Amendments to automobile liability insurance law may boost Putin's reelection

On February 4, Andrey Loginov, who represents the State Duma in the government, announced that the Cabinet intended to lower prices for compulsory automobile liability insurance. Shortly afterwards, Duma deputies sent a parliamentary inquiry to the government requesting it to consider the issue. Representatives of insurance companies are of the opinion that this intention seeks to boost President Putin's rating ahead of his reelection campaign. They expect the insurance policy prices to lose about 20 percent.

In late 2003, Putin announced that the cost of compulsory automobile liability insurance was too high for some people to afford. The announcement was followed by rumors that the related law was bound to fall in the spotlight ahead of presidential elections, the Kommersant newspaper reported.