Property damage is its own thing
People often think a NSW car accident claim is one big thing. It isn't. The property damage side (car repair, replacement vehicle, write-off payout) and the injury side (CTP green slip claim) run on completely different tracks, against different insurance policies, with different timelines.
This page is the property side. If you're sore as well, see injured, not at fault.
The basic choice — who do you claim against?
Two main options if the other driver was at fault:
Option 1 — Claim against their insurer directly
You contact the other driver's motor insurer (their comprehensive or third-party-property insurer) and put in a claim. They assess the damage and pay for repair or write-off. You don't use your own policy at all — your no-claim bonus and excess are untouched.
Works well when the other driver's details are clean (you have their name, address, registration, insurer) and liability isn't in dispute. Slower than going through your own insurer because the other insurer doesn't prioritise non-customer claims.
Option 2 — Use your own comprehensive insurance
Faster because your insurer prioritises their own customer. You pay your excess up front (often refunded later when they recover from the at-fault insurer). Your no-claim bonus can be affected if you're on a stepped policy and the recovery doesn't go all the way through.
Cleaner choice when liability is disputed, when the other driver's details are messy, or when you need the car back fast.
Replacement vehicle — your right while it's being sorted
NSW law gives every not-at-fault driver the right to a like-for-like replacement vehicle while their car is being assessed or repaired. The entitlement runs against the at-fault driver's insurer. You don't need to be a comprehensive insurance customer to access it.
What "like-for-like" means in practice: a car of comparable class, size and equipment. A family SUV gets a family SUV; a hatchback gets a hatchback. It runs from the day your car's off the road through to the day repairs are done (or for a total loss, through to the day your payout actually lands).
See accident replacement vehicle for the detail.
If the other driver was uninsured
Awkward. NSW's Nominal Defendant scheme covers uninsured drivers for injury claims, but notfor property damage. That's a real gap in the scheme.
Your options:
- Your own comprehensive insurance, if you have it. Easiest path.
- Recovering directly from the at-fault driver personally (suing them in their personal capacity). Slow, often unsuccessful — most uninsured drivers don't have the assets to pay.
- Sometimes nothing, painfully. Comprehensive insurance exists for exactly this risk.
See uninsured driver NSW for the injury side.
If the car's a write-off
Total loss runs a bit differently — the valuation gets negotiated, the loan situation matters, the timeline stretches. See car written off NSW for the dedicated walkthrough.
Don't forget the injury timeline
If you're sore, get the CTP injury claim in within 28 days of the crash to preserve your statutory benefits backdating. The property side can drag on for weeks; the injury side has a hard early deadline. Different claims, same crash, different clocks. See the 28-day rule.
What we do for you
One phone call sorts both sides. We talk through whether your own comprehensive insurance or a direct claim against the at-fault insurer is cleaner for your situation, get you into a replacement vehicle, and if you're hurt at all, run the CTP injury claim alongside.
Take the short check at /check, or call (02) 7238 7379 and a real person picks up.