You probably know that you can’t drive away from a car dealership in an uninsured vehicle. You had to take out the motor third-party liability (MTPL) insurance offered by the dealer right on the spot, which you then either paid within the statutory deadline or replaced, within the same period, with a policy from a competing provider.
As of October 1, however, the rules of the game are changing. You still can’t drive away from the dealer in an uninsured car, but for the car to actually be insured and for the policy to take effect, the premium must also be paid.
So how do the individual insurers handle this?
- Uniqa – payment via payment gateway within 29 minutes
- ČPP – payment within one hour of taking out the policy
- Slavia – by midnight on the day the policy is taken out
- Pillow – via payment gateway within 7 days of taking out the policy
- Direct – the policy becomes active once the payment is processed
- GČP – due by midnight of the same day
- Kooperativa – 1-hour payment deadline
- ČSOB – the policy must be paid before coverage begins
- Allianz – payment by the requested policy start date.
In any case, whichever dealer you buy from, don’t hesitate to ask them to walk you through the specific terms of the contract, especially the payment terms. Ignorance of the law is no excuse – so make sure you don’t end up paying for damages in the belief that your new car is insured when it actually isn’t.
