Requirements for OSAGO uninterrupted electronic sales set
The Bank of Russia Board of Directors has approved regulations required to launch mandatory electronic sales of OSAGO policies from 1 January 2017. Insurers have been entitled to issue electronic OSAGO contracts since 1 July 2015. By law, from 1 January 2017, insurers will have to provide every car owner with such electronic sale.
‘Electronic sales will substantially add to OSAGO contracts availability and improve this service thus meeting new and up-to-day financial market requirements,’ Vladimir Chistyukhin, Bank of Russia Deputy Governor noted.
The regulator has set the requirements for uninterrupted and continuous operation of insurers’ websites and that of the Russian Association of Motor Insurers (RAMI) to provide electronic sales of OSAGO policies. The total time an insurer’s site is not in operation shall not exceed 30 minutes per 24 hours. When there is a need to carry out planned technical operations, an insurance company will have to post not later than 24 hours a front-page notice on its website to specify the date and the time such operations will be over. Insurers can launch such activities no more than once a month from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., Moscow time.
Insurers and the RAMI should do their best to avoid situations when their websites and information systems will be unable to successfully process contracts within 30 minutes after a properly filled in application has been sent to the website. One needs to mention that the possibility to fill in such application should be provided on a continuous basis.
Another Bank of Russia ordinance supplemented requirements for using electronic documents and electronic information exchange procedure when signing OSAGO contracts in the wake of amendments to the OSAGO law which will come into effect on 1 January 2017. The document defines the procedure for signing electronic contracts with car owners who have not signed OSAGO contracts before and whose data are missing in the OSAGO Automated Information System (AIS).
The ordinance envisages that after an OSAGO electronic contract has been signed, an insurer e-mails the insurance policy to an insured and also puts it in his/her personal account on its website. Personal account can also be used by an insurer to amend the insurance contract if only the data indicated earlier has been changed. A printed insurance policy shall include information on the certificate of the insurer’s electronic signature which will allow the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate to verify its authenticity. A car owner can get a policy printed on its routine OSAGO form (accountable form) if he or she wishes to do so.
‘As of today, 54 out of 72 full RAMI members are connected to AIS RAMI Electronic Policy subsystem as the possibility to issue OSAGO electronic policies has been in force since 1 July 2015. Besides, many insurance companies are active in selling electronic policies on voluntary types of insurance. We did take into account the opinion and experience of the insurance community, which makes us believe the project launch will be a success,’ Vladimir Chistyukhin emphasised.
The regulator also amended OSAGO rules. A new policy form will be introduced on 1 January 2018. It will be supplemented by a QR-code to get information on the OSAGO contract on the RAMI website online. The policy form will have a detailed calculation of an insurance premium with all ratio values affecting the final insurance cost, including bonus-malus, indicated. The premium size subject to payment will be written down in the square field in the top right corner of the policy form.
OSAGO new rules also envisage the regulation of terms for OSAGO contracts and pre-insurance inspection of motor vehicles, as well as establish a car accident report form.
The ordinances approved by the Bank of Russia Board of Directors will soon be forwarded to the Ministry of Justice for state registration.