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Publication date: 23.05.2024
lawyer, 23 years of experience in enforcement.
The procedure for compensation by the insurance company for property damage in the event of a road accident
If the person who caused the damage has a compulsory civil liability insurance policy for the owners of land vehicles, the victim must apply to the insurance company of the culprit of the road traffic accident for insurance compensation, and in case of unjustified non-payment of such compensation - with an appropriate lawsuit to the court.
In order to exercise his right to compensation for damage as a result of a road accident, the victim must notify his insurance company or the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine in writing no later than 3 working days (Article 41 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mandatory Civil Liability Insurance of Land Vehicle Owners vehicles" No. 1961-IV) on the occurrence of an insured event.
In order to receive insurance compensation, the victim or another person who has the right to receive compensation, within 30 days from the date of submission of the notification about the traffic accident, submits an application for insurance compensation to the insurer. The documents attached to the application are listed in Art. 35 of Law No. 1961-IV.
According to Art. 34 of Law No. 1961-IV, the insurer is obliged to start its investigation within 2 working days from the day of receiving a notification of the occurrence of an event containing signs of an insured event.
After receiving a statement from the victim, at the request of Clause 34.2 of Law No. 1961-IV, within 10 working days, the insurance company is obliged to send its representative to conduct an inspection of the vehicle and assess the amount of damage to be compensated. Its size can be contested by conducting an independent assessment of the damage by the victim, contacting official service stations or assessment organizations.
In practice, the insurance company's experts can deliberately underestimate the amount of damage, as it is profitable for the insurer to pay as little as possible. In this situation, it is recommended to invite an independent expert appraiser and, based on his opinion, demand appropriate payments. The register of certified appraisers is posted by the State Property Fund of Ukraine on its website, the register of certified forensic experts is posted on the website of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, and the register of certified emergency commissioners is posted on the website of the National Financial Services Commission of Ukraine.
After conducting an independent examination, if the insurer disputes its results, its actions can be challenged in court.
The insurer makes a reasoned decision to make an insurance indemnity or to refuse to make payments. Within 3 working days from the date of adoption of the relevant decision, the insurer is obliged to send the applicant a written notification of the adopted decision (Article 36 of Law No. 1961-IV).
If the amount of damage caused exceeds the insured amount, the amount of the insurance payment (regulatory payment) for such damage is limited to the indicated insurance amount. According to Art. 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Mandatory Civil Liability Insurance of Owners of Land Vehicles" for the compensation of material damage, the insurance amount is 50,000 hryvnias per victim.
If the amount of insurance payments is more than 50,000 hryvnias, the victim has to seek compensation for the rest of the damage in court, filing a claim for recovery of funds from the person who caused the damage.
The grounds for refusing insurance compensation are established by Art. 37 of Law No. 1961-IV. If the victim does not agree, the dispute will be resolved in court.
Payment of insurance compensation (statutory payment) is made directly to the victim (another person who has the right to receive compensation) or to persons agreed with him.
After receiving insurance payments, if the insurance company has not compensated all the material losses, the victim has the right to file a lawsuit in court for compensation for the damage caused by the traffic accident. If the insurer does not want to fulfill its obligations within the time limit established by law, the victim has the right to receive compensation taking into account the inflation index and 3% per annum in accordance with Art. 625 of the Civil Code of Ukraine.
The procedure for compensation by the insurance company for property damage in the event of a road accident does not take much time, but is quite difficult. The borzhnik in the mentioned matter can rely on pre-trial dispute regulation, but if the parties do not reach an agreement on the amount of compensation, then judicial dispute regulation is necessary to resolve the issue.
Legal service "Consultant" will select a lawyer or an attorney who will conduct a legal analysis of the situation, form the appropriate court document (claim to the debtor, statement of claim, response to a statement of claim, motion, etc.), and also help in gathering the evidence base for the most effective resolution of the issue. Service specialists will accompany the process from the beginning to the execution of the court decision. They will also provide advice and help in solving such issues as: preparation of amicable settlement with the creditor, arrest for inviolability, removal of seizure from real estate, bankruptcy of an individual, debt reduction, etc.
