“While the exceptional regime is in force [atualmente de calamidade], we advise consumers, whose insurance companies did not revise the insurance premium on the day of renewal of auto insurance, to contact them and ask for it, ”defended the economist Deco Proteste Monica Diaz, noting that they do not exist in the country. , guarantees a reduction in the cost of the premium, since the insurer is “not obliged” to do so.
Just as the rise in the number of road accidents makes car insurance more expensive, the reduction in premiums is due to the reduction in road accidents that have been reported worldwide for more than a year since the registration of cases of covid-19 infection. which has caused complaints from motorists asking for reimbursement or compensation.
In Portugal, insurers such as Zurich and Fidelidade announced initiatives in May 2020 to adjust customer premiums for reduced claims, following major North American partners to provide customers with automatic reimbursement based on the updated value of a commercial vehicle.
Fidelidade announced more than € 20 million in car insurance premium reductions for private customers and small businesses after seeing a 65% reduction in road accidents during the state of emergency.
Also last year, the insurance supervisor (ASF) provided guidelines for the interpretation of exceptional government measures to support policyholders and encouraged insurers to be flexible and facilitate agreements between the parties on the most favorable treatment for the policyholder (private) so that subsequently or fractional payments of insurance premiums , reduction of premium prices or even suspension of collection.
At the same time, a group of businessmen, professors, lawyers or leaders of associations issued a bill allowing owners of liability insurance companies to demand a 10% reduction in premiums, using an exclusive regime approved by the government.
For insurers who did not take advantage of any reduction in the insurance premium, at the insurers’ initiative, the Proteste economist recommends “ask the insurer, but during the extension of the insurance”, because the law does not oblige them to return the already accrued premium, but allows the parties to renegotiate the insurance contract.
Between May 13, 2020 and February 28, 2021, the pandemic caused insurers to cut insurance premiums by 5.2 million contracts, most of which were in the field of insurance. auto insurance (2.4 million).
Also, in about 5.6 million policies, most of which are auto insurance (3.5 million), the duration of compulsory insurance coverage was extended by 60 days.
“The awards have been cut by approximately 1.3 million contracts, which cover activities that have been suspended or substantially curtailed, or whose businesses have been closed due to exceptional and temporary measures taken in response to the pandemic,” ASF explained in a statement. from April 1. referring to measures to support companies with reduced billing rather than private policyholders.
