During the war, when shelling becomes an integral part of reality, many car owners find themselves in an unpleasant situation: their vehicles are damaged by debris, blast waves or direct hits. For many, a car is not just a means of transportation, but also a necessary tool for work, family transportation, or even for volunteering. Loss or damage to such property can significantly complicate life, but it is possible to receive compensation for the damage caused.
Lawyers of the “Repeshko and Partners” Bar Association commented on the current legislation and answered how to act in such situations, how to protect your rights and receive fair compensation for a damaged car in wartime conditions.
Cars are damaged almost every time an enemy missile or drone arrives, except for residential buildings or administrative buildings. Moreover, there are cases when, fortunately, only the windows are broken in a residential building, but there are a total of twenty damaged cars, while a damaged or destroyed vehicle may be the only property left in the possession of internally displaced persons after moving from the occupied territories.
Considering this fact, the state decided to settle the issue by providing support to citizens in this matter. Currently, within the framework of the “eRecovery” program, compensation is provided to citizens only for housing that was destroyed by Russian shelling. Compensation for damage or destruction of a car is not provided by law. Yes, according to Art. 32 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mandatory Civil Liability Insurance of Owners of Land Vehicles”, the insurer or MTSU does not compensate: damage caused as a result of a traffic accident, if it occurred as a result of mass riots and group violations of public order, military conflicts, terrorist acts , natural disaster, ammunition explosion, vehicle fire unrelated to this incident. The contract of civil liability insurance of vehicle owners is not a contract of property insurance of one’s own vehicle. Exceptions are made only in cases where the car is directly insured by an insurance company against military risks both within the insurance policy (full CASCO) and separately exclusively from this type of risks.
However, the Verkhovna Rada is considering the draft Law “On compensation for damage and destruction of motor vehicles as a result of hostilities, acts of terrorism, sabotage caused by the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.” We would like to draw your attention to the fact that this is only a draft law! But it is necessary to consider and analyze it now, so that when it is adopted and it enters into force, you will have all the necessary documents in your hands to be able to take advantage of the new law.
According to the new draft law:
- the term “motor vehicles” is used in the sense given in the Law of Ukraine “On Motor Transport”;
- damaged motor vehicles – motor vehicles that were located on the territory of Ukraine, were damaged as a result of hostilities, terrorist acts, sabotage caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, and can be restored through current or major repair, reconstruction or restoration, the restoration of which is economically feasible;
- destroyed motor vehicles – motor vehicles that were on the territory of Ukraine, became unfit for use for their intended purpose as a result of hostilities, acts of terrorism, sabotage caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the restoration of which is impossible through current or major repair, reconstruction , restoration or economically impractical;
Recipients of compensation for damaged/destroyed motor vehicles (hereinafter – compensation recipients) are considered to be: natural persons – citizens of Ukraine who are: owners of damaged/destroyed motor vehicles 3; the heirs of these persons; legal entities that are owners of damaged/destroyed motor vehicles; their legal successors.
An application for compensation for a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle is submitted to the Commission for consideration of issues regarding the provision of compensation for damaged/destroyed motor vehicles, authorized to consider applications for compensation for damaged/destroyed motor vehicles, if such damage/destruction of a motor vehicle took place in the relevant territory.
Such a statement is submitted during martial law and within three years from the date of its termination or cancellation. An application for compensation for a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle is submitted for each damaged/destroyed motor vehicle separately.
An application for compensation for a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle may be submitted to the Commission for consideration of issues regarding the provision of compensation for damaged/destroyed motor vehicles:
- in electronic form – by means of the Unified state web portal of electronic services;
- in paper form – through the center for the provision of administrative services, the body of social protection of the population or a notary public.
The following are attached to the application for compensation for a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle:
- with regard to a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle, if the recipient of compensation is the owner of such a vehicle, a copy of the document confirming ownership of the damaged/destroyed motor vehicle;
- in relation to a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle, if the recipient of the compensation is an heir – a copy of the certificate of the right to inheritance regarding compensation for a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle;
- in relation to a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle, if the recipient of compensation is the legal successor of a legal entity – a copy of the document certifying its legal succession;
- documents (including photo and video recording materials) of the motor vehicle before/after damage/destruction (if available).
At the same time, compensation for a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle is provided by providing funds through their transfer to the current account of the recipient of compensation. Such an account is opened in the name of the recipient of compensation.
The amount of compensation for a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle is determined for each recipient of compensation and each damaged/destroyed motor vehicle separately, based on national standards, methods, other regulatory legal acts establishing the mechanisms for evaluating motor vehicles, which are in effect at the time of consideration of the application on providing compensation for a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle.
In the event of the death of the recipient of compensation, the right to receive compensation for the damaged/destroyed motor vehicle passes to the heir(s).
Simultaneously with the provision of monetary compensation for a damaged/destroyed motor vehicle by transferring funds to the current account of the recipient of compensation, the recipient of compensation concludes an agreement on the assignment to the state/territorial community of the right to claim against the Russian Federation for compensation for damages for the damaged/destroyed motor vehicle caused as a result of hostilities, terrorist acts, sabotage caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, in the amount of received compensation in accordance with the procedure established by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine
So, these are the main points of the draft law. In our opinion, the final version of the law should not differ significantly. Therefore, we have hope and are waiting for the adoption of this law as soon as possible. But in order to be able to use the right to compensation for a damaged or destroyed vehicle in the future, you need to collect the necessary documents now.
In the event that, unfortunately, a situation arises when your vehicle is destroyed or damaged after the next arrival, the following steps must be taken:
- while the car is intact and undamaged, take photos and videos of the vehicle in this form, making everything as detailed as possible – cutting sides and fixing certain important parts of the car. Save the specified photos and videos and hope you never need them.
- take photos and videos of the damaged or destroyed vehicle in relation to the terrain, buildings, other cars or other landmarks. Moreover, the more photos and videos from different angles and in details of the damage, the better.
- just in case, find at least two witnesses from whom to obtain copies of their passports, RNOCPP and written explanations regarding the current situation. It is desirable to have such witnesses so that in the future, if any questions arise, it would be possible to contact them.
- save and cross-link links to articles and media articles covering the incident in which the vehicle was damaged/destroyed. The more such articles and links there are, the better. Perhaps in some article there will be a photo of your car as an illustration of the arrival.
- contact the law enforcement authorities and officially submit a corresponding statement about the damaged vehicle. Law enforcement agencies must draw up a report of the inspection of the scene of the incident and enter the information into the unified register of pre-trial investigations (ERDR).
- obtain from law enforcement agencies an extract from the ERDR (it can be both separate for your application and general, upon the fact of arrival in case of damage to a significant amount of property and human casualties). It is also desirable to receive a certified copy of the report of the inspection of the scene of the incident from the materials of the criminal case, but this already depends on the good will of the investigators.
- to take measures to obtain information regarding the determination of the amount of damage caused to the vehicle. The most optimal option from the point of view of costs is to carry out an auto commodity examination within the framework of the criminal proceedings itself. In this case, it will be free of charge for the car owner. But we understand that sometimes the issue is time and the car is in such a condition that it can be repaired as soon as possible, then it is necessary to use the services of a paid certified appraisal expert and get an opinion on the cost of repair work and, in turn, when carrying out such work, carefully preserve all checks and receipts are related to car restoration.
We really want you to never need the information we have provided, because for every car owner, his car is like a living being and a member of the family.
We note once again that the Law of Ukraine “On compensation for damage and destruction of motor vehicles as a result of hostilities, terrorist acts, sabotage caused by the military aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine” has not yet been adopted. In such a case, our recommendations are an attempt to act on prejudice, so that after the law comes into force, there are grounds for receiving compensation, and not asking ourselves why someone did not advise to collect the relevant documents when it was possible.
