We get asked this question a lot! We deal with car insurance on a daily basis and we think it’s important for everyone to understand how it works and how it applies to their circumstances, especially if they’ve been in an accident.

In legal-speak, the Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance which is part of every WA motor vehicle registration covers unlimited liability for personal injury caused by, through or in connection with directly driving the insured motor vehicle in incidents to which the Motor Vehicle (Third Party Insurance) Act 1943 applies.

But what does that mean? In layman’s terms, it means that anyone who is personally injured in an incident involving a WA-registered car may be able make a claim on CTP insurance. It’s intended to prevent the situation where someone is injured in a car accident, through no fault of their own, and can’t pay their medical bills.

There are limits to who can claim, and what can be claimed, however! Fault must be established and proven for a claim to succeed. If you were partly at fault in causing your injuries (e.g. not wearing a seatbelt, negligent driving, riding a bike with no helmet) then you may not be able to claim all expenses.

Very importantly, you won’t be able to make a successful claim if:

• You were the only driver at fault
• You were the driver of a single vehicle crash
• No negligence can be established against the owner or driver of another WA licensed vehicle
• The person you consider at fault was not the driver or owner of a WA licensed vehicle (e.g. the person was a pedestrian or push cyclist or was driving a motor vehicle licensed in another Australian state or territory).

And of course none of this covers damage to your car, or anybody else’s car or property!

It’s for this reason that we always, always recommend that you get proper car insurance. CTP insurance is a safeguard in the public interest, but for the majority of accidents it’s not going to help you much at all! If you want to discuss your car insurance or have questions about CTP, please give us a call, or visit the WA Government CTP information page:

http://www.icwa.wa.gov.au/mvpi/mvpi_ctp.shtml

http://www.icwa.wa.gov.au/mvpi/claims/mvpi_pi_who.shtml

For more information, or to see what else we’re up to, please follow us on Twitter or check our Facebook page.