The National Insurance Superintendency published this Friday in the Official bulletin a resolution that modifies the towing service that insurance companies had throughout the Argentine Republic, and by which, from now on, insurance companies will no longer be able to include in their policies the towing and mechanical assistance service to users.
Thus, what has been determined is that only in the event of an accident due to damage, fire, robbery or theft, travel and stay expenses will be covered by the insurer. On the other hand, the coverage that existed until now on “transfer, towing, assistance and/or stay of the insured vehicle, generated by mechanical, battery, starting, electrical, punctures, cuts and/or blowouts, will no longer be valid. of the chambers or covers, lack of fuel and/or any other that is not linked to an accident, fire, robbery and/or theft,” states the official text.
The SSN Resolution 217.2024 that modifies the Regulation of Insurance Activity, has given a period of up to 90 days to implement this change, but also, once 90 days have passed, the change will be applied to each user at terminate the current insurance contractthat is, at the time of renewing the policies.
“This favors market solvency, but as a broker we also have to provide a solution to clients. I agree with the measure, but now I have the responsibility to give customers the same service they had. We have to find a way around it and that is our challenge,” he said. Juan Ignacio Perucchi, CEO of Cinalli Brokers.
According to specialists, this is a decision that should have been taken a long time agosince mechanical assistance services and towing services are not part of the insurance purpose and alter the basic principle by which premiums must be allocated to sufficient compliance with the insurer’s obligations and its permanent economic and financial capacity.
“Mechanical assistance is not the spirit of the policy. People have also long abused these services, greatly increasing the costs of insurance companies. It’s something that has been talked about for a long time, at some point it was going to happen. “It’s good news for insurers,” he told Infobae an independent insurance operator.
For many years, companies have been obliged to allocate a substantial part of the collection of premiums to provide a service that, in addition to being very expensive, is outsourcedwhich ends up generating other types of problems for an insurer, which ends up diverting resources and time to address issues that are not its responsibility, also exposing itself to a deterioration in its image with its clients.
“The worst thing is that many users, when quoting a policy, ask you about the number of crane services per month that they have available rather than coverage. This meant that over time, insurers had to greatly expand this additional, which increases costs and makes the work more complex. The cranes are a problem. There are clients who are left stranded for four or five hours waiting for a tow truck because there is a lot of demand and it has a very high cost for the insurance company. A 150-kilometer haul costs more than $100,000.and the premiums end up going to those things,” said some brokers upon learning of the resolution.
The big question that users will ask themselves is now if the price of the policies is going to go down, because eventually there is one less service and there is also a great deal less cost for the companies. There is also the possibility of starting to offer other products such as mechanical or towing services with separate payment, as a new product that insurance companies have to incorporate, both directly and outsourced.
As long as inflation continues to exist, the sums insured will continue to rise, therefore the price of the policies will not drop. In any case, the tariff scheme will be adapted taking into account the proportion that corresponds to these additional services in comparison with the cost of providing the insurance itself.
“I don’t think the policies will drop in price. We have to see if someone takes the first step or if they agree between the companies to offer the same. Otherwise, it will happen as is being seen with the car factories. Each one sets their prices, their bonuses and they are cannibalizing each other. What can happen here is that people go out and change their insurance according to what each company offers regarding towing and mechanical assistance,” concluded a source from the sector.
