You have become a participant in a traffic accident (traffic accident), as a result of which the victim’s car was damaged. Your guilt has been established by a court decision that has entered into force.
Your civil liability for damage caused to the property of third parties is insured. Simply put, you have a valid policy of compulsory civil liability insurance for owners of land vehicles (CVPL) or a voluntary CASCO insurance policy, so, at first glance, there is no need to worry, since the insurance should have reimbursed everything by itself. However, after some time, you receive a written claim from the victim’s insurance company stating that your insurance company did not pay the full amount of insurance compensation and you need to pay the difference between the amount of actual expenses and the amount of insurance compensation paid.
WHY IS THERE A DEMAND FOR COMPENSATION FOR THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE DAMAGE CAUSED AND THE INSURANCE PAYMENT IN THE EVENT OF A ROAD ACCIDENT
This situation is explained by the fact that the victim’s car is insured under a contract of voluntary land vehicle insurance (the so-called CASCO policy). The difference between “autocivilka” (OSTCPV) and CASCO is that, according to CASCO, in the event of a traffic accident (traffic accident), the damage to the victim is compensated not by the insurance company of the culprit, but by the insurance company in which the victim’s car is insured. As a rule, the parties to the CASCO contract at their own discretion determine the terms of insurance and the amount of insurance sums that are paid out in the event of an insured event.
After payment of insurance compensation to the victim, the right of claim passes to the insurance company, to the person guilty of causing the damage. Thus, according to Law No. 85/96-VR, the right of claim that the insured or another person who received insurance compensation has against the person responsible for the damage is transferred to the insurer who paid insurance compensation under the property insurance contract within the limits of the actual costs. Thus, the victim’s insurance claims the payment of insurance compensation to the insured at fault. In case of insufficiency of the amount of pension compensation received from the insurance company of the person responsible for the accident, the victim’s insurance makes a property claim for compensation of the difference directly to the person who caused the damage (subrogation claim).
LEGISLATIVE RATIONALE
It is worth paying attention to the fact that in accordance with Law No. 1961-IV, in the event of an insured event, the insurer , within the limits of the insured sums specified in the insurance policy, compensates in accordance with the procedure established by this Law the estimated damage caused to life and health as a result of a traffic accident , property of a third party. In turn, the insured amount is the amount within which the insurer is obliged to pay insurance compensation in accordance with the terms of the insurance contract.
The damage caused to the victim’s property as a result of the road accident is, in particular, damage related to the damage or physical destruction of the vehicle. The minimum amount of the insured amount, within which the insurer is obliged to compensate the victim for the damage caused to his property, is currently 50,000 hryvnias per person. Usually, in OSCPV policies (“motor civil”), the size of the insurance sum (liability limit) of the insurer for damage to the victim’s property is 100,000 hryvnias per victim. In CASCO policies, these amounts are set by agreement of the parties and may exceed the above.
Therefore, in the event of an accident, the insurance company of the culprit is responsible for the damage caused to third parties within the limits of the insured sums specified in the insurance policy. In turn, the victim’s insurance may not require the perpetrator of the accident to pay the sums of actual costs for the estimated damage caused, if the amount of such sums does not exceed the insurance limit.
A CLAIM FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANY FOR COMPENSATION FOR THE DAMAGE CAUSED
If you still received a claim from the victim’s insurance, it should not be ignored. It is recommended to provide a response with a request to send copies of all documents that confirm the amount of damage caused, in particular, it can be:
- the conclusion of an expert automotive research study on the amount of damage;
- calculation of the cost of car repairs, or invoices for restorative repairs;
- an insurance deed drawn up between your insurance and the victim’s insurance on the compensation of the insurance indemnity.
It is also necessary to obtain documents that confirm the right of the insured victim to receive payments, in particular:
- a copy of the certificate of registration of the victim’s insured vehicle;
- a copy of the CASCO insurance policy of the victim;
- copies of insurance policy payment receipts;
- a copy of the victim’s statement about the occurrence of an insured event.
The presence of such documents will give you the opportunity to find out the real amount of the damage caused, the amount of the insurance payment that was compensated, as well as the right of the insured victim to receive any amount of insurance compensation. It may also force the victim’s insurance company to reconsider the size of its claims against the tortfeasor.
In the event that you are sued for the recovery of the above amounts, we recommend that you promptly seek legal assistance from lawyers in Lviv who have significant experience in protecting the interests of clients in insurance disputes.
Prepared by the lawyer
of the practice of judicial representation of JSC “Bachynskyi and partners”
Sulima Maksym photo: https://protocol.ua/ ]]>
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