Motor insurance is a compulsory third-party liability insurance. A vehicle without motor insurance may not be used in traffic. The direct writer, i.e. the insurance company, compensates the injured party for any damage caused by the person responsible for the accident. As a result, motor insurance gives you the peace of mind that the person responsible for the accident does not have to compensate for the damage themselves and the injured party is compensated for any damage caused.
A direct writer is obliged to compensate the injured party for the damage within the limits provided in the motor insurance contract and the Motor Insurance Act. In addition to motor insurance, you can enter into a first party liability contract (kaskokindlustus) to insure your vehicle against, for example, theft, vandalism, road accident, or natural disaster. In the event of an insured event, any damage caused by damage to or destruction of the vehicle shall be compensated.
For example, if you cause a traffic accident, the insurance company compensates the injured party for damage by way of motor insurance, but your car is compensated for by way of first-party liability insurance.
- Check the validity of your vehicle’s motor insurance from the motor insurance register or in the e-service of the Transport Administration (login with your ID-card, Mobile-ID, or Smart-ID is required).
Foreign vehicles must also have valid motor insurance in Estonia. Vehicles from an EEA State can only be insured in the home country. For vehicles from a Green Card state, motor insurance cover can be provided by taking out motor insurance in the home state or by taking out border insurance at the border. Vehicles not from Green Card states must have border insurance.
Taking out motor insurance
The owner of the vehicle or authorised user of the vehicle who is entered in the traffic register must enter into an insurance contract. Vehicles registered in Estonia must be insured by a direct writer who is a member of the Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau.
The direct writer shall issue a policy regarding the concluded contract. You are obliged to pay insurance premiums. Upon your request, your direct writer will also issue a Green Card. A Green Card is a special type of policy which proves that you have valid insurance cover in other countries noted on the Green Card besides Estonia and the EEA States.
The direct writer shall forward the details of the concluded contract to the motor insurance register without delay.
In Estonia, the validity of motor insurance is checked from the register and you do not have to carry your policy with you.
You must take your insurance policy with you if you go abroad. In Green Card states other than the EEA States, you must have your Green Card. However, you should also take your Green Card if you travel to more distant EEA States.
More information on the Green Card can be found on the website of the Council of Bureaux (COB).
Vehicles subject to insurance
Motor insurance must be taken out for motor vehicles registered in the traffic register, such as cars, heavy goods vehicles, buses, mopeds, motorcycles, and tractors. It is also necessary to conclude a contract for the trailers of such vehicles. A more detailed list can be found on the website of the Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau.
A vehicle without motor insurance may not be used in traffic. By way of exception, vehicles of the Defence Forces, the Estonian Internal Security Service, the Defence League, and the Police and Border Guard Board are not required to have motor insurance in Estonia. Motor insurance is also not required for vehicles which are not registered as a motor vehicle in the traffic register, such as an ATV registered as an off-road vehicle.
Motor vehicles or their trailers registered in the traffic register must be covered by a valid motor insurance policy at all times, subject to two exceptions:
- there is no insurance obligation during the 12 months following the termination of the contract, provided that the vehicle is not used in traffic nor used in any other way which may lead to an insured event;
- vintage vehicles or race cars not used in traffic do not require insurance cover.
Vehicles without insurance cover shall be subject to mandatory insurance which is more expensive than regular motor insurance. Also read the frequently asked questions about mandatory insurance.
The cost of motor insurance
Insurance companies have different methods for calculating the cost of motor insurance. Each direct writer strives to estimate the insurance risk as accurately as possible and determine the insurance premium based on this estimation.
Usually, direct writers consider the following when determining the insurance premium:
- insurance and loss history related to the risk to be insured;
- category of the vehicle;
- make and model of the vehicle;
- engine power, maximum permissible mass, number of seats of the vehicle;
- main area where the vehicle is used;
- area of use of the vehicle (e.g. a taxi, a short-term rental vehicle, a vehicle used for driving practice or an emergency vehicle may have a different premium than usual);
- the service which is used to conclude the insurance contract.
There is no common understanding or a rule in insurance practice for assessing a customer’s loss history and to what extent this has an impact on the premium.
It is common for previous insurance contracts and insurance cases related to the owner of the vehicle, the authorised user of the vehicle, and the policyholder to be taken into account in the calculation of the premium.
If a person wants their foreign insurance history to be taken into account in Estonia, they have to request a document on their insurance history from their previous direct writer and submit it to the Estonian direct writer. The Estonian direct writer takes this into account when estimating the insurance risk according to its methodology.
You can conveniently choose a motor insurance provider by using the motor insurance calculator. The calculator provides a good overview of the prices of third-party liability insurances of eight insurance companies that have to be paid when concluding a contract on the direct-writing company’s website. Motor insurance can also be purchased in the offices of insurance companies.
Vehicles without motor insurance
The police may impose a fine on the driver of an uninsured vehicle.
If you cause damage with an uninsured vehicle, the damage shall be compensated for by the Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau or the direct writer who concluded the latest contract, and the compensation paid shall be recovered from the owner, authorised user or driver of the uninsured vehicle.
You do not need to take up motor insurance during the 12 months following the termination of the contract, provided that the vehicle is not used in traffic nor in any other way which may give rise to an insured event during that time. If you do not take out motor insurance after these 12 months, mandatory insurance, i.e. automatic insurance takes effect for the uninsured vehicle.
If motor insurance is not taken up, mandatory insurance is also applied when the vehicle is registered in the traffic register or when the temporary cancellation of the vehicle in the traffic register expires.
It is a good idea to avoid mandatory insurance because its premium is significantly higher than that of regular motor insurance, and the person who causes damage and has mandatory insurance must pay EUR 640 of deductible per insured event.
If you do not use the vehicle, the vehicle must be deleted from the traffic register.
The direct writer of mandatory insurance is the Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau. You can read more about mandatory insurance on the website of the Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau. Also read the frequently asked questions about mandatory insurance.
Damage subject to compensation
A direct writer shall pay compensation if the event occurred is considered an insured event under the motor insurance contract.
If you have suffered any damage in a traffic accident, the direct writer shall compensate you for the damage suffered in the motor insurance incident in place of the person who caused it.
An insured event is a loss event where all of the following conditions apply:
- damage has been caused by a vehicle that is subject to the insurance obligation;
- the damage has been caused by the realisation of the risk inherent in the operation of the vehicle in traffic and there is a causal link between the movement or location of the vehicle and the damage caused;
- the damage has been caused on the road or in another area used for conventional vehicle traffic.
In the case of an insured event, the direct writer shall compensate for damage, such as:
- destruction of or damage to the injured party’s vehicle;
- cost of restoring or replacing a damaged building, fence, road sign, etc.;
- cost of prevention or reduction of damage;
- cost of obtaining compensation or determining damage;
- cost of treatment of the injured party, including cost of nursing care and medicinal products;
- loss of income due to incapacity for work of the injured party;
- maintenance compensation to the deceased person’s dependants;
- damage caused by an increase in the injured party’s needs, such as medical aids (glasses, prostheses, wheelchair, etc.), nurse, etc.;
- additional costs incurred as a result of the insured event;
- non-material damage;
- impairment of value of the vehicle.
In addition to the above, the direct writer shall compensate for the cost of hospital treatment of the driver who caused the insured event.
More information about damage subject to compensation can be found on the website of the Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau.
Damage not subject to compensation
The following shall not be compensated under motor insurance:
- damage exceeding the sum insured;
- damage inflicted on the vehicle or another object by the impact of a stone or another object on the road;
- damage arising from damage to or destruction of money, securities, works of art and precious metal objects, except personal necessities;
- damage arising from the worsening of the quality of the environment, except reasonable expenses related to initial rescue operations for the purpose of eliminating initial damage and preventing further damage;
- loss of income, except the loss of income due to causing death, health damage or a bodily injury to the extent provided for in the Motor Insurance Act;
- the costs of using an item of equal value during the time in which the damaged item is being repaired or a new item is being acquired;
- damage inflicted upon oneself;
- damage caused to the owner of the vehicle driven by the holder of the vehicle;
- damage that does not constitute damage characteristic of damage caused by a vehicle as a major source of danger, except for damage caused to another vehicle by a door of a vehicle;
- damage arising from the deterioration of further economic opportunities;
- damage arising from a decrease in the value of the damaged item, except in the event specified in this Act relating to the impairment of the value of a vehicle;
- damage the prevention of which is not the purpose of the enforcement of traffic rules, for instance, damage arising from the fact that due to the insured event the injured party fails to perform a contract concluded with a person who was not involved in the insured event.
Where to get assistance
As in other areas, disputes arise in insurance. In most cases, the parties to the insurance relationship settle disputes by way of negotiations. If negotiations fail, they can request the dispute to be resolved by the conciliation body of motor insurance under the Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau.
- The settlement of insurance disputes between a direct writer and a customer is free of charge for the customer.
- The conciliator endeavours to reconcile the parties to the dispute. Successful conciliation leads to an agreement whereby both parties agree to the outcome and bring the dispute to an end. The agreement is mandatory.
- If the parties do not agree with the proposed conciliation, they do not have to approve it and have the right to apply to the courts.
- The motor insurance conciliation body is an out-of-court dispute resolution body recognised by the state.
The Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau is a motor insurance guarantee fund, the Estonian Green Card bureau, the keeper of the motor insurance register, and the compulsory insurer of uninsured vehicles. The Bureau shall compensate for damage caused by unregistered and unidentified vehicles, and vehicles with mandatory insurance. The Bureau also mediates the settlement of motor insurance disputes via the motor insurance conciliation body.
Contacts of the Estonian Motor Insurance Bureau:
- Mustamäe tee 46 (Section A), 10621, Tallinn
- Phone 667 1800 (Mon.–Thu. 9.00–16.30, Fri. 9.00–15.00)
- e-mail [email protected], [email protected]
Motor insurance register
The motor insurance register is a database containing information on:
- all motor insurance covers (contracts and policies) issued by a direct writer operating in Estonia;
- any damage under motor insurance handled by a direct writer operating in Estonia.
Direct writers operating in Estonia provide information to the motor insurance register.
References
- Estonian Insurance Association Information center
- Companies issuing motor third party liability cover in Estonia
- What to do in case of traffic accident
- International Association of National Motor Insurers' Bureaux
- Motor insurance calculator
Services
- Claims representatives of Estonian insurance companies
- Different queries from the motor insurance register
- Searching for a vehicle without insurance contract
- Traffic accident submission
- Traffic insurance history