What to do if the bank imposes insurance

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

If you have ever had to take out a loan, then you know that it will be difficult to get out of the imposed insurance service. Today we will tell you how to act so as not to overpay.

What insurance is required and what is not

Today it is difficult to find a bank that will not impose an insurance service. Precisely to impose, because insurance is compulsory only in a few cases.

• If you take out a mortgage, you need to insure your home.
• If you take out another loan secured by property, such as a car. Then this property itself also needs to be insured.
• If you take out a mortgage under the state support program, you need to insure your life.

In other cases, life insurance, insurance against job loss, and so on is the bank's desire to make money.

Of course, insurance gives the bank guarantees. But the prices for such services are breaking all records. When I applied for a mortgage, the bank offered me life insurance for 12,000 rubles (and the reasons for the refusal had to be justified in writing). While the insurance company, accredited by the bank, took out insurance for less than 4,000 rubles.

So, if the bank offers insurance and you agree with the need for it, first look at the prices in the insurance companies.

The lender is obliged to provide the borrower with a consumer loan (loan) on the same (amount, repayment period of the consumer loan (loan) and interest rate) conditions in the event that the borrower independently insured his life, health or other insurable interest in favor of the lender with an insurer that meets the criteria established by the creditor in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Federal Law N 353-FZ "On consumer credit (loan)"

That is, if you need insurance, arrange it yourself, and not with the help of a bank. Save an impressive amount. If the bank refuses to accept a "foreign" policy, use two arguments: the government of the Russian Federation No. 386 and No. 135-FZ "On Protection of Competition". They say that you have the right to choose an insurance company.

There is also a pitfall here. The insurance company must be accredited by the bank, otherwise you will have to prove that it meets the requirements of the bank for insurance companies. A list of such organizations can be obtained from the bank's representatives.

But what if you don't need insurance?

Read, read and read again

Look at the feed of reviews and complaints on the Banki.ru portal: there every 10-15 minutes a complaint about imposed insurance pops up. The situation looks even sadder if you read these reviews. The vast majority of those paying for unnecessary insurance discover this already at home, when the documents are signed. They do not read the agreement, they immediately sign it.

A few words about what this is fraught with.

• Some bank employees do not say a word at all about the insurance included in the loan. Simply on the printed form of the contract they themselves put a tick in the item "I agree to voluntary insurance for such and such a program." This is a gross violation, but when you sign the papers, it will be extremely difficult to prove anything.
• Operators may not provide all information. For example, they will promise to return the insurance upon early repayment of the loan or after filing, but the contract will indicate that the insurance will not be returned. The options are different, but the answer to the claims is the same: "You signed the contract, so you have read the terms and conditions."
• Insurance can be included in the loan amount and increase the overpayment by more than 10%.

You can prove that you did not know anything like that, but the signature under the consent is everything. Better to spend an hour rereading papers than time and money on an imposed service.

Never rely on the words of the operator or another bank employee that insurance does not affect the rate, that its amount will be returned to you, or that only one company can be insured.

Can the bank refuse

If the bank has previously approved the loan, then often insurance is already included in it. Therefore, if you receive a message that you are offered to receive money, first talk to the operator and ask to recalculate the loan without insurance.

If you are told that a loan is not possible without insurance, please contact (by reference - the document as amended on 2016-26-04).

The lender is obliged to offer the borrower an alternative option for a consumer loan (loan) on comparable (amount and term of repayment of a consumer credit (loan) consumer credit (loan) conditions without the obligatory conclusion of an insurance contract.

Federal Law N 353-FZ "On consumer credit (loan)"

That is, you must recalculate the loan and the amount of the overpayment, excluding insurance from it. What happens in practice? Often, after such a calculation, the bank simply refuses to issue funds. It is difficult to deal with this, because the bank is free to decide who to refuse payment and for what reason.

In this case, try a few steps.

1. Go to another operator or to another branch of the bank. Or discuss the matter with a person with more authority. Sometimes “on-site” operators work strictly according to internal instructions and are afraid to deviate from it. They said to do insurance - they do. And more proactive employees with more authority make a different decision.
2. Write a claim to the bank. State the situation with references to the law, demand a written justification for the refusal. Make all the papers in duplicate so that you have the number of the appeal and the signature of the employee who accepted it. Call the bank and rush the employees to consider the claim, leave reviews on the Internet: this way you increase the chances of a positive decision if the bank is worried about its image.
3. When you have the bank's answer in your hands, you can complain above - to the Federal Antimonopoly Service or Rospotrebnadzor. Another tool is the Bank of Russia, where you can submit a complaint electronically.
4. Think about whether you need to conclude an agreement with a bank that behaves dishonestly at all. Look for other lending organizations.

The fact is that without insurance, a contract with a bank often loses its attractiveness: for example, the interest rate rises sharply, a loan is more expensive than with insurance. Sometimes it is worth collecting more documents, but finding a bank with transparent conditions.

What to do if insurance has already been imposed

Imposing insurance is a violation of consumer protection law.

It is prohibited to condition the purchase of certain goods (works, services) on the compulsory purchase of other goods (works, services). Losses caused to the consumer as a result of violation of his right to free choice of goods (works, services) are reimbursed by the seller (performer) in full.

Law of the Russian Federation N 2300-1 "On Protection of Consumer Rights"

If you have already drawn up a contract, and then saw that part of the approved money went to insurance, you can still have time to terminate the insurance contract. According to you, you have five days from the date of conclusion of the insurance contract in order to terminate it and return yourself the premium paid. True, the terms of the return depend on the specifics of the contract.

Problems may arise if you did not enter into an agreement directly with an insurance company, but connected to the bank's collective insurance program. In this case, you pay not only the insurance premium, but also the commission to the bank for the opportunity to participate in this program. The commission can be up to 50% of your insurance payment, and under the terms of the agreement, the bank may not return it. This is not to mention that there is a commission upon return.

Dmitry Zhukov Chief insurance analyst at Banki.ru portal. The practice of supplementing a loan agreement with various types of insurance is widely used by various banks. Often they try to include such services in the contract without notifying the borrower or making them conditional on the issuance of a loan. In this way, banks kill two birds with one stone: they reduce their risks and receive additional income (remuneration in the amount of 50–70% of the insurance premium is actually standard market practice, and in some cases it reaches 97%). Moreover, under the terms of such insurance contracts, the return of the premium upon termination is not provided or a significant percentage of it is withheld.

No matter how trite it may sound, you can protect yourself only by carefully reading the documents that you are offered to sign. Of course, you need to complain and defend your rights. Moreover, often the problem is solved in a dialogue with the head of the manager serving you. But complaints are not always effective, asserting your rights will take a lot of time, and a loan is often needed “today”.

From mid-May, insurers will be required to include a "cooling period" clause in their contracts, which will allow premiums to be refunded under most insurance contracts virtually without loss. The main thing is to understand within five days that such an agreement has been concluded.

When nothing helps and the bank refuses to meet halfway, try to influence it with complaints to Rospotrebnadzor. In the appeal, you need to describe the situation in detail and ask to bring the bank to justice according to the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation. Such complaints must be accompanied by the maximum number of documents that you have in your hands: copies of contracts, policies, and so on.

You can also apply to the prosecutor's office, and then to the court. But no one can guarantee that this appeal will lead to a positive decision. We have already said that a signed agreement is a much more effective argument than all complaints.

Therefore, it is better to think carefully at the stage of concluding a contract, so that it does not hurt excruciatingly for the aimlessly given money.