1. What is the European protocol?
Contrary to some opinions, the European protocol is not some special form, but the process of self-registration of an accident by its participants without calling emergency commissioners and traffic police officers. The prefix “euro” indicates that this practice was applied in Russia following the example of other – in particular, European – countries where this method of recording road accidents is widely practiced. When registering an accident under the European protocol, the same standard accident notification form is used, which is issued to you by the insurance company when drawing up a compulsory motor liability insurance contract.
2. In what case can you file an accident using the European protocol?
Not every accident can be processed using this simplified scheme. In order to take advantage of the opportunity to use the European protocol, The following conditions must be met:
- no more than 2 cars were involved in the accident;
- the accident did not cause damage to other property other than the vehicles involved;
- There are no dead or injured in the accident - drivers, passengers or pedestrians;
- both participants in the accident have a valid MTPL policy and are allowed to drive the car involved in the accident, or one or both participants in the accident have a car with foreign registration, but insured under the Green Card system;
- the participants in the accident have no disagreement regarding the circumstances and causes of the accident, as well as the damage caused to the vehicles.
As can be seen from the above list, the conditions for drawing up a European protocol are quite simple, but the most important circumstance is that all these conditions must be met without exception. That is, if in an accident 3 or more cars were damaged or one of the two participants in the accident damaged, for example, a traffic light, a road sign or someone’s kiosk, you will not be able to use the European protocol - you will have to call the police. The same thing awaits drivers who do not agree on the assessment of the causes and circumstances of the accident - if no one wants to admit their guilt, or there is disagreement about the scale of the damage caused, the traffic police officers and the insurance company will make a decision. If the second participant in the accident in which you are involved is aggressive, drunk or under the influence of drugs, there is also no question of any European protocol - call the police.
3. What is the maximum amount of insurance payment under the European protocol?
For MTPL contracts concluded after August 2, 2014, the amount of the maximum insurance payment under the European protocol is 50 thousand rubles . This limitation is another indirect condition for the possibility of filing an accident according to a simplified scheme: if at least one of the participants in the accident believes that the damage caused exceeds 50,000 rubles, you will have to call the traffic police, since using the European protocol you will not be able to receive more than this amount.
However, there is another option: for MTPL contracts concluded after October 1, 2014, the so-called “unlimited Euro protocol” is valid, the amount of payments under which is 400 thousand rubles. But in order to use it, a number of additional conditions must be met: the accident must occur on the territory of Moscow, the Moscow region, St. Petersburg or the Leningrad region, the fact of the accident and the location of the cars after it must be recorded using the GLONASS satellite system, and the cars themselves and the damage they received – using photo or video recording equipment. At the same time, the territory restriction does not apply to the place where the policy was issued: if they were issued, for example, in Samara and Vladivostok, and the accident occurred in Moscow, the unlimited Euro protocol will be relevant if all other conditions are met.
4. What is the procedure for registering an accident under the European protocol?
General The procedure for registering an accident under the European protocol is as follows:
- immediately after an accident, you need to stop and put up a warning triangle, preserving all traces and details of the accident;
- together with the second participant in the accident, come to an agreement regarding the culprit, the circumstances and the damage caused, taking into account the size of the maximum payment under the European protocol;
- together with the second participant in the accident, fill out one form for notification of an accident, which will clearly indicate the personal data of the participants, the circumstances and causes of the accident, the culprit, as well as the damage caused to the vehicles;
- If possible, it is worth collecting as much evidence as possible about the accident: make a photo or video recording, which will show the general layout of the cars after the accident, photographs of each of the cars with clearly visible license plates, braking marks, if any, as well as all damaged parts of both cars , including fragments and debris remaining at the collision site; in addition, you can collect contacts and testimonies of witnesses to the accident, and if there is a recording of the incident from the DVR, also save it as evidence.
If the accident occurred in one of the regions covered by the unlimited Euro protocol, and you are going to use it, then The procedure for action in case of an accident will be the same as indicated above, with two additions:
- photo or video materials recording the circumstances of the accident and the damage caused become not desirable, but mandatory - they will need to be submitted to the insurance company to confirm the fact and circumstances of the accident;
- An accident must be recorded using GLONASS satellite systems installed in the vehicles involved in the incident.
Please note: the accident report must be completed correctly, contain no conflicting statements, be signed by both parties involved in the accident, and be easy to read and undamaged. You should not leave empty columns and lines in it - you need to put dashes in them or “cross out” them crosswise or with the letter Z.
Having completed the registration of the accident, both participants can leave the scene of the accident.
5. What to do after registering an accident?
After registering an accident, you must contact the insurance company within 5 working days. If you are a victim, then you need to write a claim for insurance payment and attach to it the original notification of the accident, which you filled out together with the second participant in the accident. If you are the culprit, then you need to notify your insurance company of the occurrence of an insured event within 5 business days by sending them the original completed accident notice.
Important: before submitting the original completed accident report to the insurance company, make a copy of it to present to the traffic police officers, who can stop you to check that the accident was registered.
Having completed the documentation of the accident, you can expect compensation for the damage caused. Please note: the at-fault party cannot repair the car within 15 days from the date of the accident, otherwise the insurance company may present you with a recourse claim after making a payment to the victim. If you need to begin restoration before this period expires, present the car for inspection by the insurance company and obtain written permission for repairs.
In addition
In connection with the new procedure for compensation of damages, which provides for priority of compensation in kind over monetary payments to victims of road accidents, we clarified whether this had any impact on the procedure and consequences of drawing up a European protocol. In addition, we asked the expert to clarify whether it is possible to register an accident under a European protocol, the participants of which agree to admit mutual guilt, and how compensation will occur in this case. Answered our questions Vitaly Knyaginichev, director of the retail business directorate of Ingosstrakh company.
1) Is it possible to draw up a European protocol if both participants in an accident admit their mutual guilt, and if so, how will the amount of the insurance payment be calculated? Or, in order to draw up a European protocol, it is necessary that one of the participants in the accident admits his guilt, and the second acts as a victim?
According to Art. 11.1 of the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance, registration of documents regarding a road traffic accident without the participation of authorized police officers is carried out in the manner established by the Bank of Russia, if the following circumstances exist simultaneously:
- a) as a result of a traffic accident, damage was caused only to the vehicles specified in subparagraph “b” of this paragraph;
- b) a traffic accident occurred as a result of the interaction (collision) of two vehicles (including vehicles with trailers), the civil liability of the owners of which is insured in accordance with this Federal Law;
- c) the circumstances of harm in connection with damage to vehicles as a result of a road traffic accident, the nature and list of visible damage to vehicles do not cause disagreement among the participants in the road traffic accident and are recorded in the notification of the road traffic accident, the form of which is filled out by the drivers involved in the road traffic accident -transport accident of vehicles in accordance with the rules of compulsory insurance.
According to paragraph 22 of Art. 12 of the Law on Compulsory Motor Liability Insurance, if the degree of guilt of the participants in a traffic accident is not established by the court, the insurers insuring their civil liability bear the obligation established by this Federal Law to compensate for damage caused as a result of such a traffic accident in equal shares.
Thus, if both participants in an accident admit their guilt and there are no disagreements between them, then payment is made taking into account mutual guilt in the amount of 50% of the amount of damage, but not more than the liability limit under the “European protocol”.
2) In connection with the new procedure for compensation for damage caused in an accident, which provides for the priority of compensation in kind over monetary payment, what is the procedure for participants in an accident when registering it under the European protocol and after registration?
The method of registration of an accident (with or without the participation of police officers) does not affect the form of compensation for harm. The only difference is the liability limit for repairs, which according to the “European protocol” can be 50,000 rubles.
Drivers should also remember that they are not allowed to repair, sell or dispose of their vehicles for 15 working days.
Attention! Insurers may request vehicles involved in an accident for technical examination, and the law obliges owners to provide them within no more than 5 business days from the date of receipt of such a request.
What happens if the participants in an accident miss the validity period of the notification document?
If participants in an accident do not have time to notify insurers of the incident within the period established by law, certain sanctions may follow from the insurance company. Most often this happens out of ignorance, sometimes due to illness, a long business trip or other force majeure circumstances.
The victim did not submit the papers
In this case, the insurer has the right to refuse payment. However, there is no need to despair. Exists two options for action in a situation where the victim has not submitted documents according to the European protocol within 5 days.
- If no more than 15 working days have passed since the accident, you can contact the traffic police to obtain a certificate of the accident. The presence of the second participant in the incident is not necessary. If there is a certificate from the competent authorities, the settlement of the loss will no longer take place according to a simplified, but according to a standard scheme.
- If more than 15 days have passed, then the only way out is to go to court.
The culprit did not notify the insurance company
The reason why the motorist violated the law does not matter in this case. The insurer may also submit a recourse claim if the driver at fault for the accident repaired or disposed of his car within less than 15 working days from the date of the incident, or did not submit it for examination within 5 days from the receipt of such a request from the insurance company.
More details about what the culprit should do after drawing up the European Protocol in case of an accident can be found in.
How long will it take for the victim to receive payment?
For 15 working days, participants in the accident do not have the right to repair, sell or dispose of their car, and if they receive a request from the insurance company, they are required to provide it for examination within no more than 5 days.
Important! If after the emergency the requirements are not fulfilled, or the permissible terms are exceeded, then the victim faces a refusal to pay, and the culprit faces recourse from the insurer.
In order to protect their property interests, each driver, when purchasing a compulsory motor liability insurance policy, needs to familiarize himself with the legal norms regarding the settlement of losses and behavior after an insured event.
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The material in this article is based on the following legal acts:
To the victim
What should the victim do next once the report has been drawn up? After drawing up the document, the injured party must contact the insurance company no later than five working days from the date of the traffic accident, providing the necessary package of documents, including the Europrotocol.
To the culprit
What should the culprit do next after filling out the documents? The guilty party submits a copy of the Europrotocol to its insurer within 5 days. In this case, the culprit is prohibited from repairing his vehicle within 15 days after the accident. If car repairs are necessary, then the guilty party provides his vehicle to the victim’s insurance company for an examination, after which he will be issued a permit to carry out the repairs.
If the guilty party did not submit a notification about the accident to its insurance company, then this will not be a basis for refusal to pay compensation to the injured party (based on Article No. 14.1, paragraph 25 of Article No. 12 and paragraph 2 of Article No. 11.1 of the law on compulsory motor liability insurance).
Where should the victim go after registration?
Where to go with the European protocol to pass it? The injured party then contacts their insurance company., the one with which she has an insurance contract (or MTPL). As already noted, you need to contact the insurer within 5 working days from the date of the accident and write an application for compensation due to the occurrence of an insured event.
It is not recommended to operate the car before an inspection is carried out by the insurance company, since if the vehicle receives additional damage that is not indicated in the European Protocol, this will be regarded by the insurer as an error in the notification of the accident.
What documents are needed to apply to the insurance company to receive payment?
The car owner, in addition to the drawn up Europrotocol, must submit the following package of documents to the insurer:
- auto liability insurance policy;
- a completed application for compensation;
- the applicant's identity card (passport);
- vehicle registration certificate or PTS;
- VU of the person who was driving the car at the time of the accident;
- power of attorney for the right to drive a vehicle if the driver is not the owner;
- an electronic storage medium containing information about a traffic accident (video and photo materials);
- account details for transferring compensation.
Submitted photo and video materials can be sent for examination to establish their authenticity at the initiative of the participant in the accident.
You can find out more about what documents are needed for insurance under the European Protocol after an accident.
Do I need to go to the traffic police and register there?
No, it is not necessary to register it with the State Traffic Inspectorate, nor is it necessary to notify the traffic police about a traffic accident, both in the presence of compulsory motor liability insurance and in case of CASCO insurance.
How to give and is it possible to send papers to the Investigative Committee?
There are three ways to submit documentation to the insurer upon the occurrence of an insured event::
When sending by email, it is important to know that some insurers require that some documents be provided in writing, so they will need to be sent to Insurance Company 1 or 2 using the method described above.
What happens if you missed the deadline for filing an application and did not deliver the documents to the insurance company on time?
There are no serious consequences for submitting documents after the deadline.(legally speaking). The insurance company may refuse to compensate the driver for the damage caused if the victim did not provide paperwork, citing non-compliance. In this case, the decision can be challenged in court.
The important thing to remember here is that The insurance company can refuse to pay compensation only to the culprit of the accident, this fact must be recorded in the European Protocol. If the insurer denies the victim, then filing a claim with the court is the only way out of this situation.
Also worth mentioning about submitting an incomplete package of documents. If the application for compensation for damage was submitted on time, but the missing documents were submitted later, then the insurance company must be provided with objective reasons for the delay. This may be a certificate from a medical institution (if the policyholder is undergoing treatment), a travel certificate or a ticket (if the accident occurred in another city). Any documentary method of confirmation will increase the chances of a positive resolution of the issue.
Compilation is a mandatory condition when registering a traffic accident and receiving compensation from the insurance company (if the traffic police were not called). After its preparation, you need to collect a complete package of documents and, together with the European Protocol and an application for compensation for damage, submit it to the Investigative Committee within the prescribed period (5 days). You can submit documentation in person, by registered mail or via email (scanned copies).
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