Legal issues in case of an accident

In accordance with the Rules of the Road, a road traffic accident (RTA) is understood as an event that occurred during the movement of a vehicle on the road and with its participation, in which people were killed or injured, vehicles, structures, cargo were damaged, or other material damage was caused.

From the presented definition, it follows that a traffic accident occurs in the process of a vehicle moving along the road, as a result of which vehicles are damaged or, God forbid, people get injured or die.

What to do if you got into an accident and you suffered material damage: first of all, you don’t need to panic, you first need to call the traffic police by phone, but before they arrive, take measures to fix the scene of the traffic accident, as well as take photographs damage to your vehicle and the culprit, notify the representatives of the insurance company where you and the culprit are insured. If you are not sure of your innocence, then you definitely need to inform your insurance company, since the final point in guilt or innocence is put by the relevant administrative court considering the case. In turn, untimely notification of the insurance company about a traffic accident that has occurred entails a refusal to make an insurance payment, according to the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Compulsory Civil Liability Insurance of Vehicle Owners” (hereinafter referred to as the Law), the notification period for the insurance company is three working days .

When the victim (beneficiary) or their representatives apply, the insurer, on the basis of an application for organizing an assessment in the form established by the regulatory legal act of the authorized body submitted by the victims or their representatives, within ten working days organizes an assessment of the amount of damage caused to property from an independent expert at your own expense.

The organization of the assessment of damaged property includes the following steps:

• selection by the beneficiary or his representative of an independent expert in accordance with the list of independent experts provided by the insurer and information about their location, contact numbers;
• determining the location of the assessment in agreement with the beneficiary and an independent expert;
• inspection of damaged property;
• an assessment of damaged property by an independent expert;
• submission of the valuation report for familiarization to the beneficiary.

The victim is obliged, within seven working days from the date of submission by him or the insured (insured) to the insurer of an application for the organization of an assessment, to keep this property in the same condition as it was after the traffic accident, and to provide the insurer with an opportunity to inspect the damaged property, as well as an independent expert to assess the damage caused. It is worth noting that, as a rule, insurance companies wait for a court decision and its entry into force, and this usually takes a long time, usually about two months after an accident. In this connection, if you are sure that you are absolutely innocent and are a victim, then you can safely contact the appraisal company that has the appropriate license to engage in appraisal activities, while the costs of the appraisal are reimbursed by the insurance company.

The assessment of the amount of damage must be made by the appraiser within seven working days, in case of violation of the specified period, the appraiser pays the applicant a penalty in the amount of fifty percent of the monthly calculation index established for the corresponding financial year, for each day of delay.

After the specialized administrative court decides that your opponent is guilty of an accident and imposes an administrative penalty, you need to wait ten days for the court decision to enter into force, unless of course it is appealed to the appellate instance, then the case may drag on for another month.

After the entry into force of the court decision, it is necessary to collect the necessary set of documents and contact the insurance company for an insurance payment. According to the law, you must provide the following set of documents:

1) an insurance policy (its duplicate) of a person whose civil liability has arisen as a result of causing harm to life, health and (or) property of the victim, in case of his absence, a copy of the insurance policy, or if one of the information on the specified insurance policy is available (name of the insurer , number, date of issue of the insurance policy) or about the insured (last name, first name, if available – patronymic of the insured, state registration number of the vehicle);

2) a document confirming the occurrence of an insured event and the amount of damage caused to the victims;

3) a copy of the certificate of health care organizations on the period of temporary disability of the victim in the event of a fact of causing harm to the life, health of the victim or a certificate from specialized institutions on the establishment of the disability of the victim – if it is established;

4) a notarized copy of the victim’s death certificate;

4-1) a document confirming the right of the beneficiary to compensation for harm (copy);

4-2) an application for the organization of an assessment in the case provided for in paragraph 7 of Article 22 of this Law;

5) documents on the assessment of the amount of damage caused, made by an independent expert, in the case provided for in paragraph 6 of Article 22 of this Law;

6) a copy of the identity card of the beneficiary (for an individual) or the original of a power of attorney issued to a representative of a legal entity;

7) documents confirming the expenses incurred by the policyholder (insured person) in order to prevent or reduce losses in the event of an insured event, if any;

8) a copy of the driver’s license of the policyholder (insured) or the person who drove the vehicle, and a copy of the document confirming his right to drive this vehicle, including a copy of the vehicle registration certificate.

The law establishes the requirement that the claim by the insurer of additionally other documents is not allowed.

The representative of the insurance company who accepted the documents is obliged to draw up a certificate in two copies indicating the full list of documents submitted by the applicant and the date of their acceptance.

One copy of the certificate is issued to the applicant, the second copy with the applicant’s mark in its receipt remains with the insurance company.

For damage caused to the property of one victim, an insurance payment is paid in the amount of the damage caused, but not more than 600;

For damage caused simultaneously to the property of two or more victims – in the amount of the damage caused, but not more than 600 for each victim. At the same time, the total amount of insurance payments to all victims cannot exceed 2000. In case of excess of the amount of damage over the maximum amount of liability of the insurer, the insurance payment to each victim is made in proportion to the degree of damage caused to his property.

The period during which the insurance payment can be made is fifteen working days. In case of untimely implementation of the insurance payment, the insurer is obliged to pay the beneficiary a penalty in the manner and amount established by Article 353 of the Civil Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

This article discloses only a part of the issues arising as a result of a traffic accident, for more detailed advice you can contact the lawyers of KORGAN Law Company LLP at any time convenient for you.