The importance of vehicle registration is clear, but what about Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance. Each year when you pay for your registration, a portion of the payment goes towards CTP insurance and the remainder goes to the Queensland Government. In this article we break down making a CTP insurance claim (QLD), helping you to understand your options and rights.
What is CTP insurance and why is it important?
CTP insurance is a statutory requirement in Queensland and is automatically built into the cost of vehicle registration. So, if you’re wondering if you have it—the answer is yes if you’re driving a registered vehicle.
That’s good news because having CTP insurance means that if you’re injured in a motor vehicle accident that is not your fault (completely or partially), you may be able to make a claim. If you were partially responsible, you could still make a claim but the compensation amount will be less because it will be reduced by a percentage to reflect the extent to which you were responsible for causing the accident. It’s mandatory in Queensland so that people are compensated even if the motorist who is at fault is not in a financial position to cover it.
CTP insurance protects you if you’re in a motor vehicle accident and the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 applies. This includes drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists, or motorcyclists. Put simply, CTP insurance covers a driver for the personal injury they cause to others as a result of a motor vehicle accident.
A claim for compensation by an injured party is therefore brought against the CTP insurer of the “at-fault” driver’s vehicle as opposed to bringing the claim against the driver themselves. CTP insurance allows an injured person to be compensated for their losses flowing from the accident and this is often money that a negligent driver may not have.
Does CTP insurance cover property damage?
The CTP insurance scheme is for personal injuries only—not for the property damage caused to any vehicle. For property damage, the vehicle will need to be covered under a different insurance policy. If it isn’t, the person who caused the accident will have to pay for the damage.
Who can make a CTP claim (QLD) for a motor vehicle accident injury?
Any person injured by the negligent driving of another is able to bring a claim for compensation against the CTP insurer for the vehicle that caused the accident. This includes:
- Pedestrians hit by a car
- Cyclists hit by a car
- Passengers on a bus
- Passengers in a car
- A passenger on a motorcycle
- A motorcyclist involved in an accident not deemed to be at fault
- The driver of vehicle involved in an accident not deemed to be at fault
How are CTP claims dealt with by the insurer?
To commence a claim for personal injury in Queensland an injured party must complete a Notice of Accident Claim Form and provide this to the CTP insurer of the vehicle deemed to be at fault. The CTP insurer will then provide a response to this and commence an investigation into liability.
As Queensland operates a common law “fault based” CTP scheme, proof of liability is required, meaning an injured party has to be able to establish negligence against the driver of the other motor vehicle. This is often established with the assistance of the police investigation into the accident.
If the police did not attend the scene, the accident must be reported to the police station closest to where the accident occurred. Once the CTP insurer is satisfied that the driver of their vehicle caused the accident the focus will then turn to how much compensation the injured party is entitled to based upon the evidence, in a CTP claim.
What do CTP claims include?
If you are injured, you may be able to claim for damages related to losses resulting from the accident. These losses are grouped under what we call “heads of damage” and can include:
- Pain and suffering and loss of amenity
- Loss of income and superannuation up to the date of settlement
- Reimbursement for monies already paid out for things such as medical expenses, rehabilitation expenses, pharmaceuticals, travelling expenses etc.
- Past gratuitous care
- Loss of income and superannuation, likely to be suffered in the future once the claim has settled
- The cost of medical treatment, continued rehabilitation, pharmaceuticals, travelling, commercial assistance etc. likely to be suffered in the future once the claim has settled
- Interest on past losses
What if an unidentified or unregistered vehicle is at fault?
All drivers are automatically covered by insurance for personal injuries suffered by others, provided the vehicle they were driving was registered at the time of the accident. If it was not registered, a government insurer called the Nominal Defendant acts as an insurance company.
In some circumstances, the Nominal Defendant will try to get the money from the person who caused the accident.The Nominal Defendant is a statutory body established by the Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994.
What is the Motor Accident Insurance Commission (MAIC)?
MAIC is the regulatory authority responsible for managing Queensland’s CTP scheme. This includes managing Nominal Defendant finance, as well as providing a range of other crucial services for drivers and injured people.
What does the CTP claims process look like in Queensland?
There are 8 steps involved in settling your CTP insurance claim (QLD):
- Complete and submit your claim
- Lodgement compliance
- Rehabilitation and treatment
- Liability assessment
- Insurer obtains information
- Injury stabilised
- Obtain medical evidence, and assess damages
- Claim negotiation
- Claim settlement
Why is it important to have a lawyer involved in CTP claims?
Making a CTP claim is complex which can make it difficult to get the full compensation that you’re entitled to. While you can negotiate with the insurer yourself, it’s always better to have a lawyer handling the CTP claim on your behalf as they are experts in the law governing motor vehicle accidents. Your lawyer will take care of the following:
- Preparing and submitting correct claim forms
- Ensuring the insurer complies with their obligation to fund rehabilitation services for the injured party
- Ensuring the insurer complies with their obligation to reimburse or fund up front the injured party for rehabilitation services already paid by the injured party
- Preparing and briefing medical experts to provide reports in the way required by law
- Calculating heads of damage in the way required by law
- Preparing offers of settlement and providing these to the insurer
- Attending settlement negotiations with the insurer
- Negotiating the best possible outcome with the insurer
- Ensuring all required statutory bodies are refunded at the successful conclusion of the claim
- Ensuring all time limits are complied with
- Preparing Court documents and attending Court (if necessary)
How do Gouldson fees work?
When you come to Gouldson Legal to review your case, we will investigate whether we think you have a strong chance of a successful CTP claim free of charge. If you don’t have a claim, you won’t be charged.
If we determine that you do have a claim, you aren’t charged any fees until your claim is successful. We also have a lower fee cap than many other claim lawyers so that you get the bulk of the settlement (we have a 30% cap while many others have a 50% cap).
If you would like to find out if you should pursue a CTP insurance claim (QLD), request your free case review below.
