CTP insurance claims

If you are injured in an accident in Australia, caused by a driver whose car is registered in NSW, you can claim against their CTP (Green Slip) insurance.

• Report the accident to the Police
• Identify the vehicle at fault
• Find out the Green Slip insurer of the vehicle at fault
• Obtain a claim form from that insurer, or print out the Motor Accident Personal Injury Claim Form and forward on to at fault driver's insurance company
• Lodge the claim (please see above forms)

When a claim form arrives at our office, we lodge a claim, give it a claim number, and assign it to one of our specialised Claims advisors who will look after your claim. Their name and direct phone number will be on the letter that comes with the information folder provided to CTP claimants. Our claims staff are encouraged to maintain open communication with you at all times. They can answer any questions you have about your claim - please feel free to contact them.

With all claims, we need to make sure that it was the vehicle our company insures that caused the accident and that your injuries or any economic loss were caused as a result of this same accident. We ordinarily need to collect information from you, the person we insure, any witnesses, your employer, your doctor(s) and the Police. Sometimes accident circumstances are not very straight forward and collecting all of this information can take time.  

CTP insurance provides limited cover for injuries sustained by the driver who causes a motor accident. Anyone injured in a motor accident, including the driver, may be entitled to claim up to $5,000 in cover using the Accident Notification Form (ANF) . This applies to medical expenses and/or lost earnings incurred within 6 months of the motor accident. If the injuries of the driver at fault are deemed to be catastrophic, the driver may be covered under the Lifetime Care and Support (LTCS) scheme. Please note: ANF Form needs to be lodged within 28 days of the accident.

Your CTP insurance cover is predominantly for other road users who are injured. This includes the driver of the vehicle that is not at fault, passengers in any vehicle, and pedestrians.

The following are a few items to be aware of during your CTP claim:

• Under the guidelines set out by the CTP scheme, compensation for pain and suffering can only be made to injured people who have received a serious and permanent impairment. Naturally, any ongoing disability of this nature must be confirmed by medical specialists.
• Your claim will only go to court if we cannot agree on your settlement amount, if you are not satisfied with the outcomes from the SIRA dispute resolution process or if your claim has been denied.
• If you have appointed a solicitor, the solicitor then acts on your behalf in negotiations with us. It might then be considered unfair if we talk with you after you have engaged their services. Therefore in this situation, if you call us, we may only be able to give you limited information and we will refer you back to your solicitor.
• The choice of doctor is completely your own. Your own doctor might refer you on to other specialists - but the choice of whom you attend remains entirely yours.
• If we confirm our driver was at fault, you will be covered for all reasonable medical treatment for the injuries you received in the accident. According to your individual circumstances, you may also be covered for; loss of wages, care services, travel, and pain and suffering.
• Reasonable and necessary medical expenses are expenses related to your accident that have been recommended by your GP or medical specialist. Once we have confirmed that the vehicle we insure was at fault, we will pay these expenses for you.
• We will pay for chiropractic or physiotherapy treatment if it has been recommended by your doctor. We might pay for other therapies, but you will need to consult with us. As is the case with any therapy you receive, your therapist has to provide us with a plan of the treatment they intend to provide. Please forward the referral for our consideration.

Your claim can be finalised when:

• your injuries have healed, or reached a stage where they have stabilised
• an appropriate treatment programme, if you need it, has been set out
• the impact the injuries have on you has been determined - for example the loss of wages.

At this time, you can start to discuss the settlement of your claim. Once we have agreed to a settlement amount, we will send you a Claims Finalisation Agreement, also known as a Deed of Release. The purpose of this document is to formalise the agreement we have made together. It is a legally binding document so you should read it carefully before you sign it and consider seeking legal advice. It will contain the settlement figure - this figure will include any money we have already spent on your claim and any future costs we agreed upon.

Once your claim is finalised, the GIO CTP claim process will come to an end. GIO has responsibilities to you and to the CTP scheme stakeholders to ensure claims are settled promptly and fairly.