On July 18, 2016, Resolution No. 39,927/2016 of the Argentine Superintendence of Insurance was published in the Official Gazette. The Resolution modifies some of the general conditions of civil liability insurance policies for motor vehicles.

Resolution No. 39.927/2016 updates the coverage limit amount for the mandatory and voluntary civil liability insurance for motor vehicles (private and commercial), hospital and burial expenses, and mandatory and voluntary deductibles; it eliminates the value of the vehicle scrap when determining total destruction; it modifies the foreign currency clause, coverage limits of international inland carriers, and in airports and oil fields. These amendments will apply to all policies issued as from September 1, 2016.

Regarding the mandatory civil liability insurance, the Argentine Superintendence of Insurance (the "SSN" after its acronym in Spanish) SSN has updated the coverage limit for death and total disability per person from AR$ 200,000 to AR$ 400,000, and per event from AR$ 400,000 to AR$ 800,000. The Resolution also modifies the compensation for hospital expenses from AR$15,000 to AR$30,000 and for burial expenses from AR$ 8,000 to AR$ 16,000.

Regarding voluntary civil liability insurance, the SSN raised the coverage limit per event from AR$ 4,000,000 to AR$ 6,000,000 for cars, pickup trucks, motor vehicles, motorbikes, and motorhomes; from AR$ 13,000,000 to AR$ 18,000,000 for taxis, passenger cars, rural and road machinery, trailers and semi-trailer trucks, emergency service and security forces vehicles; and from AR$ 13,000,000 to AR$ 30,000,000 for transport vehicles for more than eight passengers. Regarding this last category, the SSN also raised the mandatory deductible from AR$ 40,000 to AR$ 120,000 and for taxis and passenger cars from AR$ 5,000 to AR$ 10,000. These franchises are not opposable to third parties, and will be initially assumed by the insurer and afterwards will be reimbursed by the insured.

The SSN also updated the following maximum limits for deductibles: the simple deductible and that for the coverage against theft of the content of the vehicle may not exceed 20% of the insured value; in case robbery or theft, the deductible cannot exceed 3% of the insured value. Hail damage, windshields, windows, doors and trunk locks, will be covered without application of any franchise.

The Resolution also eliminated the clause by which the salvage value of the vehicle's remains exceeding 20% of the resale value was added to the reparation costs in order to determine whether the vehicle is a total loss. Thus, according to the Resolution, the determination of whether the vehicle is a total loss will be based solely on the reparation costs.

The SSN also modified the requirements for subscribing civil liability insurance policies in foreign currency, incorporating two mutually exclusive clauses, allowing payments in foreign and as well as local currency at the official exchange rate.

The new resolution also establishes limits to the civil liability policies covering third parties (being transported or not) for vehicles at oilfields and airports. The coverage limit cannot be less than the limit referred to in this article's second paragraph. Nevertheless, the Resolution excludes coverage for loading and unloading operations, as well as environmental damage.

Finally, the SSN increased the coverage limits for liability insurance of international inland carriers, adapting them to MERCOSUR standards.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.