound, there is one option to free yourself from paying a fine. However, for this you need to prepare in advance for a meeting with traffic police officers. In addition, another driver must drive the car.
If you have an expired CTP, and you didn’t have time in time or for some reason did not want to extend it, then you can avoid punishment if you write a power of attorney to drive the car to another person. If during the stop you are not driving, you will not be followed by any monetary penalty.
However, it is very important to understand that this will only work if you are not driving. The thing is that the current legislation allows you to drive a car to any driver in whose name the power of attorney is written. In this case, he is legally considered as a new owner, who has a legal 10 days, during which you can drive a car without an insurance policy.
What is the situation with car insurance abroad?
If you compare the amount of the monetary penalty paid by Russian motorists for driving without insurance with the same in foreign countries, then 800 rubles will seem like real pennies. The size of fines for this violation in European countries can reach 700 euros, and in some cases a driver’s license can be taken away from the driver at all. However, why go far if in neighboring Ukraine, where the standard of living is not so high, the size of the fine can be from 425 to 850 hryvnias (from one thousand to two thousand rubles), which is higher than in Russia.
Thus, it would be logical to assume that in the near foreseeable future in Russia the fines for driving a car with expired insurance can be increased to very impressive amounts.
General tips and tricks
To avoid various problems, it is recommended to pay all fines issued for violation of any traffic rules in a timely manner. The thing is that a penalty is charged for late payment, as a result of which 800 rubles can not only double, but the driver can be imprisoned for 15 days. It is best to pay fines within 20 days after drawing up the administrative protocol. In this case, you can get a discount of 50 percent.
In addition, it is not recommended to wrangle or be rude to the traffic police. You need to talk with the authorities very calmly and politely, and you should also try to explain the whole situation and ask them to enter your position. In this case, there is a high probability that you will not be issued a fine, but only a verbal warning will be issued.