ОСАГО (автогражданка) для иностранцев в Украине

A situation in which you are injured in a road accident and the at-fault driver has no valid OSAGO policy (or the policy is counterfeit) may seem hopeless. In fact, Ukrainian legislation protects responsible drivers through mechanisms provided by the Motor (Transport) Insurance Bureau of Ukraine (MTSBU).

The MTSBU is an association of insurers that maintains a centralized insurance guarantee fund. Regulatory compensation payments are made from this fund to injured parties in specific situations. If the at-fault driver has no Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance, the procedure is as follows:

1. Calling the police to the scene of the accident is mandatory (a European Accident Statement cannot be completed in this case). The police will document the absence of an insurance policy and issue a fine to the at-fault driver.
2. You should record all relevant information and, within the prescribed period, submit a notification directly to the MTSBU.
3. The MTSBU fund assesses the damage with the help of an expert and pays compensation within the guaranteed limits, after which it seeks to recover this amount from the at-fault driver through the courts.

Important: to receive compensation from the MTSBU fund, you must have a valid OSAGO policy yourself. A similar protection mechanism applies if the at-fault driver’s insurance company has lost its license, gone bankrupt, or been liquidated — the MTSBU assumes the obligations under such contracts, although bankruptcy proceedings may take longer.

By purchasing insurance through the reliable polis24.com.ua service, you reduce the risk of dealing with questionable companies.

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), which regulates the insurance market, may suspend or revoke an insurance company’s license for violations. For a driver insured with such a company, this can sound alarming: the company can no longer sell new policies, while bankruptcy proceedings, under which the MTSBU would immediately begin making payments from the guarantee fund, have not yet begun.

The key rule is that the revocation of a license does not release the company from its obligation to fulfill previously concluded contracts. Revoking a license prohibits the sale of new policies, but all contracts issued before the license was revoked remain valid until their expiration date. If you purchased a policy on polis24.com.ua and the insurer’s license was subsequently revoked, your liability remains protected, and the policy is considered active in the MTSBU database — the police will not fine you for “not having” insurance.

Problems may arise in the event of a road accident: payment may be delayed due to the insurer’s financial difficulties. If the company fails to comply with the prescribed deadlines, the injured party has the right to file a complaint with the NBU or take the matter to court. The MTSBU cannot immediately make payments from the guarantee fund before liquidation proceedings are completed, but it is developing voluntary settlement mechanisms for companies leaving the market.

The main recommendation for polis24.com.ua customers is to check the insurer’s reliability rating before purchasing a policy in order to avoid dealing with companies in a high-risk category.

Among motorists, there is a common and dangerous misconception that a trailer is merely an additional accessory whose liability is automatically covered by the insurance policy of the towing vehicle. This is a mistake that can result in a claim denial and fines in the event of an accident.

Under the law, any trailer — from a light single-axle trailer for a passenger car to a semi-trailer for a truck — is considered a separate land vehicle. It is subject to state registration, has its own license plate, and a separate vehicle registration certificate. Accordingly, a separate OSAGO policy must be issued for the trailer. Having insurance for the towing vehicle itself does not eliminate the need to insure the trailer.

The importance of this rule is explained by the physics of vehicle movement: a trailer increases the overall weight, lengthens the braking distance, and changes the vehicle’s trajectory. In practice, accidents occur in which a trailer jackknifes under braking, hits neighboring vehicles, or becomes detached from the coupling device (tow hitch). In such situations, the damage is caused by the trailer itself, and without a separate policy, the towing vehicle’s insurance company may refuse to cover these losses.

You can buy affordable trailer insurance on polis24.com.ua — the basic tariff for trailers is significantly lower than for passenger cars because a trailer has no engine. The price depends on the trailer’s specifications and the owner’s place of registration indicated in the vehicle registration certificate.

For a long time, one of the most unpleasant surprises for owners of used vehicles was the application of a parts wear-and-tear coefficient. The logic was as follows: since the car was equipped with used parts rather than new ones, the insurance company would cover not the full cost of a new part, but a reduced amount taking into account the vehicle’s age. As a result, there was a difference between the repair shop’s invoice and the insurance payment, which the injured party had to pay out of pocket or recover through the courts.

The new version of the law abolishes the use of a wear-and-tear coefficient when calculating insurance compensation under OSAGO. The compensation is now calculated without taking wear and tear into account, based on the actual cost of restoring the vehicle. This is one of the most significant and consumer-friendly changes: owners of older vehicles will no longer lose substantial amounts because of the “age” of their parts.

What does this mean in practice when purchasing a policy on polis24.com.ua? The injured party receives fairer compensation that is closer to the actual repair cost within the coverage limit under the contract. The old “5-year / 7-year” thresholds and wear-and-tear tables used to calculate mandatory compensation no longer apply.

If you want to ensure that your own vehicle is repaired with new parts without restrictions and regardless of who is at fault, CASCO remains the appropriate solution, as it covers repairs to your own vehicle.

The minimum insurance period for Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance in Ukraine is 6 months. This is stipulated in Article 11, Clause 7 of the Law “On Compulsory Civil Liability Insurance of Owners of Land Vehicles,” which has been in force since January 1, 2025. The other standard insurance period is 1 year. Therefore, for a vehicle registered in Ukraine, it is not possible to purchase a policy for less than 6 months.

However, there are exceptions:

1. When the vehicle is registered in a foreign country — in this case, OSAGO is issued for the period of the vehicle’s temporary stay in Ukraine.
2. When the vehicle has temporary registration or is not registered — for the period until its full registration.

In these two cases, the OSAGO insurance period may be 15 or 21 calendar days, or 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5 months. The contract validity period must be specified in the Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance policy.

It is also worth noting that the validity of an OSAGO contract cannot be temporarily suspended. You can conveniently purchase a policy for the required period on polis24.com.ua, and if you have any doubts about the appropriate period for your situation, our managers will help you choose the right option.

The law protects injured parties but provides clear grounds on which an insurance company may partially or completely refuse to pay compensation. It is important to know these grounds so that you do not lose your compensation because of procedural mistakes.

The first group of reasons is related to intent and unlawful actions. If it is proven that the injured party deliberately put their vehicle in the path of an impact in order to receive compensation (insurance fraud or deliberately staged accident), the claim will be denied and the matter will be referred to the police. Compensation will also be denied if the accident occurred as a result of the injured party committing an intentional crime.

The second group concerns damage that is not covered by compulsory Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance in principle. This includes damage caused by force majeure (natural disasters, military actions, mass riots), unless such risks are separately insured under CASCO; damage to valuable property inside the vehicle (antiques, jewelry, securities); and environmental damage.

The third group involves serious procedural violations. For example, if the injured party repaired or disposed of the vehicle before it was inspected by an expert, making it impossible to determine the circumstances of the accident and the amount of damage, or if the claim and documents were submitted in violation of the statutory deadlines (1 year for property damage and 3 years for damage to life or health).

When purchasing a policy on polis24.com.ua, you can receive advice in advance on how to act correctly in the event of a road accident and avoid a claim denial.

Previously, a person injured in a road accident had to deal with the at-fault driver’s insurance company, which could delay compensation or prove unreliable. To address this issue, a direct claims settlement system was introduced in Ukraine. An important change is that, since January 1, 2025, direct claims settlement has become mandatory for all insurance companies participating in the OSAGO market.

The essence of the system is that the injured driver applies for compensation or a referral for repairs to their own insurance company — the one from which they purchased their policy. Your insurer assesses the damage and pays you compensation, and then settles the costs with the at-fault driver’s insurance company through the MTSBU centralized system. This is a major advantage for the customer: you deal with your own insurer, which you chose based on reviews and ratings, and receive service without unnecessary complications.

The following conditions usually apply for direct claims settlement: two vehicles were involved in the road accident, both drivers have valid insurance policies, there is no dispute over liability, and no people were injured. Since direct claims settlement has become mandatory for all insurers, choosing a reliable insurance company when purchasing a policy on polis24.com.ua directly affects the quality of the service you will receive in the event of an accident.

The number of electric vehicles and hybrids on Ukrainian roads is growing rapidly, and their owners are naturally wondering how the cost of Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance is calculated. After all, fully electric vehicles do not have an internal combustion engine, the engine capacity of which has traditionally been used as the basis for calculating the tariff for passenger cars.

Fully electric vehicles are subject to a separate tariff category. Instead of engine capacity, the basis for calculation is the power of the electric motor in kilowatts (kW), while the tariff categories depend on the power level. In practice, the cost of a policy for an average electric vehicle is often moderate, serving as a financial incentive for the development of “green” transport. With free market-based pricing, specific tariffs are set by the insurance companies themselves, so it is worth comparing prices using the calculator on polis24.com.ua.

For hybrids (with an electric motor and a conventional internal combustion engine), the calculation follows the standard approach used for gasoline or diesel vehicles — insurance companies base the calculation on the displacement of the internal combustion engine indicated in the vehicle registration certificate. Electric vehicle owners should remember that the risk of being involved in a road accident in heavy urban traffic is the same as for conventional vehicles, while their quiet operation at low speeds may increase the risk of collisions with pedestrians. Therefore, comprehensive Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance is no less important for them.

The domestic OSAGO policy is valid exclusively within Ukraine. If a vehicle owner travels abroad, their domestic Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance is no longer valid, and no compensation is paid under it in the event of an accident outside the country.

For legal travel abroad, there is an international equivalent of Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance — the “Green Card.” This is an international third-party liability insurance system that includes dozens of countries, including all of Europe. The principle is the same as with OSAGO: you insure your liability toward foreign drivers. If you cause a road accident abroad, the local bureau or insurer will compensate the injured party in accordance with the rules and within the coverage limits of the country where the incident occurred.

You can arrange a “Green Card” quickly and conveniently on polis24.com.ua. The cost depends on the type of vehicle, the travel destination, and the policy validity period (from 15 days to 1 year). Traveling abroad without a “Green Card” may result in significant fines, and in the event of an accident, the at-fault driver will have to pay for repairs to foreign vehicles out of their own pocket. A “Green Card” in Ukraine is also available in a convenient electronic format.

The Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance policy remains valid when the vehicle changes ownership until the end of its validity period. This is provided for by the Law “On Compulsory Civil Liability Insurance of Owners of Land Vehicles” (Article 16). Thus, when a vehicle is sold, the valid insurance policy passes to the new owner together with the vehicle, and the new owner may legally use it.

An important feature of the new law is that the decision on possible early termination of the policy is made by the new owner, not by the person who sold the vehicle. The new owner must notify the insurance company specified in the current contract that they have acquired ownership of the vehicle. This must be done in writing within 15 calendar days — you can contact the email address provided on the insurer’s website or send a written notification to the insurer’s legal address via Ukrposhta, providing your personal details.

A separate case is the death of the policyholder. In such a situation, the rights and obligations under the existing Motor Third-Party Liability Insurance policy pass to the person who registers the vehicle as an inheritance.

Therefore, there is no need to separately “transfer” or reissue the policy when ownership changes — it remains valid. The main requirement for the new owner is to notify the insurer of the change of ownership in a timely manner. You can conveniently purchase a new policy for your next vehicle on polis24.com.ua.