Fortunately, there are legal guidelines, called pre-action protocols, in place to ensure insurers process claims within certain time periods and don’t leave victims waiting for payouts.
When you file a road traffic accident claim against an insurer, they receive a Claim Notification Form with all the details they need to fully investigate the incident and come to an opinion about their customer’s liability and the amount they’ll pay out.
Car insurance providers then have a maximum of 15 working days from receiving the Claim Notification Form to respond to these types of claims, saying whether they accept or reject liability, making a settlement offer, and if they reject their customer’s liability, evidence in support of that.
With personal injury claims, the insurer has three months and 21 days after receiving a letter of claim from your solicitor to respond.
If the defendant insurer doesn't abide by these timelines, you or your solicitor should apply to the courts to force the insurer to undertake the next steps. If a judge accepts that the opposing insurer isn’t following the protocols, the court may order them to either accept or deny liability or disclose relevant information and documents needed for the claim to progress. The insurer may then have to pay your legal costs for taking the issue to court.