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Private cars become "online car-hailing" Will insurance companies pay in case of traffic accidents?

At present, some private car owners will register their private cars as "online car-hailing" soliciting operations, but if the vehicle is involved in a traffic accident, how should this insurance be calculated? Will the insurance company pay out? A few days ago, the Beijing Pinggu District People's Court announced a related case↓

In June 2023, Mr. Li purchased a new energy vehicle worth more than 200,000 yuan, and purchased compulsory motor vehicle insurance and commercial insurance through the Internet, and the commercial insurance is insured according to non-operating vehicles, including more than 210,000 yuan of vehicle damage insurance and third-party liability insurance, etc., with a total commercial insurance premium of more than 5,100 yuan. In July, Mr. Li registered the car as an "online car-hailing", but at first he mainly used it for himself and did not take many orders, and in November he began to take orders all day.

Private cars become "online car-hailing" Will insurance companies pay in case of traffic accidents?

On December 21, on his way home after dropping off passengers, Mr. Li unfortunately had a unilateral accident and hit a roadside tree, causing serious damage to the vehicle and injuring himself. The insurance company initially determined the total loss and estimated that it would compensate more than 210,000 yuan, but soon found out the fact that Mr. Li was running an "online car-hailing service" and believed that he had changed the nature of the vehicle and turned it into a "commercial vehicle", so it refused to compensate. Mr. Li then filed a lawsuit with the Beijing Pinggu District People's Court.

Owner: The vehicle belongs to the category of personal use in the event of an accident

In this case, the insurance company refused to pay compensation on the grounds that Mr. Li, the owner of the car, had not changed the commercial insurance in a timely manner. However, Mr. Li believes that the insurance company did not fulfill its obligation to prompt and inform when applying for insurance, and that he had already delivered the guests at the time of the accident, and was not on the way to pick up or send off the passengers, which should belong to the category of personal use. How did the court decide this?

Mr. Li, the owner: I don't think it should be a commercial car, because first, I didn't operate for a long time, and second, when I had an accident, I wasn't in operation. When I bought the insurance, I was not reminded that this vehicle is different from the insurance of commercial vehicles.

Private cars become "online car-hailing" Will insurance companies pay in case of traffic accidents?

The insurance company argued that data from the ride-hailing platform showed that Mr. Li had been driving the vehicle involved in the accident in November and December before the accident.

Private cars become "online car-hailing" Will insurance companies pay in case of traffic accidents?

Insurance company litigation agent: received 330 orders in November, and as of December 21, the accident occurred, and 230 orders have been received, and if there is no accident, it may be more than 300 orders, so we believe that he has constituted a change in the nature of the use of the vehicle.

Court: The insurance company has fulfilled its obligation to prompt and inform in the insurance contract

The court held that the insurance contract involved in this case was signed through electronic insurance application, and no paper contract was generated at the time of application. After verification, the insurance company has blacked out the key terms of the three insurance and the car damage insurance in the "Motor Vehicle Comprehensive Commercial Insurance Clauses", which obviously has fulfilled its obligation to prompt and inform.

Private cars become "online car-hailing" Will insurance companies pay in case of traffic accidents?

Judge Xie Yingxia of the People's Court of Pinggu District, Beijing: Because the owner of the car, Mr. Li, was engaged in the online car-hailing business, the nature of the use of the insured vehicle had been changed from non-operation to operation, which significantly increased the risk of the insured vehicle, and the owner of the car failed to notify the insurance company in time, and the insurer did not bear the responsibility to compensate the insurance money according to the relevant provisions of Article 52 of the People's Republic of China Insurance Law.

The level of danger has increased significantly, and the insurance company's refusal to pay is justified

Article 52 of the Insurance Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that if the degree of risk of the subject matter of insurance increases significantly during the validity period of the contract, the insured shall notify the insurer in a timely manner in accordance with the contract, and the insurer may increase the insurance premium or terminate the contract in accordance with the contract.

Private cars become "online car-hailing" Will insurance companies pay in case of traffic accidents?

If the insured fails to perform the notification obligation provided for in the preceding paragraph, the insurer shall not be liable for compensating the insurance money for the insured accident that occurs due to a significant increase in the degree of danger of the insured object.

Private cars become "online car-hailing" Will insurance companies pay in case of traffic accidents?

The judge explained that according to the provisions of the Interim Measures for the Administration of Online Taxi Reservation Business Services, online car-hailing has a business nature. When the nature of the vehicle is changed from non-operation to operation, the number of times the vehicle is used, the distance traveled, the number of passengers, etc. will increase significantly compared with the vehicle in the self-use state, and these factors will inevitably lead to an increase in the probability of traffic accidents, which means that the risk degree of the vehicle, the subject matter of insurance, will increase significantly. Mr. Li failed to fulfill the statutory notification obligation to the insurance company, and the insurance company's refusal to pay the insurance money in the commercial insurance was based on the law, so the court upheld it.

When changing the use of the vehicle, the owner should notify the insurance company in time

"Online car-hailing" brings convenience to people's travel, but car owners must change their commercial insurance in time after registering their private cars as "online car-hailing", and do not take chances because of the increase in premiums. In addition, the judge also reminded the car owner that after changing the nature of the vehicle, the compulsory traffic insurance is still valid, but the compensation object of the compulsory traffic insurance is also limited.

The judge reminded that the owner should abide by the principle of good faith when applying for insurance, and truthfully inform the insurance company of the purpose of the vehicle. If you change from a private car to an "online car-hailing", you must notify the insurance company in time, so that the insurance company can re-evaluate the risk and insurance rate according to the changed situation, and avoid not being able to obtain commercial insurance compensation due to failure to fulfill the obligation to inform in time.

Private cars become "online car-hailing" Will insurance companies pay in case of traffic accidents?

The judge also reminded the car owner that in this case, the insurance company refuses to pay for the commercial insurance, and the insurance company still has to pay within the scope of the compulsory traffic insurance, but the compensation object of the compulsory traffic insurance is limited.

Private cars become "online car-hailing" Will insurance companies pay in case of traffic accidents?

Xie Yingxia, Judge of the Beijing Pinggu District People's Court: If the loss after a traffic accident falls within the scope of compulsory traffic insurance, the insurance company should still bear the liability for compensation. It should be noted that the compulsory traffic insurance compensates for the property loss and personal injury loss of the victim other than the person and the insured. Therefore, if it is only a unilateral accident that causes the loss of the driver or the car, it is not within the scope of compensation of compulsory traffic insurance.

Source: CCTV News

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