Vaghinak Yeghiazaryan Identifies Three Key Strategies for Reducing Car Accidents

The increase in compensation amounts within the OSAGO system is already included in the tariffs, and therefore, this will not lead to an increase in insurance premiums for drivers. This was stated by Vaghinak Yeghiazaryan, the executive director of the Armenian Bureau of Auto Insurers, during a meeting with journalists.

“The fact that we are raising the compensation amount, which should imply an increase in the insurance premium, will not increase due to this reason. However, there could be changes in tariffs for other reasons. For instance, 6-7 months later, due to inflation or an increase in the frequency of accidents, the tariffs may be revised, as they are liberal; they can rise or even decrease,” he said.

Addressing the issue of reducing the frequency of car accidents, Yeghiazaryan mentioned that there are three main areas to focus on. “This includes improving the condition of road infrastructure, enhancing drivers' behavior, and improving the condition of vehicles. We have specific plans in all three areas. However, since it does not depend solely on us, we have to work with certain state bodies, as well as with NGOs and journalists.”

He pointed out that the state of road infrastructure impacts accidents; for example, there could be a pothole in a certain location, or a traffic sign might not be clearly visible, or two signs might be positioned on both sides of the road, both considered priority or yielding, etc.

“We are now preparing to create a map of accidents throughout Armenia, which will operate in online mode. Based on it, we can identify so-called black spots, where many accidents occur, analyze and understand the causes, and take actions based on that. But this requires complex work, including cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures,” he stated.

According to Vaghinak Yeghiazaryan, in addition to this, measures are also planned to influence drivers' behavior. “For example, we are currently calculating how to take their violation history into account within this bonus-malus system to prevent violations. For instance, if they commit many violations, their tariff may increase, and it will decrease if they commit few, in order to influence their behavior. We have also suggested that certain courses should be organized, with exams to pass, after which the malus could be waived, meaning the tariff would decrease, and points could be returned to them.”