How Long Does a Non-Fault Accident Claim Take?
Anywhere from a few weeks to well over a year. What decides it is liability and, where you are injured, how long your recovery takes.
A vehicle-only claim with liability admitted can settle in a few weeks. An injury claim usually takes several months to a year, and longer if liability is fought.
The single biggest factor is whether the other side admits fault. Almost everything else follows from that.
What has to happen
Every claim moves through the same stages. Each is a place it can stall:
Liability
The other insurer investigates and either admits or denies. Days where it is obvious; months where it is disputed.
The vehicle
Inspection, then either repair or a total loss valuation. Usually the quickest part once liability is clear.
Injury and settlement
A medical report, then negotiation. This is what makes injury claims take months rather than weeks - you cannot value an injury until the prognosis is known.
Rough timescales
Vehicle damage only, liability admitted: commonly a few weeks from start to payment.
Vehicle plus a straightforward injury: commonly four to nine months, most of it waiting for a medical report and the prognosis period.
Liability disputed: add several months. If proceedings are issued it can run beyond a year.
These are typical rather than promises. Anyone guaranteeing a date at the outset is guessing.
What slows a claim down
Nobody chasing it
The most common cause by far. Insurers work to their own timetable unless someone is pushing.
Missing documents
One outstanding form can hold a file for weeks. Return things the day they are asked for.
Disputed liability
Investigation, evidence gathering and negotiation all take time, and it is time nobody can shortcut.
Claim gone quiet?
Silence usually means nobody is chasing it. Tell us where it has got to and we will pick it up.
Do not let a claim drift toward the limitation deadline. Generally three years from the accident for injury claims. Miss it and the claim is gone, however strong it was.
Common questions
Usually one of three things: liability is not agreed, medical evidence is outstanding, or nobody is actively chasing it. The third is the most common and the easiest to fix.
Interim payments are sometimes possible where liability is admitted and you are suffering financial hardship, particularly in serious injury cases.
It should, because someone is chasing every stage rather than waiting. What it cannot do is shorten a genuine medical prognosis period.
Generally three years from the accident for personal injury, with different rules for children. Vehicle damage claims have a longer period, but leaving it late makes evidence much harder.
Issuing proceedings extends things, often by months. Most claims still settle before a hearing - issuing frequently prompts a realistic offer.
Terms and conditions apply to all services described on this page. Free recovery, storage and replacement vehicles are provided on the basis that the charges are recovered from the at-fault party’s insurer. We will explain the terms in plain English before anything is arranged.
Before we act for you we are required to verify your identity and to carry out fraud and anti-money laundering checks. This may include checks with credit reference and fraud prevention agencies, which will leave a record on your file.
Where fraud is suspected, information may be shared with fraud prevention agencies, insurers and law enforcement. Providing false or misleading information in support of a claim may mean your claim is refused, and can be a criminal offence.