Car Accident Claims
Check If You Can Claim Compensation
A car accident compensation claim has two halves: the injury, and what the accident cost you. It is brought against the other driver’s insurer rather than against the driver personally, so claiming does not take money out of anyone’s pocket. If that driver had no insurer, or drove off and was never traced, you can still claim, and this page sets out how.
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Can you claim for a car accident?
You may be able to make car accident claims if you were injured in the last three years in a crash that was caused, at least in part, by someone else. You can usually claim whether you were a driver, a passenger, a cyclist or a pedestrian.
Most road traffic injury claims are handled through the government’s Official Injury Claim service, and many are run on a No Win No Fee basis. If you are not sure whether you can claim, our team can check for you.
Why a road accident claim usually succeeds
Most collisions come from one road user’s error: too fast, too close, or not looking. Where that error caused your injury, a road accident injury claim is normally an argument about how much rather than about whether.
A road accident compensation claim is brought against the at-fault driver’s insurer, which is why road accident compensation is paid by an insurance company and not by the person who hit you. Claiming compensation for road traffic accident injuries costs that person their excess and their no-claims discount, and nothing else. Compensation for road accident injuries comes out of an insurer’s fund, not out of a household.
Traffic accident compensation is not unusual, and a road traffic accident compensation claim is available wherever another road user was at fault.
casualties of all severities in reported road collisions in Great Britain in 2025, including 1,538 people killed and 29,918 killed or seriously injured.
Source: Department for Transport, reported road casualties 2023. Verify before publishing.
Common causes of car accident claims
You may be eligible to make car accident claims if your accident was caused by another road user’s negligence.
Speeding and tailgating
Driving too fast for the conditions, or following too closely, leaves no time to stop and often causes rear-end collisions.
Distracted or careless driving
Using a phone, misjudging a junction or failing to give way. A moment of inattention is behind many collisions.
Drink, drugs or poor conditions
Driving under the influence, or failing to adapt to rain, ice or poor visibility, puts other road users at risk.
Whatever caused your accident, if another road user was at fault you may have a claim. Tell us what happened and we will let you know where you stand.
Who can make a car accident claim?
You can bring a car accident claim if somebody else’s negligence caused your injury, whether you were driving, a passenger, a cyclist or a pedestrian. Two things people get wrong. A passenger can claim against whichever driver was at fault, including the driver of the car they were sitting in. And your own share of the blame does not end the claim.
If you’ve suffered whiplash in a road accident that wasn’t entirely your fault, you may be able to make a whiplash claim. Whether you were a driver, passenger, cyclist or pedestrian, you could claim compensation for your injuries as well as financial losses such as lost earnings, rehabilitation costs and travel expenses. Most whiplash claims are handled on a No Win No Fee basis.
Insurers open with that argument routinely, because most people assume a share of the blame ends everything and stop there.
You will see this claim called a car crash claim, a car crash injury claim, car crash compensation, a car injury claim, car injury compensation or a road accident claim. They are the same claim, and the name changes nothing about the law that applies or the amount you recover. A car crash claim UK wide runs under the Limitation Act 1980 in England and Wales.
Hit by uninsured driver, or a driver who drove off
This is the situation where most people assume there is no claim, and they are wrong. The Motor Insurers’ Bureau exists to pay exactly these claims, under two published agreements, and almost no competing page explains how they work.
Hit by an uninsured driver
Where the driver is identified but has no insurance, the claim runs under the Uninsured Drivers Agreement 2015, which applies to accidents on or after 1 August 2015. An uninsured driver claim goes to the Motor Insurers’ Bureau much as an ordinary claim goes to an insurer, and your injury is valued no differently for it.
The driver drove off and was never traced
A hit and run compensation claim runs under the Untraced Drivers Agreement 2017. Clause 2(1) brings it into force for accidents happening on or after 1 March 2017. An untraced driver claim needs no defendant, because there is nobody to name, so the application is made to the Bureau rather than issued at court.
Your deadline is the same three years
Clause 3(1)(d) applies the time limits that apply to victims of identified drivers bringing actions in tort under the Limitation Act 1980. A motor insurers bureau claim buys nobody extra time. If anything it rewards moving faster, because the evidence that identifies a vehicle goes cold within weeks rather than years.
Your vehicle is treated differently from your injury
On an untraced claim, clause 7(1) pays for damage to property only where an award for significant personal injury has been paid to a claimant in the same event. Clause 7(2) defines that as death, two or more nights of hospital in-patient treatment, or three or more out-patient sessions. Clause 11(5)(b) then applies a £400 excess.
If you are past two years, the question is not whether you are late. It is whether your reason falls within paragraph 89, and that is worth one free conversation rather than a guess.
Report it, and report it quickly. Section 170(6) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires a driver who has not given their details at the scene to report the accident at a police station or to a constable as soon as is reasonably practicable and, in any case, within twenty-four hours. Where they did not, your own report is what creates the record an mib claim gets built on, and a claim with no police reference is harder from day one.. Section 170(6) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 requires a driver who has not given their details at the scene to report the accident at a police station or to a constable as soon as is reasonably practicable and, in any case, within twenty-four hours. Where they did not, your own report is what creates the record an mib claim gets built on, and a claim with no police reference is harder from day one.
Car accident compensation: what it covers and what it pays
Car accident compensation has two parts. General damages for the injury, valued on the medical evidence. Special damages for what the accident cost you, proved with documents. Car accident compensation amounts differ so widely because the second part turns entirely on your job, your treatment and your vehicle, and two people with the same injury are rarely in the same position. Compensation for a car accident is assembled the same way whatever you call it: compensation for car accident injuries, compensation after car accident time off work and compensation from car accident damage all come out of those two halves.
Car accident injury compensation covers the injury itself. Whiplash lasting up to two years is fixed by tariff, from £275 to £4,975, under the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 as substituted by the Whiplash Injury (Amendment) Regulations 2025 for accidents on or after 31 May 2025. Every other injury is valued individually on the medical report. Our whiplash compensation page publishes all fourteen tariff figures.
Psychological injury after a crash is claimed too. Where whiplash arrives with one or more minor psychological injuries, the tariff has a separate and higher column. A diagnosed condition such as post-traumatic stress disorder is more than minor, sits outside the tariff altogether and is valued on its own medical evidence, so a ptsd car accident settlement amount uk wide is not a tariff figure at all.
Is there a car accident compensation calculator?
A car accident claim calculator can give you a range for the injury. It cannot give you a total, because the second half is proved with payslips, receipts and a care diary rather than estimated by a slider. That applies equally to any car accident injury claim calculator and to any mib compensation calculator, since a Bureau claim is valued exactly like any other. Tell us your job, your time off and your treatment, and you get the whole figure instead of a range.
What is the average payout for a car accident?
There is no useful average. The average payout for car accident uk wide mixes a three month whiplash at £275 with a life-changing injury, so it describes nobody. Car accident compensation examples are more honest than averages, and a car accident payout is better estimated from three numbers of your own: how long the symptoms last, what you earned before and after, and what you have paid out.
A car accident settlement is what those two halves add up to. Agreeing a settlement for car accident injuries before the medical report is written is how people under-settle, and a car injury settlement cannot be reopened once you have accepted it.
Evidence that supports your
car accident claims
Clear evidence helps support your car accident claims by showing how the accident happened and how it has affected you. You do not need to gather everything before you get in touch. We can help.
Reported it to the police? If the police attended or you have a crime or incident reference, keep it. It helps confirm how and when the accident happened.
How no win no fee works for
car accident claims
You can start car accident claims without paying anything upfront. If your claim is unsuccessful, you will not pay a fee for our work, subject to the terms of your agreement.
If your claim succeeds, an agreed success fee is deducted from your compensation. Your solicitor will explain this clearly before you commit to anything.
You will see the full terms in writing before your claim begins.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know before starting your claim.
How much compensation can I get for a car accident?
It is the two halves added together: the injury, valued on the medical report, and your losses, proved with documents. Whiplash that clears within two years is a fixed tariff figure between £275 and £4,975. Every other injury is individual. Your losses are frequently the larger half, which is why two people with identical injuries receive very different totals.
Who pays personal injury claims car accident victims make?
The insurer of the person at fault, not that person. You are claiming against a policy, which is why most people can claim without falling out with anyone. Where there is no policy, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau pays instead. Settling a personal injury claim car insurance was bought to cover is ordinary business for an insurer, not a grievance.
How long after a car accident can I claim?
Three years from the date of the accident, under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980. A child injured in a collision has until their twenty-first birthday, because section 28 does not start that clock until they turn eighteen. Different rules again apply to someone who lacks the capacity to claim.
Is a car accident claim the same as a personal injury claim?
Yes. A car accident personal injury claim is a personal injury claim where the injury happened on the road. Personal injury claims car accident victims bring follow the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims like any other, and a personal injury claim car accident victims start is handled by the same team, in the same way, as a personal injury car accident file from work or a public place.
Where can I get free accident claim advice?
Our first call is free accident claims advice with no obligation. We will tell you whether an accident claim is worth bringing, what an accident compensation claim would include, and whether the deadline still leaves you room. We take accident and injury claims of every kind, so if your claim for accident injuries did not happen on the road we can still help. Nothing is charged at this stage.
Is a car accident insurance claim the same as a compensation claim?
No, and this is the most common confusion. A car accident insurance claim on your own policy repairs or replaces your vehicle. A compensation claim recovers your injury and your losses from the at-fault driver’s insurer. You can run both at once. If you are working out how to claim car accident insurance for the vehicle and how to claim insurance for car accident injuries at the same time, tell us and we will say which route each part takes.
What should I do when claiming after a car accident?
See a doctor, even if you feel able to carry on, because the treatment record is what sets the value of the injury. Then report it. Claiming after car accident injuries is far easier with a police reference and a same day medical note than without. A claim after car accident injuries starts with one call and costs nothing to assess.
What if the other driver was uninsured or drove off?
You can still claim. Where the driver is known but had no cover, the Uninsured Drivers Agreement 2015 applies. Where they were never traced, the Untraced Drivers Agreement 2017 does. Both run through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau and the deadline is the same three years. On an untraced claim your vehicle damage falls under a separate rule, and the section above sets it out.
Can I claim if I was a passenger?
Yes. As a passenger you are rarely at fault, so you can usually claim against whichever driver was responsible, including the one you were travelling with. Their insurer pays, not them.
What is this claim actually called?
People search for this a dozen ways and they all reach the same file. A motor accident claim, motor vehicle accident compensation, car accidents claims, car accident injury claims, an accident car claim and a claim for a car accident are one thing. You do not need the right words to make the call, and nobody here will correct your vocabulary.
How long does a car accident claim take?
It depends on how long your symptoms last and whether the other side accepts responsibility. The medical report cannot be written until your recovery is clear, so a claim that settles very quickly is often one that settled too early. Straightforward claims settle in a few months. Disputed or serious ones take longer.
Will I have to go to court?
Almost never. Most claims settle by negotiation. Where proceedings are issued it is usually to protect the three year deadline while the negotiation continues.
Check if you can make car accident claims
Tell us what happened and we will review your details and get back to you. We will explain your options in plain English, with no obligation to go ahead.
- Free, no-obligation review
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Check if you can make a claim
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Other road traffic claims we handle
Don't Let Time Run Out On Your Claim
Most car accident claims must be started within three years. The sooner you begin, the easier the evidence is to gather while it is still available.
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