If you’ve been injured in a car accident and had time off work, you’ve probably submitted a CTP claim for personal injury benefits with SIRA. The application process appears simple, and some initial benefit payments are generally approved. But 80% of claims are under-paid, so injured motorists are missing out on millions of dollars in benefits without even knowing. Here’s how to find out if you’re one of them.
If you haven’t lodged your claim yet, you can use the articles and tips on this website to make sure you don’t miss out.
There are four main reasons why you might be missing out on benefits:
1. Your income support payments are too low.
Income support payments are based on your pre-accident earnings, but the calculation used by the insurer to estimate your earnings might be unfair to you. For example, the insurer might have asked for 12 months’ payslips to estimate your earnings. But if you had a salary increase or if you’ve taken unpaid leave, then your payslips wouldn’t truly reflect your pre-accident earnings, so you’re being underpaid.
2. You’ve had treatment expenses denied.
Treatment and travel expenses that should be paid by the insurer are sometimes denied if they’re not deemed to be “reasonable and necessary” by the insurer. For example, if you had a knee injury that led to back problems, the insurer might deny expenses for your back treatment, which would be unfair to you.
3. Your income benefits were cut off too soon.
Many inured motorists have had their income benefits cut off before they’ve fully recovered. This happens if the insurer decides they should be able to return to work or their GP hasn’t recorded all of their injuries correctly. If your benefits have been cut off, then you only have 28 days to appeal the decision.
4. You haven’t been paid a lump sum you’re entitled to.
If you haven’t disclosed all of your injuries, you might be missing out on a lump sum payment, which could be an extra $10,000 or even $100,000+. To qualify for a lump sum, your injuries need to exceed the “minor” threshold. So if you think some of your injuries have been overlooked or your injuries have worsened, you’ll need to get reassessed and submit a separate claim for a lump sum.
Why you’re not being told what you’re entitled to.
Although you submit your claim through SIRA, they don’t actually look at your claim at all – they simply pass it on to the CTP insurance company to decide how much to pay you. So don’t expect SIRA or the insurer to tell you if you’ve made a mistake – you need to take matters into your own hands!
So how can you find out what you’re missing out on?
The good news is it’s easy to find out if you can get additional benefits using the free resources on this website. CTPClaimAdvice.com.au was set up to stop countless Australians from missing out on personal injury benefits because they simply don’t know the rules. It’s been featured on the Channel Nine News and news.com.au, and provides you with a free claim check service.
There’s a range of articles on lodging your claim, disputing insurers’ decisions and claiming lump sums. It only takes a few minutes to get your claim checked and find out if you can get additional benefits. If you’re entitled to a lump sum, you could be tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars better off.
Find out how much you’re entitled to and get your free CTP claim check using the links at the top of this page.
Most people will just accept what the insurers say – but don’t be that person! Know your rights and stand up for them.
– Adrian Pin, Managing Director of Australia’s largest specialist personal injury law firm.
