No Comprehensive Insurance and Someone Hit Your Car? How to Claim Directly From the Other Driver

You only had third-party property insurance, or the car was old enough that you’d let comprehensive lapse. Then a driver reversed out of a driveway into your side panel. They were apologetic at the time. Now you have a $3,900 quote, no insurer to call, and a driver whose replies have gone from “let me check with my insurance” to nothing.

Your insurance status has no bearing on the other driver’s liability. Comprehensive cover is a convenience: it pays you first and chases the other driver later. Without it, you do the chasing. That is a paperwork exercise, and the courts and tribunals handle thousands of these claims from uninsured, not-at-fault drivers every year.

Your rights

The driver who negligently damaged your car owes you the reasonable cost of restoring you to your pre-accident position. That is the repair cost (or market value less salvage if uneconomic to repair), a hire car or reasonable alternative transport while the car is unusable, towing and storage, and other direct loss. If the at-fault driver has third-party property or comprehensive insurance, their insurer will handle your claim once it’s lodged; if they have none, the claim proceeds against them personally and a judgment can be enforced against their wages, bank account or property. You have six years to sue (three in the Northern Territory). You are not required to use the repairer the other side nominates, and you can recover the cost of an independent assessment if it was reasonable.

By state

• New South Wales. Local Court, Small Claims Division (up to $20,000): a simple statement of claim, no lawyers needed. Not NCAT.
• Victoria. Magistrates’ Court civil claim; under $10,000 usually goes to arbitration, a shorter, less formal hearing. Not VCAT.
• Queensland. QCAT minor civil dispute (property damage caused by a motor vehicle, up to $25,000).
• Western Australia. Magistrates Court minor case claim up to $10,000 (no lawyers without leave), general procedure to $75,000. Not SAT.
• South Australia. Magistrates Court minor civil claim up to $12,000 using the court’s motor-vehicle property damage claim process. Not SACAT.
• Tasmania. Magistrates Court (Civil Division): minor civil claim up to $15,000; civil claim $15,001 to $50,000.
• Australian Capital Territory. ACAT civil dispute up to $25,000.
• Northern Territory. NTCAT up to $25,000; the Local Court above that. Three-year limitation period.

The Claim Done document asks your state first and drafts the demand to that state’s forum, limits and process.

What to do right now

1. Get the driver’s details right. Full name, address, licence number, registration, and the name of their insurer if they have one. If you only have a rego, your state’s transport authority can release the registered owner’s details for the purpose of a property damage claim.
2. Quotes and photos. Two itemised quotes; photos of both cars and the scene; dashcam if you have it; a diagram if you don’t.
3. Write to the driver and, if known, their insurer. State the facts, the negligence, each item of loss, the total, and a 14-day deadline. Ask the driver to pass the letter to their insurer immediately.
4. Decide about repairs. You can repair now and claim the invoice, or claim the quote. Repairing first with the cheaper of two quotes is usually the cleanest.
5. File when the 14 days lapse. Attach the demand and evidence. Ask for the filing fee and interest as part of the claim.

When the other driver has no insurance and no money

The claim is still worth making. A tribunal or court money order lasts for years (12 in most states), accrues interest, and can be enforced when the driver’s circumstances change: a garnishee on wages, a bank account, or a registered charge on a car or property. Many uninsured drivers pay by instalments once an order exists, because the alternative is enforcement. Send the demand, get the order, and keep it on file. And check your own policy: some third-party property policies include an “uninsured motorist extension” that pays for your car if the other driver was uninsured and at fault, usually up to a few thousand dollars.

What the other driver’s insurer will ask you

If the at-fault driver does have cover, their insurer will want a short, consistent account: date, time, location, direction of travel, what each car was doing, and why the other driver is at fault. Give it once, in writing, and don’t give recorded statements by phone. They’ll ask for your quotes and may want to send their own assessor; you can agree to an assessment, but you’re not obliged to use their repairer or accept a “cash settlement” below your quote. If they offer less than your documented loss, ask for the basis in writing and answer it point by point. An insurer that knows you’re prepared to file in the Local Court, QCAT or the Magistrates Court usually pays the quote rather than pay a lawyer to argue about $400 of hire-car days.

Who to complain to

New South Wales Local Court; Victorian Magistrates’ Court; QCAT; Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmanian Magistrates Courts; ACAT; NTCAT / Northern Territory Local Court. Your state transport authority for owner details from a registration number. Your own third-party insurer if your policy has an uninsured-motorist extension; and AFCA if it mishandles that.

Claim directly from the driver — $49

Claim Done drafts a Car Accident Damage Claim to the at-fault driver (and their insurer, if any) that sets out the collision, their negligence, your itemised loss with quotes and receipts, and a 14-day deadline before you file in your state’s court or tribunal.

Send the Other Driver My Demand — $49 →

You review every word before it’s sent.

On the other side of the crash? See at fault in a car crash with no insurance.