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Insurance

Information about making a claim on your insurance policy.

  • Time limit

    Time limit

    If you make a complaint about an insurance company, time limits apply. If you lodge an internal dispute resolution claim which is rejected, you have three months to lodge the dispute with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).

Third Party Property insurance covers the owner or driver who caused an accident against claims for damage to other cars and property. 

If you were not at fault and the driver who caused the accident was not insured for property damage, some third party property policies will pay a limited amount for repairs to your own car. You must be able to identify the driver who caused the accident.

Comprehensive insurance covers the owner or driver for damage to their car as well as damage to other vehicles or property, regardless of whether they are at fault.

Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance, also called a 'green slip', provides compensation for a person who was injured or killed in a car accident. It does not cover the cost of repairing the damage to vehicles or property.

If you believe that the other driver was 'at-fault', you may try to recover from them the cost of repairing your vehicle and other losses, such as hire car expenses. If you were at-fault in a car accident, the other driver can try to recover the cost of repairs to their vehicle. 

If the other car is insured the owner can choose whether to make a claim on their insurance policy. If they make an insurance claim their insurer will handle the claim and should contact you. If you have third party property or comprehensive insurance you may wish to make a claim on your insurance policy. In that case, your insurance company will contact the other driver, owner or insurer and handle your claim for you.

It may be a condition of your policy to tell your insurance company if you have been involved in a car accident, even if you decide not to make a claim. You should check your product disclosure statement. 

If the other driver was at-fault, is insured, and you are claiming less than $16,300 for the repairs (and you don't have insurance), you may be able to lodge a third party uninsured dispute with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).  

For more information, see  I’ve had a car accident and I’m uninsured on the Financial Rights Legal Centre website.

If you don’t reach an agreement or you don’t make a claim through your insurer, the other driver or their insurer may start a claim against you in the Local Court if they think you were at-fault. 

You must respond to a Statement of Claim within 28 days. If you have lodged a claim with your insurer, it’s important to notify your insurer immediately.

If you are not insured and have been served with a Statement of Claim, see Responding to a Statement of Claim, in Responding to a claim.

If you decide to make a claim on your insurance policy you should contact your insurer for details on how to make a claim and what other information they need.

Before you decide whether to make a claim on your insurance policy you should consider whether making the claim will reduce your 'no claim bonus', increase the cost of your premiums or affect your ability to obtain insurance in the future. You may also have to pay an excess.

For more information, see the Motor Vehicle Accident Problem Solver on the Financial Rights Legal Centre website.

If you are the 'at-fault' driver and are charged by the police for being under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident, your insurance company may refuse your claim.  

For more information about what you can do if your claim is refused, see Dispute resolution below. 

You should check your insurance policy to find out what you are covered for. Your insurance company might refuse your claim if: ​

  • you did not provide important information to them when you took out the policy (called 'non-disclosure')​
  • ​your loss is not covered by the policy
  • they believe you acted fraudulently 
  • the insurance policy was cancelled before the accident.

If your claim has been refused, ask your insurance company to give you a written decision.

If you are not happy with your insurance company's decision you can challenge their decision. You have a number of options:

  • ​Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) 
  • Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)
  • NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). 

You should first make a complaint to your insurance company's Internal Dispute Resolution (IDR) section. The complaint should be made in writing. Most insurers have a complaint form you can lodge online through their website or send by post. Ask your insurance company for the contact details of their IDR department.

If you are not happy with the decision of your insurance company's IDR section, or are having difficulty dealing with the IDR section, you have the option of lodging a dispute with the:

  • ​Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA)
  • NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)
  • Local Court. 

AFCA can consider some disputes about an insurance company where the insurer has refused the claim or delayed the claim.

A determination made by AFCA is final and binding on the insurer if you agree with the decision. If you disagree with the decision, you can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) or start a court case. 

For more information on lodging a dispute, see Make a complaint on the AFCA website. 

There are time limits for lodging a dispute with AFCA. Make sure that you do it within three months of the date the insurance company's IDR department rejected your claim.  

If you are not satisfied with the outcome of an internal review by your insurance company, you can make an application to have the dispute decided by NCAT within three years. 

Consumer claims are limited to disputes under $100,000.

For more information on making an application, see Application process on the NCAT website. 

If you want to start a case against an insurance company, you should get legal advice.  

For more interactive assistance, see the Motor Vehicle Accident Problem Solver on the Financial Rights Legal Centre website.

If the other driver was at-fault and they (or the owner of the car) made a claim on their insurance policy, the insurer will make a decision and should contact you.

If your vehicle was damaged, the other party was at-fault, and you are uninsured, you may be able to make an uninsured motor vehicle claim on the other driver’s insurance.

If the insurer refuses your claim and the cost of repairing your car is less than $19,000 (as at 1 January 2024), you may be able to take your complaint to AFCA. This is a free service and is cheaper than taking the other driver to court. You should try this option before going to court.

To lodge an uninsured motor vehicle complaint with AFCA, see Make a complaint the AFCA website or call 1800 931 678.

You may still be able to make a claim to AFCA if the other party has not made a claim and they have died or cannot be found. If you are not sure whether the other party has made a claim on their insurance, you should contact AFCA. They will contact the other party's insurance company to see if a claim has been made.

For more information see Have you crashed your car.

If the dispute is more than $19,000, you will need to decide whether to start a case in court against the other party. If you can't claim against the other driver, in some limited circumstances you may be able to claim against their insurance company. If you are considering this, you should get legal advice.

For more information on starting a court case, see Going to court.

If the other party's insurance company believes you were at-fault and makes a claim against you, you may wish to negotiate with the insurer and try and resolve the dispute. If you can't agree, the driver, owner or insurer may decide to start a court case against you. In that case, you will need to decide how to respond.

For more information, see Going to court.

An insurance company can take the place of any person that they insure and do whatever that person can do, such as make a claim in court. This is called the 'right of subrogation'.

It is a good idea to try and resolve disputes without going to court, as court cases take time and cost money and the outcome may be uncertain.​​​ 

Resources

Crashed your car? 

Factsheet on claims for damage to your car, in and out of court. 

Accidents Problem Solver

Guided Pathway - Motor Vehicle Accidents Problem Solver. This guided pathway aims to give you information specific to your legal problem based on the responses you provide.