As 'Financial News' writes, the law instructs the State Customs Committee (SCC) of the Russian Federation not to let cars without insurance into the country, since Russia does not participate in any international system of civil liability insurance for vehicles. Russian domestic insurance policies are not valid abroad - and vice versa. When entering in a passenger or cargo vehicle with an engine displacement of more than 50 cubic cm, the vehicle owner must have a Russian insurance policy and a special 'T' sign on the windshield, regardless of whether the car was purchased in Krivoy Rog or in Russia itself.
This news caught off guard both those who enforce the law and those who must obey it - citizens of Russia and other countries, as well as Russian insurance companies. The procedure for selling insurance policies to vehicle owners entering Russia has not been determined, nor has the circle of insurers who will be allowed into customs, nor the procedure for their admission. Rules for entry from Belarus, with which Russia has no customs border, have also not been developed, as a result of which the friendly state risks becoming a window for the penetration of 'uninsured' drivers. All these issues, as SCC officials assure, are only being worked out.
However, the rigidity of Russian legislation is always compensated by its soft enforcement, which in turn gives rise to arbitrariness and bribe-taking among officials. 'Until further notice' for some time (but no more than two months), customs officers will allow car owners without insurance policies into Russia, on the condition that they purchase a policy on the territory of the country as soon as possible. And on September 1, the zero hour will come, and entry will be possible only with a policy or under 'special conditions'. At the same time, with a fair degree of confidence, it can be assumed that 'special conditions' will certainly flourish at numerous uncivilized checkpoints located on the southern and eastern borders of Russia.
True, the newspaper notes, as often happens, there is also a positive aspect to this whole story. Russian insurance companies are getting a new and fairly large market. Its size can only be estimated approximately. Given that the Russian border is crossed annually, according to various estimates, by 2 to 10 million cars and buses (no one keeps exact statistics), which relatively rarely get into accidents, and the cost of a 15-day policy is 800-1,000 rubles, the market volume will range from 2 to 10 billion rubles.
Information from Abroad.