Car insurance is obligatory in Cyprus. Every car owner needs to understand the special features of the various insurances before they can decide what will suit them best.
COMPREHSIVE or THIRD PARTY INSURANCE
You will need to insure your car the moment you purchase it. You will need to present a passport (of the person who will be driving the car), a driving licence and motor vehicle certificate in order to buy insurance. Third party insurance covers damage incurred by the driver to third parties, whilst comprehensive will also cover the driver’s own damage for an amount agreed when signing contracts.
The main factors taken into account when assessing the cost of the policy are: the driving experience in Cyprus (insurance companies do not count leased cars on the island), any accidents caused by the driver in the past 5 years and how much damage was incurred. The price of the car and the sum of a franchise are also taken into account for insuring comprehensive.
A franchise is a sum of money, usually €200–300, which the driver pays when there is an insurance event. If the sum of the damage exceeds the franchise, the insurance company covers the difference. Some insurance companies allow their clients to choose the sum and cut/increase the price of a policy as necessary.
Apart from the damage to the car(s), a good insurance policy will also cover the cost of bodily injuries or even death for a sum of up to €30 million, damage to property of third parties up to €1 million, аs well as urgent hospitalisation for a sum of €50.
What should be done when there is an accident and how to get compensated
You should call an ambulance if necessary and call the police, noting down all the information necessary for a police investigation, for example, the names of witnesses, registration numbers of vehicles, take pictures of the vehicles involved in the accident and call the road service department of your insurance company.
To receive compensation a driver must contact his insurance company, then, after appraisal of the damage by specialists, the insurance company will suggest you visit a car repair shop. If the driver has a mechanic or a car repair shop of his own, he should ensure that the car repair shop and the insurance company agree on the price of restoration work before the start of repairs.
What you should pay attention to when buying an insurance policy
It often happens that drivers choose the cheapest insurance policy without paying attention to the price of coverage.
A good insurance policy offers the following – no price rise in the case of an insurable event, assistance and transportation of the car around the whole of Cyprus, the possibility for the insured person to drive any car, the possibility for any driver (with a driver’s licence of more than 2 years) to drive the insured car without having to be entered onto the policy, a monetary compensation in case of theft of personal belongings, replacement of the windscreen and other windows, replacement of the car for the time of the loss аs well as coverage on parking lots and un-tarmacked roads.
Kirill Karslidis,
Director of insurance company Pitsas Insurances
