What to do if you have an accident with an uninsured driver

If you have GIO Comprehensive or Platinum Car Insurance and want to make a claim, you can do so online, regardless of if the other driver has insurance. It’s quick, it’s easy, and we’ll be in touch throughout the process.

MAKE A CLAIM

Check on everyone involved

The first and most important thing to do is to check that everyone is okay, and not in any danger. If there are injuries or risk of further damage, call 000 immediately. Once everyone is safe and you’ve taken possible steps to prevent any further damage by moving your car off the road if you’re able and turning on your hazards, you can start inspecting the damage and contacting the police to report the incident.

Gather information

Having as much information as possible is key. Collect the details of everyone involved, including the details of any passengers and witnesses.

Note the other driver’s:

• name
• address
• contact details
• licence details, and
• vehicle registration number.

It’ll also be useful to have some additional information noted down, for both the claim process and to help the police establish who was at fault. Make note of the:

• time
• date, and
• location.

Take pictures

A picture is worth 1000 words, so capture some of the incident and the damage if you can. Make sure they’re all clear, and take them from multiple angles to have a full overview of what happened.

If you’re insured, contact your insurer

The next steps will depend on your level of insurance. You can find out more by reading your Product Disclosure Statement. For GIO Car Insurance, you can read the PDS here.

GIO Comprehensive or GIO Platinum

With GIO Comprehensive or Platinum Car Insurance, there’s some good news, your insured vehicle is covered for accidental loss or damage, as well as damage you may cause to other people’s property. That means that you can make a claim, and if accepted, we’ll repair or help cover the costs of repair to get you back on the road, or settle your claim as a total loss.*

GIO Fire, Theft & Third Party Property Damage and Third Party Property Damage covers

If you have GIO Fire, Theft & Third Party Property Damage or GIO Third Party Property Damage Insurance, this covers your liability for damage caused to other vehicles from the use of your car (for example in an accident).* Damage to your own car is not covered with Third Party Property Damage only cover. However, if you have Fire & Theft cover, this provides cover for loss of or damage to your car from fire, theft and attempted theft.

Compulsory Third Party (CTP)

CTP Insurance – also known as Green Slip in New South Wales, helps cover the driver’s liability for the costs of injuries to other people if your vehicle is involved in a motor accident. Damage to property, other vehicles or to your vehicle is not covered.

If the other driver is entirely at fault

If you have Fire Theft & Third Party Property Damage or Third Party Property Damage cover, and your car is damaged by an uninsured driver, GIO offers cover for damage to your vehicle if:

• the driver of your car didn’t contribute to the accident – which means the other driver was entirely at fault. You may be able to show this by providing a police report, a statement from a witness, or photographs taken at the scene; and
• you can provide us with the name and address of the person at fault and the registration number of the at-fault vehicle.

GIO covers the reasonable costs of repair, up to $5,000. No excess applies. Be sure to read the PDS for details and exclusions.

If you’re the uninsured driver

If you’re at-fault, you may be required to pay the costs of repairing the damage to the other person’s vehicle or property and you may also be asked to pay additional costs such as those incurred for towing fees and hire cars.

Seek legal advice

If you’re unsure of your rights throughout this process, it may be a good idea to seek out legal advice for your particular situation. They will likely be able to advise on courses of action specific to your circumstances.

Read more:

• Car accident and not at fault? What to do next
• What to do if you’ve had a car accident
• What is the future of electric cars in Australia?
  

*Conditions and exclusions apply.

Insurance is issued by AAI Limited ABN 48 005 297 807 trading as GIO. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement before buying this insurance. The Target Market Determination is also available.

This advice has been prepared without taking into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs, so you should consider whether it is appropriate for you before acting on it. The information is intended to be of general nature only. Subject to any rights you may have under any law (including the Australian Consumer Law), we do not accept any legal responsibility for any loss or damage, including loss of business or profits or any other indirect loss, incurred as a result of reliance upon the information. Please make your own enquiries.