Recently The Costa Rica Star has published about the 2013 Marchamo insurance rate increase.

Controversy over the 2013 Marchamo – circulation permit or sticker – continues as vehicle owners, supported by workers unions and at least one legislator, Luis Fishman, continue to press the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) and the government to justify the rate increase.

The argument is that the increase is illegal, that it does not comply with the regulations set out in the traffic law that went into effect on October 6, 2012.

Albino Vargas, head of the Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos y Privados (ANEP) union – one of the largest unions in the country – contents that the INS set the rate before the law went into effect and as such vehicle owners are being required to pay more than allowed by law.

In a television debate Thursday, Vargas confronted Guillermo Constenla, president of the INS. In the heated debate, Constenla assures that the increase is justified and within the law, however, refusing to provide documents of the detailed calculations.

Joining the controversy is the Defensoria de los Habitantes (Ombudsman) who is asking the INS for the documents, threatening to a search and seizure action.

Constenla said publicly that he will not hand over any documents, saying he fears that they will be leaked to Vargas and place the public institution at a disadvantage in the market, for the confidential information would be available to the competition. Constenla continues the refusal despite assurances by the Defensoria that the documents will be treated with confidentiality.

Adding to the mess is the legal action by legislator and former presidential candidate, Luis Fishman, filing an appeal with the Constitutional Court late Thursday.

If the Sala IV – as the Constitutional Court is also referred to – accepts the appeal it would freeze the collection of the 2013 Marchamo until such time the Court deals with the matter, which could take months.

The question by many today is, does one pay the Marchamo or wait?

Experts say it is best to pay and then file for a refund if the Court rolls back the increase.

However, most in Costa Rica know well that it is better to wait and not to pay. A point in case is last year’s fiasco with the traffic cameras. In that case thousands of drivers paid their speeding fines. A Court action froze the use of the cameras and annulled the fines. The drivers who paid the annulled fines were told by the transport ministry, “tough luck” and that there would be no refunds.

Source: TrafficLawCostaRica.com