What Does RCA with Direct Settlement Mean?

If you want a clear answer to the question what direct settlement means in RCA insurance, it only takes a few seconds to read this article. In simple terms, we explain what the direct settlement clause is and how it works within an RCA policy.

Whenever you buy car insurance, you may have the option to add the direct settlement clause to your RCA policy. Many drivers naturally wonder what direct settlement actually means and how it can help in practice.

More and more customers are choosing car insurance with direct settlement, especially after the shock caused by the failures of City Insurance and Euroins. For anyone who is not yet familiar with the term, the explanation below should make things much clearer.

What does direct settlement in RCA mean?

The simplest explanation is this: if you have RCA insurance with direct settlement, you can have your car repaired through your own policy when you are involved in an accident that was not your fault.

This clause is especially useful when your RCA policy is issued by a reliable insurer that handles claims quickly and without excessive bureaucracy.

Romanian legislation introduced the concept of direct settlement for RCA in 2017. The clause gives the owner of a vehicle damaged in a road accident the option to request compensation directly from their own RCA insurer.

The practical advantage is significant: in the event of a claim, you deal directly with your own insurer, the company you already have a contract with. That means there is already a relationship of trust in place, and you are no longer dependent on the assessment and settlement procedures of the at-fault driver’s insurer.

Current legislation sets out several conditions that must be met for direct settlement to apply, but statistically around 90% of road accidents qualify for this option.

How much does the direct settlement clause cost?

Adding the direct settlement clause to RCA does not significantly increase the price of the policy. Each insurance company sets its own price for this optional coverage.

So, by choosing a reliable insurer wisely, you can secure affordable RCA insurance and still benefit from direct settlement if you are ever involved in an accident that is not your fault.

At present, the prices for adding the direct settlement clause to RCA for the 8 insurance companies that sell RCA policies in Romania are as follows (we will update this information periodically):

• direct settlement clause price for RCA with Axeria – 217.53 lei/12 months;
• direct settlement clause price for RCA with Groupama – 259.29 lei/12 months;
• direct settlement clause price for RCA with Allianz – 168 lei/12 months;
• direct settlement clause price for RCA with Generali – 350 lei/12 months;
• direct settlement clause price for RCA with Eazy Insure – 145 lei/12 months;
• direct settlement clause price for RCA with Grawe – 275 lei/12 months;
• direct settlement clause price for RCA with Asirom – 150 lei/12 months;
• direct settlement clause price for RCA with Hellas Direct – 453.64 lei/12 months;
• direct settlement clause price for RCA with Omniasig – 150 lei/12 months;
• direct settlement clause price for RCA with DallBogg – 323.93 lei/12 months.

If you choose RCA insurance for a shorter period than 12 months – 6 months, 3 months, or even 1 month – you can still add the direct settlement clause, and its price will be proportional to the length of the policy.

It is important to know that this direct settlement clause for RCA is optional for the insured and can be used only if there are no bodily injuries in the accident, all vehicles involved have valid RCA insurance, the accident takes place on Romanian territory, and the at-fault vehicle is registered in Romania.

To take out RCA insurance with direct settlement, you need to access this cheap insurance calculator, enter the vehicle and owner details, and you will receive all RCA offers showing both the price without direct settlement and the price with direct settlement.

After you choose the offer you want and complete the RCA with direct settlement, you will immediately receive the RCA policy, which will also include an addendum or supplementary document confirming the direct settlement clause.

It is also very important that this clause can be added regardless of the policy period. Its price will always be proportional to the duration chosen: RCA for 1 month, RCA for 3 months, RCA for 6 months, or RCA for 12 months.

You can also purchase RCA for registration purposes with direct settlement, which means the clause can be added both to RCA for registered vehicles and to RCA for vehicles that are about to be registered or entered into circulation.

In short, starting from what RCA means – civil liability insurance for vehicles – and adding the direct settlement clause explained above, you get a simple answer to the question of what RCA with direct settlement means.

We hope the information in this article answers the most common questions we see online, such as: what does RCA with direct settlement mean? what does insurance with direct settlement mean? what is direct settlement in RCA? what does direct settlement mean in insurance? how much does RCA with direct settlement cost?

If the information provided here does not fully clarify the direct settlement clause in RCA, you can contact us anytime on WhatsApp, by email, or through the contact form.

This article is part of the Q&A section – questions and answers – launched on our online insurance website, with the aim of addressing the most common questions found online and beyond about insurance products.