Is there a time limit on car insurance claims in Australia?
How long would you expect to wait for your car to be assessed after an accident? A few days? A few weeks? Is there a time limit on car insurance claims in Australia?
Under the General Insurance Code of Practice, there are fixed timelines for insurers to resolve your claim after a car accident or any insurance claim you make.
They must get back to you within 10 business days from lodgment of your insurance claim. This time limit does not mean your insurance claim will be resolved, but your insurer should do one of three things:
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- Accept your claim
- Reject your claim
- Request more information or advise an assessment is required.
Your claim has been accepted
Yay! You’re one of the lucky ones. Your car may have already been assessed for repairs, which will get underway shortly. If your insurance includes this option, you may be provided with a hire car until your vehicle is back to its pre-accident condition.
Alternatively, the assessor may have determined the damage was too costly to repair and written the car off, in which case you’ll receive the full amount insured, less any excess.
If your claim includes damage to another vehicle, they will also handle that restitution on your behalf.
Your insurer wants more information
If your insurer has asked for more information to resolve your claim, they must tell you exactly what they need, whether they have appointed an assessor and give you an estimate of the time required to reach a decision. You shouldn’t be pestered with multiple requests for extra information, unless absolutely necessary.
The insurer may say they need an external report before they can reach a decision. By this stage you could be forgiven for asking yourself how long should a car insurance claim take. The good news is the insurer must adhere to timelines for this, too.
A report must be finalised within 12 weeks or they must keep you updated. You are entitled to a copy of the report or any other information the insurer has to decide your claim.
They must get in touch every 20 business days with an update on your claim and respond to any query you make within 10 business days.
Your claim has been rejected
No one wants to get this news. Repairing or replacing a car is a costly exercise. But you don’t have to accept the insurer’s decision. They must supply the reasons for their decision in writing. If you don’t agree, you can ask them for a review. In case you remember details you forgot amid the distress of the accident, you could add that information for consideration.
If they still reject your claim or do not respond to your complaint within 30 days, you can complain to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA).
What if it is months after the car accident?
So is there a car insurance time limit? If there are no exceptional circumstances, the code mandates that your claim must be either accepted or denied within four months of you lodging it.
Exceptional circumstances can push the decision out to within 12 months of receiving your claim. These include:
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- An extraordinary catastrophe or disaster, such as floods or bushfires where there a large number of claims
- Fraud or a reasonable suspicion thereof
- If you don’t respond or provide information the insurer reasonably requests
- Difficulty for them to contact or communicate with you for reasons beyond their control (for example, you move and don’t give them your new details)
- If you ask them to delay the claim
At all times, your insurer should be doing their utmost to move your claim forward in a fair and reasonable way.
If you feel you are being treated unfairly, lodge a complaint with us and we’ll help you handle it.
