What Can I Do If I Make A Car Insurance Claim But The Other Party Is Not Responding?

By Lewis Aaliyah. Last Updated 10th November 2022. If you’re in the middle of a car insurance claim and the other party is not responding, you may be struggling to know what to do. Car accidents can lead to serious injuries such as a broken back or a brain injury that can change how you’re able to live your life. 

car insurance claim other party not responding

A guide to making a car insurance claim when the other party is not responding

This guide will inform you of the expected timescales when making a personal injury claim. It will also answer questions like, “what do you do when an insurance company won’t respond?” and “can you sue an insurance company for not responding?” 

If you have further questions about claiming for a road traffic accident, you can contact our advisors at a time that works for you. They can inform you if you’re able to claim and even provide you with a compensation estimate over the phone. Furthermore, they can connect you to a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor from our panel whose expertise could help you receive compensation. 

Contact us using the below details. 

Read on for answers to questions such as, “how long does an insurer have to respond to a claim?”

Select A Section

  1. Insurance Claim And Third Party Not Responding – What To Do
  2. When To Submit Your Letter Of Claim
  3. How Long Does An Insurer Have To Respond To A Claim?
  4. How To Make A Car Insurance Claim And The Other Party Is Not Responding, What Do I Do?
  5. Road Traffic Accident Claim Calculator
  6. Talk To Us About Your Injury Claim

Insurance Claim And Third Party Not Responding – What To Do

In this section, we’ll discuss what to do when making a car insurance claim but the other party is not responding. In the UK, it’s important to follow the Pre-Action Protocols for personal injury claims. The first step is generally for a ‘letter of claim’ to be sent to the defendant. They should then acknowledge the letter within 21 days and offer a response within 3 months.

Therefore, in an insurance claim, if the third party is not responding after 3 months, your solicitor can apply for a court order that makes it a legal obligation for the defendant to respond. We’ll discuss this process in more detail later on in the guide.

Continue reading to find out what to do if an insurance company is not responding to your claim in the UK following a car accident.

When To Submit Your Letter Of Claim 

This section will detail the requirements regarding the letter of claim and any potential actions you could make before submitting this to the defendant. Beforehand, you could issue a Letter of Notification. This is mainly so the defendant can be made aware of your intentions to claim. 

You may want to send this if the defendant has little to no knowledge of the accident in question or if you, the claimant, is suffering from significant financial losses because of the accident. This could be sent in the hope that a compensation figure is agreed upon before claims proceedings begin. The defendant should acknowledge this letter within 14 days of receipt. 

The first step to making a personal injury claim is the Letter of Claim. There should be two copies of this sent – one to the defendant, the other to the insurers managing the claim on the defendant’s behalf. 

This letter should summarise the facts of the case, indicate the physical issues and mental health injuries caused by the accident and confirm the claimant’s prognosis. Financial losses incurred by the claimant should also be detailed. 

Enough relevant details should be given so the defendant and their insurance company can adequately assess their liability concerning the accident. The defendant has 21 calendar days from the date the Letter of Claim was posted to issue an acknowledgement.

How Long Does An Insurer Have To Respond To A Claim?

This section will confirm the different timescales the defendant’s insurance company has to respond within. As previously mentioned, they have 21 calendar days to acknowledge the Letter of Claim. Additionally, from the date of acknowledgement, they have up to three months to fully investigate the accident. 

This would involve them collecting and reviewing evidence, assessing witness statements and looking over the medical scans and reports relating to the accident. Doing this helps them identify who was liable for the injuries caused. By the end of that three-month period, they should issue a response detailing whether they feel the defendant was liable. 

If the insurance company deem that the defendant was liable, it means they acknowledge that the defendant breached their duty of care and it was these actions that caused the claimant’s injuries. 

With claims made through the Whiplash Reform Program, the procedure differs slightly. In this instance, the claimant must complete a Claim Notification Form (CNF), so it can be sent to the defendant’s insurer. The form effectively acts as the Letter of Claim and needs to include terms of rehabilitation. 

After receiving the form with all the relevant information, the defendant must send an electronic acknowledgement the day after receipt. They must then complete the ‘insurer response’ section of the CNF and send it to the claimant within 15 days of sending the acknowledgement. 

How To Make A Car Insurance Claim And The Other Party Is Not Responding, What Do I Do?

This next section will outline what you can do if you submit a car insurance claim and the other party is not responding. If the insurance company of the defendant is not responding within the required timescale as detailed in the Pre-Action Protocols, your personal injury lawyer can make an application to the court for Pre-Action Disclosure (PAD). 

Your legal representative may go to court on your behalf to show how the defendant has breached the Pre-Action Protocols. You, as the claimant, will not need to attend the hearing. If the court agrees that the defendant has breached these protocols, it can issue a court order that:

  • Forces the defendant to reveal any relevant information that can then result in the claims process continuing. 
  • States that the defendant needs to accept or deny liability for the injury. 

Furthermore, in most cases, the defendant may need to pay for the legal costs caused by the PAD because it could be their error or oversight that has caused the required hearing.

Please contact our advisors for free legal advice to learn more about this or any part of the claims procedure. They can be contacted 24/7 using the details above. 

Road Traffic Accident Claim Calculator

As we’ve now established what to do during a car insurance claim when the other party is not responding, you may want to know more about the compensation figure you could receive for a successful claim. There are two potential heads of claim. The suffering, pain and decline to your quality of life caused by the injury would be compensated through general damages. 

The Judicial College has created compensation brackets (examples of which you can see below) that give you a greater idea of what you could receive. They analyse previous payouts regarding general damages and compare them to the nature of the injury suffered.

Please remember that you would only receive compensation from a personal injury claim if you were able to prove that another third party’s negligence caused your injuries. This could involve, for instance, suffering an injury due to someone else’s careless driving. 

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Type of Injury Severity Amount of Compensation Description
Brain Moderate (ii) £85,150 to £140,870 Cases in this category lead to symptoms such as moderate to modest intellectual deficit, with the ability to work being greatly reduced and there being some risk of epilepsy.
Shoulder Severe £18,020 to £45,070 This category is for neck injuries that involve brachial plexus damage causing a significant disability.
Injuries to the Pelvis and Hip Severe (iii) £36,770 to £49,270 Injuries that are included in this category include an acetabulum fracture causing degenerative changes and the fracture of an arthritic femur leading to hip replacement.
Back Severe (i) £85,470 to £151,070 Cases in this category are for the more severe back injuries that cause spinal cord and nerve root damage, leading to severe pain and disability.
Elbow Severely Disabling £36,770 to £51,460 This category is for an elbow injury that is severely disabling.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Moderate £7,680 to £21,730 Cases in this category will lead to psychological issues after the incident. However, the injured person will have largely recovered meaning there will be no continuous effects that are grossly disabling.
Severe Leg Injuries Serious (iii) £36,790 to £51,460 This category includes injuries to joints or ligaments and serious compound fractures causing prolonged treatment and a lengthy period of non-weight-bearing.
Knee Severe (i) £65,440 to £90,290 Cases in this category include serious knee injuries that cause disruption to the joint and considerable pain as well as loss of function.
Toe Serious £9,010 to £12,900 Injuries in this category include serious great toe injuries and multiple fractures to two or more toes.

Furthermore, special damages can compensate you for the financial losses suffered because of the injury. This can include:

  • Travel expenses
  • Loss of earnings
  • Loss of future earnings
  • Private healthcare costs
  • Adjustments to your home

To prove the value of your financial losses, you would need to provide financial documentation such as invoices, receipts and bank statements. 

Talk To Us About Your Injury Claim 

You may want to know what the benefits are when making a personal injury claim through our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors. They include:

  • Having a solicitor that is an expert in their relevant field. If you want to make a car insurance claim, but the other party is not responding, they will know precisely what to do and how to manage the claim. 
  • Not paying your solicitor’s fee during the claim. 
  • Only paying this fee once a settlement has been reached. To cover this, they will take a small success fee from your compensation figure. 
  • No hidden fees or costs. 

If you still have questions about claiming or want to see if you’re eligible to claim, please contact our advisors for legal advice that is completely free. They can be contacted 24/7 and could connect you with a No Win No Fee personal injury solicitor from our panel. Contact us at a time that works for you using the details below. 

Learn More Relating To A Car Insurance Claim Where The Other Party Is Not Responding

Use the useful links below to discover more about personal injury claims. 

Read this page on the NHS website for medical guidance if you’ve broken a bone. 

If you’ve suffered psychological damage, you may find that talking therapies can help. 

Road traffic accident statistics relating to Great Britain can be found on the Department for Transport website. 

You may be wondering, “how often do personal injury claims go to court?” If so, this article from our website could help you.  

Read this to see what you can do if an uninsured driver injures you. 

Have you suffered a broken wrist? If so, please refer to this article to see if you can claim. 

If you still have queries about making a car insurance claim while the other party is not responding, please speak to our advisors for legal advice that is completely free using the details above.

Writer IR

Checked by HT