Parliament adopted amendments to the Insurance Code on second reading.
A “Third Party Liability” insurance contract is required to be concluded by any person who owns a vehicle registered on the territory of Bulgaria and has not been suspended from traffic. This requirement does not prohibit any other person, other than the owner of the vehicle, from concluding the insurance contract. “Third Party Liability” insurance is also concluded by a person who drives a vehicle from a third country upon entering the territory of our country, when there is no valid one for the territory of Bulgaria. Electric scooters must also have “Civil Liability“ in the future, the adopted amendments provide.
It is planned that the insurance claim certificates will be issued centrally by the Guarantee Fund based on the data on insurance claims contained in the electronic register maintained by it. In this regard, changes are planned to the “bonus-malus&rdash; system - adjustment of the insurance premium under the mandatory “Civil Liability” insurance of motorists depending on the claims made. For the purposes of determining the insurance premium under “Civil Liability” the insurer adopts and applies rules for adjusting the insurance premium based on the claims made for a certain period of time (“bonus-malus system of the insurer“). The rules include the procedure and manner for adjusting the insurance premium, the conditions and criteria that the insurer has determined, as well as the manner in which it uses the certificates of insurance claims when adjusting the premiums.
The Parliament adopted that when certificates of insurance claims are used when adjusting the amount of the insurance premium, the insurer may not treat the insured in a discriminatory manner, nor unreasonably increase his premium due to his nationality or solely on the basis of his previous country of residence.
For the purposes of settling a motor insurance claim, the insurer, respectively the insurance intermediary, may create and store a copy of the driving license of a driver involved in a road traffic accident, the National Assembly voted.
The National Bureau of Bulgarian Motor Insurers determines - in compliance with the international treaties to which it is a party, and the acts of the bodies of the Council of Bureaux - a single sample of the "Green Card" certificate, as well as the form, procedure and conditions for its issuance and use. "Green Card" certificate is not issued for trams and trolleybuses.
A local insurer, local reinsurer and a branch of an insurer and reinsurer from a third country, which has received a license under this code, is obliged to have an identification code of the legal entity, the changes provide.
The person shall notify the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) of its identification code within 7 days of its issuance.
The FSC shall refuse to issue a license when it has received information from the State Agency “National Security“ that an insurer from a third country poses a threat to the national security of Bulgaria.
The Parliament approved the introduction of one-day vignettes for passenger cars up to 3.5 tons that use the republican road network. This happened with the second reading of a general bill on amendments to the Roads Act.
The proposed amendment regarding the introduction of the one-day vignette fee shall enter into force within 6 months of the promulgation of the changes in the "State Gazette", the adopted texts stipulate.
A proposal made in the hall by MP Alexander Ivanov from GERB-SDF was also adopted. The editorial amendment made by Ivanov was voted on with 143 votes "for", 0 – "against" and three "abstain".
It envisages the creation of a new provision, according to which, by decision of the Council of Ministers, vehicles with foreign registration that pass through the toll road network in connection with the implementation of intergovernmental and/or international programs and agreements may be temporarily exempted from paying road fees. Ivanov motivated the proposal in view of the need to take into account conditions often related to extraordinary hypotheses and the protection of people's lives and health. According to him, the change will allow fire engines from neighboring countries to help in extinguishing fires in Bulgaria. This proposal is reciprocal, Bulgarian fire trucks are also exempted when fighting fires in neighboring countries, Ivanov explained.
It was agreed that toll fees would be differentiated depending on the technical characteristics of the road or road section, the distance traveled, the category of the road vehicle and the number of axles, but also on the “total technically permissible maximum mass, the EURO environmental category, CO2 emission class and specific CO2 emissions“ instead of the previous “environmental characteristics“ and to be determined for each individual road or road section.
Within six months of the law's entry into force, it is planned to amend the Tariff for the fees collected for passing and using the republican road network.
The change in the methodology for determining the toll fees paid by heavy goods vehicles over 3.5 tons is in accordance with the requirements of the European directive, which aims at mandatory differentiation of fees for the use of roads according to their environmental characteristics.
The deputies also voted, in addition to the National Revenue Agency and the “Customs“ Agency; to have the right to access data in the Electronic Toll Collection System in accordance with the procedure specified by regulation.
The deputies adopted that within 36 months, instead of the previous 24 months, after their registration, the providers of the European Electronic Toll Service (EETS) will be able to conclude contracts for the service they provide. According to the current legislation, the European Electronic Toll Service is complementary to the national electronic toll service. The "Road Infrastructure" Agency creates and maintains a register of EETS areas, a national register of EETS providers and a register of national providers of road toll services.