Compulsory Third Party Insurance
What should I do if I'm injured in an accident?
Fault must be
established for a claim to succeed.
IMPORTANT: The information below
is general and should not be relied upon as legal advice or as a basis for
action or decisions about making a claim or associated issues. Readers should
seek their own legal advice about those matters.
Documents for download
from this page
Name
|
Released
|
Type
|
| Compulsory Third Party Personal Injury Claim
Notification (MANF) |
1 October 2008 |
 PDF
[70Kb] |
RTF
[667Kb] |
| Medical Certificate For CTP Insurance Claims
(MAMR) |
1 October 2008 |
PDF
[39Kb] |
RTF
[125Kb] |
| Notice of Claim and Additional Information
Forms
(NOCAIF) |
1 October 2008 |
PDF
[82Kb] |
RTF
[745Kb] |
* Please note that the rtf
version of the above forms will always be an "unauthorised" version due to the
fact that it can be edited by persons other than the responsible person under
section 276 of the Road Transport (Third-Party Insurance) Act 2008. The
pdf version will always be the "authorised" version.
Who can claim?
A CTP personal injury claim form may be lodged by:
·
any person who has sustained personal injury as a result of a motor
vehicle accident in the ACT for which
they were not at fault. This may
include a driver, motorcyclist (or cyclist), passenger or pedestrian, but not
the driver of the vehicle at fault.
·
dependants or the estate of someone fatally injured as a result of a
motor vehicle accident in the ACT for
which the deceased person was not at fault.
If you are partly at fault you can still claim but your
entitlement will be reduced by the extent of your contributory negligence.
Top of Page
Return to CTP Home Page
How long do I have to make a claim?
Notice of claim must be given in writing to the CTP insurer
of the at-fault vehicle within 9 months after the motor vehicle crash or from
the time when injury symptoms first appear.
If the at-fault vehicle cannot be identified or is not
insured for CTP, notice of claim must be given to the Nominal Defendant within 3
months.
Failure to comply with time limits may prejudice your
rights to pursue a claim.
Top of Page
Return to CTP Home Page
How do I go about making
a claim and what forms do I
need to fill in and where do I get them?
If you are in an accident, you
should fill in a Motor Accident Notification Form (MANF). This form requires you
to fill in information about the accident. If you need help to fill in this
form, the CTP insurer can assist you. It is probably advantageous to contact the
CTP insurer as soon as possible because most motor accident victims will qualify
for payment or reimbursement of the first $5,000 of their medical expenses
without first having to establish that someone else is responsible for the
accident so long as you notify the insurer within 28 days of the date of the
accident. The CTP insurer will have additional information for you about
treatment and rehabilitation options under the new CTP arrangements for the ACT.
You are also required to fill in
Part 1 of the Motor Accident Medical Report (MAMR). Part 2 of this form is to be
filled in by your doctor. The Motor Accident Medical Report needs to be
completed by your doctor and sent to the CTP insurer (or Nominal Defendant) with
your Motor Accident Notification Form.
You should obtain copies of
the forms from the CTP insurer or the Nominal Defendant (addresses and contact
details are shown at the end of this document) or download them from the link at
the top of this page. You should complete them as fully as possible and either
post or lodge them with the CTP insurer or Nominal Defendant in person.
Top of Page
Return to CTP Home Page
What happens after I return the CTP Insurance Personal Injury Claim
Form?
The Motor Accident Medical
Report needs to be completed by your doctor and sent to the CTP insurer (or
Nominal Defendant) with your Motor Accident Notification Form. The
insurer may require you to be examined by a doctor of its choice and to complete
the Notice of Claim and Additional Information Forms (NOCIAF) to enable it to
investigate the crash and make an assessment of liability.
There is an obligation on all
parties to share documents and information relevant to liability and the amount
of damages. This includes copies of any reports about the motor accident, your
medical condition and prospects for rehabilitation, and your cognitive,
functional or vocational capacity. The insurer may also ask you to provide
information such as the medical treatment or rehabilitation services you have
sought or obtained for the injury, your medical history (where relevant), any
other personal injury claims you have made, and information about your claim for
past or future loss of income or in relation to gratuitous services.
When you have recovered, or medical reports confirm the
maximum degree of recovery has been reached, the insurer will contact you to
finalise your claim.
If you consider your claim has reached this stage, you
should contact the insurer regarding settlement.
The forms are mandated for use
from and including 1 October 2008.
Top of Page
Return to CTP Home Page
Who pays the treatment accounts?
If a Motor Accident Notification Form and a Motor Accident
Medical Report are provided to the CTP insurer (or Nominal Defendant) within 28
days of the motor accident, the insurer is obliged to pay the first $5,000 of
your medical expenses incurred within 6 months of the accident (this does not
constitute an admission of liability on the insurer’s part). This is an
early payment. In addition, the
insurer may agree to pay for rehabilitation services without admitting
liability.
If liability is admitted, the insurer must pay the
claimant’s reasonably incurred medical expenses (subject to any reduction for
contributory negligence) and pay for reasonable and appropriate rehabilitation
services.
Accounts paid by you are normally included in the final
settlement; however, the insurer may consider interim reimbursement upon
request. You should ask your treating practitioner about treatment costs you
pay, in case there are gaps between the charge and reimbursement, which the
insurer may not pay.
The cost of rehabilitation services paid for by the insurer
may be taken into account in the final settlement of a claim.
Top of Page
Return to CTP Home Page
Can I claim for loss of earning capacity?
Although a CTP insurer has no legal liability to pay for
loss of earning capacity prior to settlement of the claim, it may consider
pre-payment upon application.
Top of Page
Return to CTP Home Page
What am I entitled to claim?
You are entitled to make a
claim for:
·
Economic loss – this includes compensation for past and future
loss of earning capacity and for past and future medical, treatment and care
expenses.
·
Non-economic loss (general damages) – this includes pain and
suffering, loss of enjoyment of life and any loss of expectation of life
experienced by you as a result of the injuries.
Top of Page
Return to CTP Home Page
What happens if a lawyer lodges a claim for me?
A lawyer can give you independent
advice about whether you have a claim and about the amount of compensation you
are likely to receive. The
Law
Society of the ACT can let you know their member firms and their areas of specialisation.
A lawyer must give the insurer written notice of your claim
within 1 month of your first consultation with him or her. This applies in
addition to the general 9 month time limit for notifying claims.
If you decide to lodge your claim through a lawyer, it is
in your interests to ensure that the lawyer provides the Forms you and your
doctor have completed to the CTP insurer in time for you to seek early payment
or reimbursement of the first $5,000 of your medical expenses if you qualify for
payment. Your lawyer may obtain medical and other reports, collate details of
your claim, negotiate with the insurer on your behalf and advise you about
finalisation. A lawyer can bring court proceedings on your behalf should this
be necessary.
Your lawyer may ask you to agree that all communication
with the insurer concerning your claim should be made through your lawyer.
However, if the CTP insurer admits liability, it becomes obliged to provide the
cost of reasonably incurred medical expenses and reasonable and appropriate
rehabilitation, amongst other things. You will need to ensure your lawyer
provides you with timely notice of any of the insurer’s requirements in this
regard.
Top of Page
Return to CTP Home Page
Is there a time limit?
Yes. If your claim is not settled within 3
years, from the date of the crash (or when your injuries become apparent), you
must ensure that Court proceedings have been issued on your behalf before the 3
years expire. If you were under 18 years of age at the time of the accident
then a 6 year time limit applies. Time limits, usually running from the date of
an accident, are fixed in legislation and it is therefore important to obtain
legal advice as soon as possible if a claim is contemplated.
If you are making a claim in relation to an interstate
accident, a different time limit may apply in some States.
This information should be treated as a guide only.
Further information can be obtained from:
Top of Page
Return to CTP Home Page
NRMA Insurance
CTP Department
NRMA Insurance
3rd Floor
92 Northbourne Avenue
Canberra ACT 2601
Postal Address
GPO Box 811
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone
13 1123 (enquiries)
(02) 6240 4700 or 13 2132 (claims)
Website http://www.nrma.com.au
Nominal Defendant
ACT Insurance Authority
Level 3
Canberra Nara Centre
1 Constitution Avenue
Canberra ACT 2601
Postal Address
GPO Box 158,
Canberra ACT 2601
Phone (02) 6207 0131
Website
http://www.treasury.act.gov.au/actia/
The Law Society of the Australian Capital
Territory
1 Farrell Place/GPO Box
1562,
Canberra City ACT 2601
Phone (02) 6247 5700
Website
http://www.lawsocact.asn.au
Top of Page
Return to CTP Home Page
| 
![[shim]](img/shims/img-blank.gif){kind=small}
![[shim]](/img/shims/img-blank.gif){kind=small}