Compulsory car insurance to help fix more traffic accidents

The introduction of car insurance system was unexpected for Armenian drivers, with the process becoming more non-transparent, says Edward Hovhannisyan, Head of the Protection of Drivers’ Rights NGO.

“Even though the law has been adopted, the awareness-raising campaign for drivers is not being conducted,” he told journalists on Monday.

At that, he noted that all registered cars are subject to insurance but given that some of the drivers do not use the cars they have registered, it is necessary to inform them that they can temporarily suspend the registration of their cars avoid insuring them.

The speaker also expressed his concerns over the fact that the precise amount of compensation to be paid to drivers in case of accidents is not clearly defined.

Nonetheless, he emphasized the importance of compulsory insurance, considering that the practice has been adopted worldwide and insurance companies in Armenia are ready to implement the process as well.

According to him, the introduction of the system will complicate policemen’s work since there are no legal documents establishing clear-cut mechanisms for policemen’s arriving in the scene of accident.

“When compulsory insurance system goes into effect the number of car accidents will exceed the current records 5-6-fold,” he said, adding that road police will have to think about increasing its staff.

The speaker was more optimistic about insurance companies, the latter being more interested in making the process on-going.

All the cars and transportation means in Armenia (around 430-450 thousand vehicles) have to be insured by January 1, 2011. The minimum annual insurance payment makes 25,000 Armenian drams, and the maximum is 106,000.

The new system will enable drivers to ensure their cars for a minimum period 3 months, with the possibility to prolong the term in future.