Compulsory Third Party Insurance
In the ACT there is a requirement for the CTP insurer to
provide early payment of
up to $5,000 of your medical expenses by your CTP insurer - click
here or view our
brochure online.
CTP News
Update
The Road Transport
(Third-Party Insurance) Amendment Bill 2011 was introduced
in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Thursday, 17 February
2011. This Bill was referred
to the Legislative Assembly's Standing Committee on Public
Accounts on 31 March 2011. For more information, you can
access the Committee's website by clicking
here.
For a copy of the Amendment Bill and
associated Explanatory Statement please visit the ACT
Legislation Register website
here.
The key objective of the Bill is to put the focus back on
health and rehabilitation of claimants. To this end, the substantive elements of the Bill are:
- the establishment of a statutory minimum impairment
threshold process for non-economic loss;
- to provide a mechanism for independent, expert
medical assessments to be undertaken shortly after the injury occurred, to
assess the impairment of a person injured in a motor crash;
- allowing for medical assessments to be peer reviewed,
and if necessary reviewed by a court. These medical assessments are binding
on the parties to a motor crash claim and conclusive proof in any court;
- physical and psychological injuries must be assessed
separately; and
- if a person is injured in a motor crash then they
will be entitled to non-economic loss if their injuries are serious such
that their whole person permanent impairment is 15% or more for either
physical or psychological injuries.
In addition, the following elements will be introduced:
- provisions that ensure transparency in awarding
damages for a claimants future loss of earning capacity;
- increase the discount rate from 3% to a 5% statutory
discount rate in line with what is already applied in NSW and Queensland;
- interest on compensation is to be paid only in
circumstances were an insurer has not met their obligations under the Act as
specified in the Bill.
Importantly, the key provisions of the Bill:
- DO NOT take away any claimants ability to make a
claim for compensation;
- DO NOT take away any claimants ability to choose to
litigate their claim;
- ONLY apply to non-economic loss (otherwise known as
general damages or pain and suffering);
- ALL claimants will still be able to access all other
heads of damage as compensation, such as medical and rehabilitation costs
(past and future),
economic loss (past and future earnings) and attendant/domestic care if
required.
In summary, you will still be able to
make a claim for compensation if you are injured in a motor
accident that was not your fault.
This Amendment Bill was released in
October 2010 for
consultation.
To view the submissions received click
here or on the link below.
The Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance scheme is a
compulsory scheme of third party insurance applying in the ACT that is paid when
you register your car.
For more information about the ACT's CTP insurance scheme
click on the topics below.