Today, in the second reading, the Parliament passed law amendments to the Land Vehicle Mandatory Insurance Act,proposed by conservative members of Parliament Anita Muižniece and Krišjānis Feldmans. Families raising a disabled child will receive a 40% discount to the Compulsory Insurance (OCTA).
Anita Muižniece said, “The existing law provides a reduced payment of the insurance only for persons with disability group I, II and III who have mobility difficulties but the law does not apply to families raising a disabled child. These amendments have been made to remove unfair treatment of families, including families raising a disabled child with the help of a caregiver, who does not have the option of reducing the payment of their insurance. Cars in such families are not a luxury, they are an essential part of mobility. Families with a disabled child and the general public will appreciate this step. The data shows that in this way, we will be able to help about eight thousand Latvian families.”
Passed amendments will also provide a possibility of purchasing OCTA for a reduced term of one month for historic (classic) vehicles. Although the change made in the regulatory framework in recent years has contributed to the use of historic vehicles in road traffic, there is still a relatively large proportion of historic vehicle owners whose old vehicles are not seen by the general public. A significant part of the owners of old vehicles are mostly older people, whose main source of fixed income is pension. They choose not to participate in events, trips, exhibitions, precisely because of costs. Part of these costs is Compulsory Insurance. The amendments provide for a minimum period of time for the purchase of OCTA to be reduced from three months to one month. Setting a shorter minimum deadline for OCTA will allow owners of historic vehicles to purchase OCTA for a period when it is actually needed.
