Saturday, July 13 2013 17:47
Bonus-malus system expected to reduce the number of undisciplined drivers in Armenia
ArmInfo. The bonus-malus system is expected to reduce the number of undisciplined drivers in Armenia by 6- 10%, Executive Director of the Armenian Motor Insurers Bureau Anna Vardikyan said during a seminar on Saturday.
She said that the system can also help to prevent fraud in the sector of third-party motor liability insurance.
"BMS is a specific instrument for assessing a driver's risk, allowing you to revise the size of an insurance premium depending on a customer's driving background and to give disciplined drivers discounts at the expense of undisciplined ones," Vardikyan said.
She said that the bonus was applied on Jan 1 2013, while the malus will take effect on Jan 1 2014.
For the first insurance event the responsible party will have to pay a malus equivalent to 16% of the insurance premium, for the third one as much as 200%. The bonus is 3%. For disciplined drivers it will be increased on an annual basis to as much as 50% of their insurance premiums.
Vardikyan said that a total bonus of 350mln AMD has been granted to disciplined drivers so far. She added that if an undisciplined driver behaves well for no less than four years, he may hope for an amnesty.
Some independent insurers doubt that BMS will be able to "save" Armenia's third-party motor liability insurance sector. Their key argument is that vehicle inspection in Armenia is just a bureaucratic formality.