How a car insurance claim actually works

The claim, step by step

Insurers differ in the detail, but the shape of it is the same everywhere.

1. 1

   At the scene

   Make sure everyone's alright first. Then, if another vehicle is involved, get the driver's name, address and registration, and photograph the damage on both cars plus the wider scene. If anyone is injured, or the other driver won't give details, report it to police.

   The other driver's details are what decide whether you pay an excess. Getting them is the single most valuable two minutes of the whole process.

2. 2

   Get a repair quote before you commit

   You can get a quote before you lodge anything. Send us photos and we'll come back with a number and a plain-English explanation of what's driving it. For cosmetic damage this matters, because the repair can cost less than your excess — in which case claiming can leave you worse off.

   Lodging a claim can affect your premium at renewal even when the repair is small. Know the number first, then decide.

3. 3

   Check what your policy says about choosing your repairer

   Your insurer has to tell you whether your policy lets you pick your own repairer or requires one from their network. It's in your Product Disclosure Statement under 'choice of repairer'. Some policies include it as standard, some sell it as an optional extra, and some don't offer it at all.

   In NSW this is a policy term, not a legal right — so read your own wording rather than relying on what someone told you. If the clause isn't clear, ask your insurer to point you to it.

4. 4

   Lodge the claim

   You lodge it with your insurer — by phone or through their app — with the incident details, the other driver's details if you have them, and your photos. They'll give you a claim number. Tell us the claim number and who your insurer is, and we can take it from there.

5. 5

   Assessment

   The insurer assesses the damage, sometimes from photos and sometimes in person, and agrees the scope of repair with the workshop. This is where the repair method is decided — repair or replace, which panels get blended, what parts are used.

   If the insurer's assessment comes in below what the job needs, that gap gets sorted out here, before work starts. You should never learn about a shortfall at pickup.

6. 6

   Authorisation and booking

   Once the insurer authorises the scope, we book your car in and give you a timeline up front rather than a vague 'we'll call you'. If you need a courtesy car, ask at this point so we can confirm one is free for your dates.

   Parts availability is the usual cause of delay, particularly on European vehicles. We'd rather tell you that at booking than at day five.

7. 7

   The repair

   Strip and assess, panel work, prime and paint in the climate-controlled booth, reassemble, then a final quality check before handover. Paint is matched to your car as it is today — not just to the factory paint code — and blended into the surrounding panels rather than stopping at a panel edge.

8. 8

   Handover and excess

   You'll normally pay your excess at this point, either to us or to your insurer depending on how they've set the claim up. We'll walk you around the car before you take it. If anything isn't right, say so then — that's what the walkaround is for.

   If the crash wasn't your fault and the other driver is identified, most policies waive or refund the excess, because the insurer recovers from the other driver's insurer. Your policy wording is the authority.

The words they use

Claim language that costs people money because nobody defines it.

Excess

The amount you contribute to your own claim. Usually paid at handover. Often waived or refunded if the other driver is at fault and identifiable.

Choice of repairer

The policy term that decides whether you can pick your own workshop or have to use one from your insurer's network. Check your PDS — it varies by policy, and in NSW it isn't a legal right.

Preferred repairer

A shop your insurer has a commercial arrangement with. It usually means faster approval because pricing is pre-agreed. It doesn't automatically mean a better repair, and you're not a party to that arrangement.

Betterment

Improving the car beyond its pre-accident condition. Insurers generally don't pay for it — a claim restores what you had, it doesn't upgrade it.

Assessment / scope

The insurer's agreed list of what gets repaired and how. Everything downstream — cost, timeline, method — follows from it.

Repairable write-off

The insurer decides the repair cost is close to or above the car's value, so they pay you out instead of repairing it. In some cases the car can still legally be repaired and re-registered, subject to NSW rules.

Not-at-fault claim

A claim where another identified driver caused the damage. Your insurer recovers the cost from theirs, which is why the excess usually comes back to you.

Insurance claim questions