March 2021 | Updated: August 2023
OCTA, or compulsory liability insurance for owners of land vehicles, is designed to would cover the financial obligations that you might incur if you cause personal injury or death in a road traffic accident, property or other property damage to someone else.
OCTA policy is mandatory for all vehicles that participate in road traffic in Latvia. So, if you want to drive by the city, outside it and on other public roads with your car, motorcycle, scooter, truck, jeep, electric car, then you must have a valid OCTA policy for this vehicle.
OCTA policy is also mandatory for trailers, semi-trailers and campers.
If you are found at fault in the accident, OCTA covers the other party's medical expenses, vehicle repairs or other related losses that will have occurred due to your fault.
For example, if you accidentally slide into the rear of the car in front of you and damage its bumper and headlights, your OCTA the policy will cover the damages caused to the owner of the car driving in front of it.
The OCTA policy does not cover losses caused by:
In most jurisdictions, OCTA insurance is mandatory for all vehicle owners and drivers. So ensures that, in the event of an accident, the injured party can receive compensation for the damages caused to him without delay vehicle, property or personal health.
OCTA prices or bonuses depend on several factors, for example, your driving history or Bonus Malus class, age, driving experience, place of car registration, type, age and capacity of the vehicle, as well as many other factors that each insurer determines in its own way risk assessment methods and parameters.
For example, a new driver with a BMW will pay significantly more for their OCTA policy than an experienced driver a driver with a minivan.
No, OCTA insurance specifically covers liabilities to third parties. Any damage to your vehicle, your the property or you must cover yourself or with another insurance such as CASCO.
However, if you have been injured in a road traffic accident and the guilty party is someone else, then the damages caused to you will be compensated by the insurer of the guilty party.
OCTA insurance protects the damages caused to victims, but if the perpetrator is an uninsured driver for whom OCTA not, then the losses will be covered by the OCTA Guarantee Fund, which will then further recover the losses from the guilty party.
OCTA insurance covers damage not only to property, vehicle or belongings, but also injuries caused to persons expenses, including damages caused to passengers who are in the injured vehicle, but not the guilty party in the vehicle.
Damage to the passengers of the guilty party's vehicle can only be covered by CASKO or a specific civil law liability insurance.
Insurers usually provide a dispute resolution process if there is a dispute over compensation. It can happen communicating and trying to resolve the case mutually with the insurer or involving Ombudsman.
The OCTA policy is about the owner of the vehicle, not the vehicle itself. Selling a car, OCTA the insurance does not transfer to the new owner. The new owner of the car has to buy the OCTA policy himself.
Driving without OCTA insurance can be fined from 10 - 2,000 euros. As you know, in Latvia as well speed cameras are able to read the validity of OCTA for vehicles that have passed them. In such cases, the received the penalty is 300 - 350 euros.
Driving without a valid OCTA policy can result in a fine, but it can be much more painful for your wallet in case you have caused a traffic accident while driving without OCTA insurance, resulting in damages property or health of a third party. In that case, the amount of the penalty will be as large as the damage caused and its amount can legally reach up to 1,050,000 + 5,210,000 euros. These two amounts, measured in millions, are OCTA limit of damages to be paid to the injured third party.
Optional, but not mandatory as information on whether the car has a valid MTPL policy and where it is insured is available to anyone by entering the vehicle registration numberLTAB system. All you need to know is the car's state registration number or chassis number.
No, it is not possible to divide the payment for the MTPL policy into several parts. However, you can use the option to buy a policy with a shorter term and then the costs will be lower, but the price for the insured day will be higher than buying a policy for a longer term.
Only the following shall be entitled to compensation for the damage:
In order to receive compensation, the injured party must submit a claim to the insurer of the party who caused the accident.
The MTPL policy does not insure your vehicle and the damage caused to it, but your liability is insured in cases when you have caused damage to another person's civil liability insurance you would have to cover the damage caused to others as a result of a traffic accident. The MTPL policy ensures that these losses are covered by your insurer.
Bonus Malus is a risk class assigned to each owner and holder of the vehicle (not the vehicle). It is denoted by the number from 1 to 17. The maximum highest BM class is 17, which means that a person gets the largest possible reduction in the policy price when buying MTPL or CASCO insurance.
When a person gets the insurance for the first time, his BM class is 6. If there has been an accident during the insurance period, then the Bonus Malus class is reduced and the next policy may be more expensive, but if there have been no accidents during the insurance period then BM class in the next risk class calculation it will be higher and your vehicle's insurance policies will be cheaper.
When changing insurers, your Bonus Malus class remains the same as with the previous insurer. The risk class is assigned to each driver for one year, but on 15 September each year it is recalculated. The recalculation is based on the number of violations and traffic accidents of the previous period. Accordingly, the BM class decreases or increases. The larger the class, the cheaper the policy. You can find out your Bonus Malus class by visiting the relevant section LTAB website.
The price of the MTPL policy is influenced by various factors - Your Bonus Malus class, Your car risk group (in the view of each insurer it may be different), car registration address (premium in Riga, discount outside Riga) and other factors determined by each insurer at its discretion. More on this topic see our article How MTPL premiums are calculated.
If possible, fill the agreed statement. Each driver involved in an accident must complete the left or right side of the form, which includes columns for vehicle A or vehicle B.
The police do not need to be called and it is sufficient to fill in the agreed statement in cases when:
If the traffic accident in which you are involved does not meet any of the above conditions, then immediately report the accident to the State Traffic Police and follow their instructions.
Latvia, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Croatia, Estonia, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Cyprus, United Kingdom, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia , Slovenia, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Hungary, Germany, Sweden are the countries where your MTPL policy will be valid.
The MTPL calculator allows you to quickly and easily compare the price of your policy between all the offers of insurers in the market, so that you can choose the most advantageous one. It is no secret that standard MTPL policies are the same for all insurers, so if you do not want to include any additional risks (such as roadside assistance or driver and passenger accident insurance), then we recommend choosing the cheapest option since they all are the same.
To see a price comparison, you must enter the vehicle's state registration number and registration certificate number. The MTPL calculator will show you the prices offered by all Latvian insurers for terms from 1 to 12 months or until the moment when the technical inspection of the vehicle ends.
You can see the validity period of the MTPL policy in your policy printout. If a printout is not available, it is most convenient to check the end date of a policy at LTAB website by entering the registration number or chassis number of your car.
The price of your MTPL policy may increase, for example, if during the previous insurance period you have had a traffic accident or you have violated the traffic rules and earned penalty points. Even the price of the policy can be influenced by other factors, such as the registration address of the vehicle. If the car is registered in Riga, then the price of the policy will be higher than for those cars registered outside Riga.
To terminate the policy, you must complete the policy termination form and submit it to your insurer. Most often, insurers accept these applications both in person at one of the service centers and electronically.
Most likely, the MTPL calculator does not show you the price of the next policy, because the current MTPL policy is valid for you for at least another 30 days.
Usually the MTPL policy takes effect immediately after successful payment of the purchase. This process takes place automatically and without human intervention, so you can buy the policy online even in the middle of the night or on holidays and you can be sure that the policy will be valid instantly.
The limit of liability is the maximum amount that the insurer will pay for losses in one insurance event. The limit for damages caused to a third party is EUR 5,210,000. The limit for damage to property is EUR 1,050,000.
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