At the end of April, the National Insurance Superintendency (SNN), headed by Guillermo Plate, had announced that car insurance companies had to exclude towing or towing services and mechanical assistance in all the country. However, the SNN confirmed this Friday the signing of resolution 269/2024, which reverses the measure.
It was to take effect from July 24. Resolution 217/2024, published in the Official Gazette, had raised the objective of deregulate the sector, “protect the citizen” and increase competition. Some insurance companies had already started sending their clients letters with the notification of this change in the service provided.
“A resolution was signed that repeals the previousso the towing and towing service is back on the same terms as it was before,” they told Clarion SSN sources. The new rule will come into force after its publication in the Official Gazette.
In the recitals of the new resolution it is explained that the reversal is due to “presentations containing claims from different social sectorsmedia and even presentations in the judicial orbit“. And that “at the same time, there is social confusion regarding the objectives and benefits sought with the issuance of the Resolution in question.”
The modification, if it had gone ahead, also implied that the insurers were no longer obliged to cover “mechanical, battery, starting, electrical damage or problems, punctures, cuts and/or bursts of the chambers or covers or lack of fuel.” They would only be required to cover the costs of towing and mechanical assistance in cases of “accident, fire and robbery and/or theft.”
As a result of this measure imposed by the SSN, the Association of Consumers and Users of Argentina (ACUDA) had made a decision on May 28: a collective action in defense of consumer rights. They sought to obtain the annulment of Article 2 of the Resolution, which imposed “modifications that directly affect the conditions of the towing service, depriving consumers of a benefit that was previously included in their insurance policies.”
In addition, the association had submitted a request for a precautionary measure so that, immediately, “towing services are maintained under the conditions prior to the entry into force of the contested resolution.” In a recent statement, ACUDA had expressed that this countermeasure focuses on protecting the insured against a series of damages.
In the event that the resolution came into force, in the event of an accident or damage on the street, the client would have only two possibilities to tow a vehicle: have the assistance contracted separately from the insurance on a prepaid basis, with reference costs that can range from $10,000 (a basic service) to $35,000 monthly; or not having a prepaid service and hiring assistance for each need (as a reference, towing a car from Mar del Plata to Buenos Aires can cost $1,500,000; and in the metropolitan area it can cost about $100,000).
The question that all policyholders asked themselves as a result of this is whether with the removal of services monthly amounts could be lowered of the policies, which increased above inflation according to the record of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of Indec. In response to the query of Clarionsome insurers and sources in the sector expressed that although the rate was likely to be affected by the measure, the reduction would be very little relevantless than 5%.
In fact, until now, most companies had not disclosed the new fee costs. Some told this medium that they were waiting for certain definitions that the SSN should communicate to them, in addition to the collective action to be resolved by Justice.
According to external consultants, the quality and quantity of tow truck service are crucial factors for policyholders, with 80% of users considering them decisive when taking out insurance. Today it is estimated that 12,000,000 people In Argentina they have contracted car insurance. The market handles around 170,000 monthly attendances, with 50% in the AMBA. 90% are due to mechanical damage and 10% are due to accidents.
A few days ago at a press conference, the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, had been asked if the Government was considering making a determination or making any changes to the resolution based on the protection and continuous complaints. “There is no determination about that,” he had responded.
However, in the last few hours the scene changed and the brand new resolution reverses the original decision that had caused controversy.
