The compulsory insurance on your marbete: what it is and how not to pay twice

The SRO is a uniform policy, identical across all participating insurers, that answers for damage the insured vehicle causes to another motor vehicle in a traffic accident. Its limit is $4,500.00 per accident and that is the maximum regardless of how many claimants there are under the same policy; it covers multiple accidents during the term, but each capped at that figure. It does not cover damage to the vehicle that caused the accident, does not cover injuries or personal damages, and does not cover property that is not a motor vehicle. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner is the agency that regulates it: it sets the Uniform Policy, publishes the list of participating insurers and the Selection Form, and establishes by regulation the Initial Liability Determination System that insurers use to resolve claims.

Every motor vehicle driven on Puerto Rico’s public roads must be covered. The OCS states one exception: buying the SRO is mandatory unless your vehicle has a traditional liability policy covering, at a minimum, the damages the law requires. If that is your case, you must present the Compliance Certificate at the moment of renewing the marbete in order to be exempted from the payment. The Ley 245-2014 right to choose your insurer applies to anyone acquiring for the first time or renewing their motor vehicle licence.

• Having the vehicle covered: either you pay the SRO at marbete renewal, or you present the Compliance Certificate of a traditional policy with equal or greater coverage.Verified against the official source
• Completing the Selection Form — digital or printed — during marbete renewal if you want to choose your insurer; it is the mechanism Ley 245-2014 establishes for exercising that right.Verified against the official source

• The Compliance Certificate (voucher) issued by your traditional insurer, if you are going to claim the SRO payment exemption.
• The SRO Selection Form, available at the Authorized Entity or on CESCO Digital, to mark the insurer you prefer.

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   Step 1: Check whether you already have traditional coverage

   Before renewing, check your policy. If your vehicle has a traditional liability policy with coverage equal to or greater than the SRO’s, you are not required to buy the SRO on top. What you need is the Compliance Certificate — the voucher — issued by your insurer. That certificate validates to the system that your traditional policy meets the legal requirements.

2. 2

   Step 2: Present the certificate at renewal, not after

   Here is the detail that costs money. The Compliance Certificate is presented at the moment of renewing the marbete. If you present it then, you are exempted from the SRO payment and there is nothing more to do. If you do not and you pay the SRO while holding a valid traditional policy, you can still request a refund of the premium from the insurer that provides your traditional policy, but that refund will be net of 10% in service charges when the cause was failing to present the certificate on time during renewal.

3. 3

   Step 3: If you are going to pay the SRO, choose the insurer yourself

   Ley 245-2014 gives you the right to freely select the SRO provider, and to do it every year. You exercise it by completing the Selection Form, digital or printed, during the marbete renewal process: you just mark the option of the insurer you prefer. You can do it at the Authorized Entity — collector’s office, bank, credit union, official inspection station — or on CESCO Digital.

4. 4

   Step 4: Recognize when that right is being violated

   The OCS names three situations that constitute a violation of law: being handed a Selection Form already pre-marked, without the option to choose; being denied access to the Selection Form; and someone trying to unduly influence your decision about which insurer to select. If any of the three happens to you, you have the right to report it.

5. 5

   Step 5: Report it to the OCS

   The OCS publishes two different routes for reporting SRO fraud, and they are not the same. On its main Compulsory Insurance page it gives the phone 787-304-8686 and the email investigaciones@ocs.pr.gov. In the Q&A Guide on that same page it gives the phone (787) 304-2500 and the email investigaciones@ocs.gobierno.pr. PRFácil cannot decide which one is current, so we give you both: if one does not answer, use the other. The OCS main switchboard is 787-304-8686 and the toll free number is 1-888-722-8686.

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   Step 6: You will not be able to switch until the next renewal

   The SRO provider you select when renewing the marbete stays in place for the whole policy term. You cannot switch mid-term. The next chance to choose a different insurer is the next marbete renewal, which is why it pays to look at the form carefully before marking it.

The SRO is bought when renewing the marbete: through CESCO Digital or at Authorized Entities — collector’s offices, banks, credit unions and official inspection stations. The Office of the Insurance Commissioner is at Edificio World Plaza, 268 Ave. Muñoz Rivera, Piso 9, San Juan, PR 00918; mailing address PO Box 195415, San Juan, PR 00919-5415. Switchboard: 787-304-8686. Toll free: 1-888-722-8686. Fax: 787-273-6082.

• Paying the SRO while holding traditional insurance, because nobody told you the Compliance Certificate exists.
• Getting the certificate but presenting it after the renewal: then the refund comes net of 10%.
• Believing the SRO covers damage to your own car. It does not.
• Believing the SRO covers injuries to people. It does not.
• Signing a Selection Form handed to you already marked, instead of reporting it.
• Thinking you can switch SRO insurers mid-term.
• Assuming $4,500.00 is what you get paid: it is the per-accident cap for all claimants under that policy combined.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Oficina del Comisionado de Seguros (OCS)

  OCS

  www.ocs.pr.gov