If you have a road accident and it’s your fault, are you still covered by a green slip? This is a good question. If you are at fault and make a claim, you are not covered to the same extent as someone who is not at fault. However, you are still at least entitled to 12 months of benefits.
What do we mean by at-fault?
It is not always clear who is at fault. The law says At fault means you were 100% at fault or your contributory negligence was more than 61%.
Obviously, this is a complex decision for your CTP insurer to make. When claimants disagree with a decision and ask their insurer to review it, this is commonly about whether or not the injured person was mostly at fault.
What happens if I’m at fault and make a claim?
Under the NSW CTP scheme, the driver at fault in an accident is covered by a green slip, but not to the same extent as someone who is not at fault.
The NSW scheme offers 3 types of benefits and 2 types of damages.
Benefits
Claimants can apply for 3 types of payment, for:
- Loss of income
- Medical treatment and care
- Funeral expenses.
If you are at fault, you can still receive benefits for loss of income and for treatment and care. The period for which you can receive benefits has now been extended to 12 months, regardless of injury type. Treatment and care costs include:
- Ambulance
- Medical
- Pharmaceutical
- Prosthetics
- Aids
- Rehabilitation.
Damages
There are 2 types of damages claims:
- Damages for economic loss (loss of past income and future earning capacity)
- Damages for non-economic loss (pain and suffering).
If you are at fault, your entitlement to claim for damages is limited by the extent of your injuries. They must be serious injuries:
- If you have more than Threshold injuries*, you can claim damages for economic loss.
If you have more than 10% permanent impairment, you can claim damages for non-economic loss.
*A Threshold injury means a soft tissue injury or a psychological or psychiatric injury that is not a recognised psychiatric illness.
At-Fault Driver Cover
Another way drivers can make a claim when at fault is when they hold At-fault-driver cover.
These are benefits for the injured at-fault driver on top of benefits payable under your green slip. Only NRMA Insurance now offers At-fault driver cover. It is called CTP Driver Protection. NRMA lists death and all the serious injuries for which they pay benefits and the amounts for each one, for example:
- Quadriplegia
- Paraplegia
- Total loss of speech
- Total loss of hearing
- Loss of use of one limb
- Death within 6 months of accident.
Read more about the actual amounts payable and limits set by the insurer.
Last word
Each CTP greenslip in NSW provides exactly the same cover, regardless of insurer. However, if you are at fault in a road accident, you are not covered to the same extent as someone who is not at fault. Your benefits are limited to 12 months and your entitlements to claim damages depend on the extent of your injuries. You may want to take out At-fault driver cover.
Read more about what you can expect from insurers if you make a claim.
Compare the prices of greenslips
Have you ever wondered why you need a green slip? Do you know what your green slip covers and doesn’t cover? Do all insurers offer the same green slip? These are all good questions you ask that greenslips.com.au will answer.
This is the third article in our 8-part series, How greenslip insurance works. Read article 2, What does a greenslip cover?
First published 5 July 2021, updated and republished May 2023.
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