Responding to a claim

Responding to a personal injury claim when you are uninsured

You may have a compensation claim against you when you either don’t have insurance or have insurance but your insurer has declined to extend indemnity.

What can you do?

• You need to respond to the claim. You can do this yourself, or through a lawyer.
• If you don’t have insurance, then you need to find out if there are any other parties that you can seek indemnity or contribution from.
• If your insurer has declined indemnity, then you need to consider whether you can seek indemnity to sue your insurer

Responding to a claim on behalf of an uninsured person or business is a niche area of legal practice. Most personal injury lawyers act for insurance companies (who have significant resources) and don’t have the experience to handle cases for a private individual or small business without insurance.

For many uninsured parties, the legal costs of responding to a claim can be crippling if your lawyer is not experienced in carefully managing the claim.

If you find yourself in the difficult position of not being covered for a claim made against you, you should get legal advice at the earliest opportunity.

In many cases, claims can be settled informally and cost-effectively, avoiding the expense of conferences and/or court proceedings. There may also be opportunities to recoup amounts paid out in the settlement, and even the cost of responding to the claim.