Claims for rental of a replacement vehicle

The owner of a motor vehicle, damaged in an accident or, or collision, as a rule, is entitled to reimbursement of the cost of renting a replacement vehicle. This entitlement is shaped differently, depending on whether the insured intends to use it under the perpetrator’s OC or under his own AC.

The injured party, as a rule, has the right to choose any rental company offering substitute vehicles, nevertheless, according to Article 362 of the Civil Code, if the injured party contributed to the occurrence or increase of the damage, the obligation to repair the damage is appropriately reduced in accordance with the circumstances, especially the degree of fault of both parties. From this provision emerges the principle of the injured party’s obligation to minimize the damage. The Supreme Court in Case No. III CZP 20/17 also concretized the duty of the injured party to minimize the damage and adopted the following resolution:

The owner of a motor vehicle, damaged in an accident or, or collision, as a rule, is entitled to reimbursement of the cost of renting a replacement vehicle. This entitlement is shaped differently, depending on whether the insured intends to use it under the perpetrator’s OC or under his own AC.

Expenses for renting a replacement vehicle incurred by the injured party in excess of the cost of the insurer’s proposed use of such a vehicle are covered by liability under the contract of compulsory motor vehicle liability insurance, if their incurrence was purposeful and economically justified.

The owner of a motor vehicle, damaged in an accident or, or collision, as a rule, is entitled to reimbursement of the cost of renting a replacement vehicle. This entitlement is shaped differently, depending on whether the insured intends to use it under the perpetrator’s OC or under his own AC.

The above rule is particularly revealing in the framework of the damage dealt with under the liability of the perpetrator. As a rule, under OC damage, you will receive a replacement car if:

• the vehicle has been damaged to such an extent that it prevents its further use, which is to be understood, among other things, when the Police seize the vehicle’s registration certificate, or the vehicle does not meet road safety requirements,
• no blame for causing the incident,
• the perpetrator of the accident had valid liability insurance.

Turning to the discussion of individual issues, it should first be pointed out that the daily rental rate varies depending on the class of vehicle, which range from PLN 70 to over PLN 250. In particular, the market distinguishes between segments A (the cheapest), B, C, D, E, F (luxury cars), G (sports cars) and H. When renting a replacement car, remember that it should be of a similar class to the damaged vehicle. Thus, the rental rent for a replacement vehicle should be set according to the rate prevailing in the local market (macroeconomic condition). If the replacement car is rented at a higher class or at an inflated daily rental rate, the insurer will certainly underestimate the compensation. This will also be the case if the insurer informs at the time of reporting the damage about the applied rates of substitute vehicles, then such an offer will be binding unless their incurring was purposeful and economically justified, i.e. justified by the special circumstances and needs of the injured party. the insurance company should in this case present a specific offer to rent a vehicle that in material respects corresponded to the injured party’s vehicle. As can be seen from the justifications of the analyzed rulings, if the insurance company fails in this task, e.g. is unable to indicate which could rent a vehicle that corresponds to the needs of the injured party, then the injured party has a better chance of having the full rental costs incurred by him recognized as reasonable.

Significantly, in cases concerning reimbursement of the cost of renting a replacement car from the liability of the perpetrator of the damage, insurers refer to the so-called technological repair time as a reasonable period for which the injured person is entitled to compensation in the case of partial damage. The technological repair time is nothing more than a purely hypothetical time calculated on the basis of relevant computer programs, which does not take into account many actual elements of repair such as: waiting in line for repair, importing spare parts, the technological break needed for the fresh coat of paint to dry before proceeding with maintenance work and vehicle assembly, etc. In the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court and common courts, it is unanimously accepted that the limitation of the period for which reimbursement of the cost of renting a replacement vehicle is due to the so-called technological repair time does not implement the principle of full compensation expressed in Article 361 of the Civil Code. Thus, compensation from the liability of the perpetrator of the damage for a substitute car means the obligation to reimburse the cost of renting a car for the actual, and not the technological period of repair of the damaged vehicle. Analyzing the data over the years, the repair of a vehicle usually takes from 7 to 30 days, depending on the extent of the damage and the time of repair, including the availability of repaired parts.

Concluding the above topic, it should also be mentioned that in case the person renting a replacement vehicle is a self-employed person, there may be situations when the Insurer will pay out the net amount, while the obligation to pay VAT (whether 100% or 50%) will burden this person.

If you cause an accident yourself, your car breaks down seriously or is stolen, you need additional insurance – autocasco or assistance – in order to benefit from renting a replacement vehicle. The most important rule in this case is, first of all, to verify the policy and general terms and conditions (GTCs), which should contain detailed information on the circumstances under which you can rent a replacement car at the insurer’s expense. There should also be a provision on the number of days of car rental that the insurer will pay for. Each insurer prefers its own solutions for customers. Standard AC insurance, unfortunately, does not include this type of service within its general terms and conditions. Such arrangements must therefore usually be agreed upon in direct negotiations with the insurer, or are available as part of “premium” insurance. For example, one of the larger motor insurers offers an Auto Non Stop option, under which it offers not only a replacement car for the entire repair period, but also picks up the damaged vehicle, substitutes the replacement car, arranges for the car to be repaired at a Repair Network workshop, and handles all the paperwork and settlement with the workshop.

In this case, the possibility of using a replacement car with AC may depend on paying a deposit or blocking the corresponding amount on a credit card. This money will, of course, be returned if you return the car undamaged.

Summarizing the above, one must conclude that awareness of one’s own rights and obligations, on the one hand, will avoid generating rental costs that the insurance company will not be obliged to reimburse. On the other hand, it allows the injured party to more confidently defend his interests if they are violated by the insurer.