As always, the answer depends on several different factors, with the time period ranging from a few days to several months.
Once you have submitted a claim to your car insurance provider, they need to establish a few things. The first of these is who is at fault. This will determine whether they or the third party’s insurer needs to cough up. How long this will take depends on the payout amount and circumstances.
A cut and dry case where the only damage is cosmetic is likely to be solved within a week or so. However, if it is particularly complicated, with multiple considerations and two written-off cars, it could easily go on longer than that.
In some instances, it can go to court. If personal injury claims are involved then it’s also likely that the proceedings could go on for even longer. This is because medical assessments will need to be carried out and as the amount of money involved is more, insurers will be less willing to give in.
Naturally, any additional delay to your payout is going to be a huge inconvenience. If your car is damaged, then every week you wait is a week where you don’t have access to your vehicle.
In order to try and make the claim go as quickly as possible, you will want to:
Get in touch with your insurer immediately after the accident
Gather any relevant evidence, including details of eyewitnesses, pictures, the other party's insurance details, and your own account of what happened