Same Damage, Big Difference (2023 → 2026)

Two claims.

Same type of accident.

In both cases, the other party was 100% at fault.

In both cases, our customer’s vehicle was declared a total loss.

Yet the outcomes could not have been more different.

As of 21 January 2026, one of these claims has still not been paid.

The Shared Starting Point (2023)

Both accidents occurred in 2023.

The circumstances were clear.

Fault was undisputed.

Expert assessments reached the same conclusion: the vehicle was beyond economic repair.

Technically, there was no grey area.

The only difference between the two files was this:

In one case, the customer had comprehensive insurance (kasko).

In the other, the customer relied solely on third-party traffic insurance.

Case 1: Vehicle with Comprehensive Insurance (Closed in 2023)

In the first file, the claim was handled entirely within the customer’s own insurance system.

The total loss decision was made quickly.

The vehicle value was calculated according to the policy terms.

Payment was completed within the same year.

Any recovery from the at-fault party’s insurer happened in the background.

The customer did not wait.

The customer did not negotiate.

The customer did not carry the burden of time.

This file closed in 2023.

Case 2: Vehicle with Only Traffic Insurance

(Opened in 2023, still unpaid as of 21 January 2026)

The second file followed the same accident logic.

The same level of damage.

The same fault assessment.

But without comprehensive insurance, the entire process depended on the other party’s traffic insurer.

Valuation discussions, correspondence, procedural timelines and internal reviews all sat outside the customer’s control.

The damage did not change.

The years did.

As of today, this claim remains unresolved.

The Misconception Most Customers Have

“If the other party is at fault, it should be straightforward.”

In practice, fault determines liability, not speed.

Speed comes from structure.

Control comes from having your own policy respond first.

Comprehensive insurance places the customer at the center of the process.

Traffic insurance places the customer in a waiting position.

Why This Comparison Matters

This is not a hypothetical scenario.

It is a dated, documented claim history.

• Same damage
• Same fault
• Same total loss decision

Different policies produced entirely different experiences.

In insurance, outcomes are rarely decided at the moment of the accident.

They are decided long before it happens.

Final Record

One claim ended in the year it started.

The other has carried forward for more than three years.

Same damage.

Big difference.

This is not about selling insurance.

It is about understanding how risk is actually resolved.

And this difference does not disappear with time.