Penalty for not having valid third party insurance
Penalty for lack of valid liabilityinsurance. The days when drivers without a valid policy, OC, could drive on our streets almost without penalty are over. At the beginning of 2012, there was a change in the way penalties for lack of OC insurance were calculated. Previously, they were calculated on the basis of the euro exchange rate, but starting this year, on the basis of the minimum wage. This means that instead of the previous penalty of PLN 1,980, for lack of OC we will pay as much as PLN 3,000, or two times the minimum wage in Poland, and for trucks the full penalty is three times the minimum wage, or PLN 4,500.
Until now, the penalties for lack of compulsory third-party motor liability insurance were determined for a given calendar year depending on the euro exchange rate. Thus, last year the penalty for lack of OC for cars was 500 euros, or PLN 1,980, and for trucks and buses was 800 euros, or PLN 3,170.
The amount of the penalty depends on the length of the period during which the owner of the motor vehicle did not have a valid OC insurance policy. Thus, if the period of interruption in insurance is less than 3 days the penalty is 600 zlotys, if more than 4 days up to 14- 1,500 zlotys, while the largest penalty awaits those who have a break in OC longer than 14 days. In such a case, the amount of the penalty reaches 3,000 zlotys.
The biggest change in the amount of fines awaits owners of truck tractors otherwise known as truck tractors, who until now paid as much for lack of OC as owners of motorcycles or mopeds. And this fact was often exploited by them because the mandatory OC of such a vehicle cost more than PLN 3,000 . From the new year, the same penalties apply for this type of vehicle as for trucks and buses. This means an increase in penalty fees from PLN 400 to PLN 4,500.
Uninsured drivers, however, are in for more surprises. As of February 11, new regulations went into effect that tighten the consequences of not having mandatory insurance. The owner of a vehicle without a valid third-party liability policy will pay more for the accident caused, as the Insurance Guarantee Fund (UFG) will be obliged to claim from the perpetrator not only compensation for the injured party, but also the costs incurred with the payment of this compensation by the UFG (loss adjustment). The UFG has a database that contains information on completed as well as concluded compulsory OC and Autocasco policies, totaling more than 172 million records. Insurance companies are obliged to send policy information to the UFG within 14 days, from the date of issuance of the document confirming the conclusion of the OC policy.
Data show that nearly 200,000 are driving uninsured vehicles, who cause about 5,500 accidents annually. By the end of November 2011, the Insurance Guarantee Fund had summoned more than 26,000 Polish drivers to pay a penalty for lack of OC.
