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How long does an insurer have to reply to a compensation claim?

By Ian Morris | Updated September 14th, 2023

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Settling a claim as quickly as possible is hugely important to all our claimants, especially those suffering the stress of losing income whilst they can’t work. It’s less important to the defendant insurers who have to pay the settlement, and who are trying to minimise the amount paid. This often means claimants feel the insurer is stalling and taking longer than necessary to reply.

Insurer response times – ‘pre-action protocols’

It will not surprise you to learn that insurers are not always great at acting quickly and often drag their feet at every stage of the claims process. Of course, it is their job to minimise any settlements and pay out as little as possible, and it is our job, and that of our solicitors, to ensure that claims are settled quickly and to their maximum value.

The good news for claimants is that there are legal protocols in place designed to make sure that claims are processed in an expedient manner and help defendant insurers to investigate and settle claims quickly. These timeframes are called ‘pre-action protocols’ and they set a deadline for defendant insurers to respond to claims and carry out their investigations into allegations made against their insured.

The pre-action protocols allow maximum response times for defendant insurers. The times and guidelines can vary depending on the claim type. For example, road accident claims have different protocols to other personal injury claims.

Personal injury protocols

Time limits for personal injury claims allow a maximum response time that is effectively 3 months and 21 days from the date that a claimant’s solicitor has submitted a letter of claim. This usually plays out as follows:

Claimant solicitor submits a letter of claim to the third party outlining the specifics of the claim and why they are being held responsible.
A response to this must be provided to the claimant solicitor within 21 days.
At this point a defendant insurer has a period of 3 months to properly investigate the allegations made in the claim and then respond to the claimant solicitor.
After the 3 month period, the insurer’s reply has to state whether or not they admit liability. If there is a denial of liability, the response has to state disclosure evidence that details why they have not admitted liability and what their defence is.

In the rare case where an insurer fails to provide a response within the time allowed, a solicitor will go to the courts to progress the claim.

Road traffic accident protocols

Time limits for road traffic accident claim protocols allow a maximum response time of 15 working days. Such claims are run via the claims portal and work using this method:

Claimant solicitor submits a Claim Notification Form (CNF) to the insurers defending the claim. This notification has to provide all of the details and information that a defendant insurer will need to be able to fully investigate the claim and decide upon their view.

When a defendant insurer fails to respond within the 15 working day limit, the claim will then continue via the pre-action personal injury protocol, stated previously.

How long does it take to get compensation?

Every claimant wants to settle their claim as quickly as possible and move on from their injury. But to get to the point where a compensation claim can be settled involves evidence, expert opinions and investigations from insurers. It also requires clear communication between insurers, solicitors, claimants and occasionally the courts. All of this can take time.

Some claim types are known to settle more quickly than others. In cases where negligence is obvious and injuries and losses are not in dispute., and a defendant insurer has no reasonable option other than to make an admission of liability, a claim will settle more quickly.

Conversely, in a matter relating to a more complex claim where negligence isn’t so easily obvious, a claimant solicitor will have to make a strong argument to succeed and achieve an admission of liability. Here a claim will take longer to settle and could mean it takes a few years to receive compensation.

As you would expect with two opposing parties, there are many issues that can arise to slow things down. As each case is different, there is no way of knowing exactly how long it can take to receive compensation. However, what we can do is ensure our claimants aren’t waiting on us for their case to progress.

317 questions have been answered on this subject - ask us your question

Comments & Questions

Read on for questions and advice about claiming...

In December 2018 my fathers’ humerus was fractured by patient transport. The transport company have admitted negligence and the driver was sacked. My father has commenced a personal injury claim but unfortunately despite the company admitting liability in June it seems to be taking a long time to settle. My father is terminally ill , he experienced a lot of pain from the fracture and six months in hospital. He now also need double handed care to mobilise. Unfortunately it seems to be taking the solicitors ages to take things forward. For example we provided a schedule of costs in August but these weren’t sent on to the insurers, it took them nearly five months to appoint medical experts etc. Not having done anything like this before we wondered is this normal /does it just take a long time or could things be speeded up? We really would like my father to receive some compensation whilst he is alive for all that he has gone through and are worried that at this rate it simple won’t happen. Grateful for any advice. Thank you.

If you have not already done so, you could consider making a formal complaint to your Solicitors regarding the apparent delays in acting on instructions and pursuing the claim.

You can find the details of their complaints procedure and how it works on the Solicitors website.

3 questions Ian

1. One year on from a non fault accident. Should I have been offered alternative transport / offer to repair m/bike / replace m/bike

2. Would I get paid for the damaged bike along with my injury comp? Or should this be separate as I’m lead to believe.

3. After the at fault driver has been charged by the police & prosecuted with careless driving / can he continue to make allegations regarding my driving without any facts to back the gear up.

I believe at this time the solicitor seems to be very lenient with this insurance firm.

If liability is not disputed (that is if the defendant insurers have admitted liability), your damaged motorbike should have been repaired or replaced.

The motorbike and personal injury settlements are separate and in a claim, you should recover compensation for the injuries sustained and the impact that the injuries have had, continue to have and will have going forward. You should also be entitled to recover all incurred costs and recover losses (including damage to personal items) separately.

The defendant driver can make whatever allegations they wish. However, without evidence to back them up they are simply wasting time. However, you must remember that a Police charge is not a prosecution, so if the defendant has not yet been found guilty, they are not guilty. However, as the Police have charged the driver, it does make it difficult for them to wriggle out of liability.

Thank you Ian for your speedy reply. That clears a lot of things up for me.
I understand ‘primary liability’ has been accepted.
Therefore that means I can now push to have my motorcycle repaired/replaced?
The injury claim is separate from this & will be ongoing.
Thanks for your help, it’s been very much appreciated.

Regards,
Mick.

Best of luck with your claim!

Hi Ian,
Currently the defendant insures are not responding to liability to my solicitors.. All the protocols deadlines have been gone along with another month extension before a PAD application will be made which they are sitting back on.
The defendant insures has supplied some documentation of disclosure but are holding on to one relevant document which my solicitor has asked for, and now are not giving them any deadlines to them.
I feel my solicitor has backed off and isn’t forcing the issue of liability.
It’s gone into six months which is a clear cut case with HSE who are currently investigating my employer to put safe guards in at work to prevent similar injury accidents from happening.
I’m at a crossroads where I feel I’d be better of taking on my employer myself with all the evidence I’ve accumulated or to change solicitors.

Please advise me.

Thanks

Barry

Before you do switch Solicitors, you should make sure that your employer is formally aware of your concerns. Therefore, we would suggest that you write to the Solicitor outlining your frustration and ask them to provide a clear plan of action in terms of pursuing the defendant. If the Solicitor is then unable to satisfy your concerns, you could seek to switch to a new Solicitor to represent you in your claim.

Hi Ian

Thank you for your reply

My solicitor said the defendants solicitor told him the reason for the delay is because there has been a change in personel at the defendant solicitor clients office. Is there anything I could get my solicitor to do to hurry the process up or what would you advise?

So long as the defendants are not acting unreasonably, there is little that you can do. However, whilst a change of personnel may explain a delay, it would not be reasonable for such a delay to be very long.

You should ask your Solicitor to chase and press them regularly.

My solicitor settled my personal injuries claim and told me I would receive my settlement cheque within 4 weeks. It is now 11 weeks and still no sign. Is there anything I can do to hurry this up?

What is your Solicitor saying has caused the delay? In most cases, it is the case that settlement will arrive in quick time, but on rare occasions a defendant will be slow in releasing payment.

Hi,
After an accident in June ‘19. I have just been told that the other party ( a London bus company) have agreed to pay for my cars damage. They were at fault, but have done so ‘without prejudice’. I have my own personal injury solicitor who I have advised of this. Does this make her job easier, as in are they likely to pay out for my personal injury too. My injury was a sprained hip requiring physio and three weeks off work. If so, what would be the likely timescale from agreeing to pay for damages to the vehicle to settling my personal injury claim? Also, when liability is not accepted and paid ‘without prejudice’ do these payouts tend to be less ? My PI solicitor says she is preparing a report to send to them. I’m guessing this is her view on the claims worth after receiving the independent medical report? Or what report would she likely mean regards Natalie

The acceptance of liability for the damage to your car should benefit you in terms of a claim for personal injury compensation. The bus company would not be paying for the damage to your vehicle if they were of the view that they were not liable.

The Solicitor acting for you is likely to be sending the prognosis of injury and recovery from the medical expert you have seen to the defendant in order to begin the process of negotiating a fair settlement for the injuries you have sustained.

I was taken off the road by an uninsured driver in July 2018. My claim has finally been settled (on 18/10/2019) as the MIB made me a good offer.
How long do they have to issue payment? My solicitor is chasing it, but I wondered if there was a time scale?

Typically, once settlement is agreed and a signed acceptance of the offered settlement is received, the MIB are relatively speedy in making settlement and one would expect that to be within a month or so of them receiving your signed acceptance. Therefore, the timescales you mention seem reasonable and we would expect you to receive your settlement anytime soon.

Hello, i had a car accident in feb 19. I made a personal injury claim for which i had 11 weeks of physio for for a back injury. This was completed in around jul 19. The claim company (irwin mitchell) then submitted everything to the other party who had admitted liability.
An offer was made on the 10th of oct which i accepted. To date all i’m getting from the claim company is, we’re waiting on a cheque from the insurers. The offer was accepted 6 weeks ago now. How can it take 6 weeks to send me a cheque? I’m concerned i’m just getting fobbed off all the time with a different excuse and i’m having to chase this myself week to week now as they do not communicate with me at all.
The last i heard was that they would be taking the insurers to court as of friday the 15th oct as they have no settlement cheque which will now probably delay things by several months.
Is there anything i can do? This is becoming so stressful now after being left with an uncomfortable back injury and severely out of pocket from a written off car.
Many thanks
Gareth

Whilst you have every right to feel frustrated, the main problem here is the defendant failing to settle your claim to your instructed representatives. Although your Solicitors should have been updating you and keeping you in the loop, they appear to be acting correctly and may well have to issue proceedings to obtain your settlement.

If an insurance company does not respond to a solicitors correspondence can they commence legal proceedings against the defendant directly and if so how?

Should a defendant fail to respond to a Solicitor within the statutory timeframe, the Solicitor would initially give them a further deadline to respond. If this were ignored and it was apparent that the defendant would not cooperate, a Solicitor may issue court proceedings to force them to respond. Such a hearing would not reach a decision on liability, but would reach a decision as to whether or not the defendant was the correct party to respond and if so, oblige them to cooperate with the claim process. If the defendant were to then continue to fail to cooperate, they would be in breach of a court judgement and could face serious consequences.

I have a claim ongoing with the council, the claim handler has made a 2nd offer due to my rejection of the first offer, they have stated in the 2nd offer if i reject this i will need to seek legal advise. May i point out i am directly dealing with the claim handler as it’s past the 3 years limitation and no solicitor is willing to take it on even though liability has been admitted.

Can the claim handler withdraw the 2nd offer if i reject this and they are no longer negotiating due to the statement of me needing to seek legal advice?

Without knowing the full ins and outs of this matter, it is not possible to advise in any certainty. However, the fact that they have made a 2nd and final offer as things stand simply means that they are unwilling to increase the offer made to you unless you can introduce a legal expert to force such a move. Clearly, given the fact that 3 years have passed since your accident you won’t find a Solicitor able to get involved.

Whilst the council are unlikely to withdraw the offer, you should bear in mind that accepting it may be the most sensible choice at this time.

I put in a claim and the defendant has admitted liability. I have had my medical and I was told the deadline was the 12th August where they should have settled the claim.
Then my solicitor has got back in touch and told me she hasn’t heard from them so she is taking it court? Can there be any reason why they have not yet made an offer to settle the claim when it’s going to cost more to go to court?

We cannot explain why or for what reason the defendant has failed to make an offer, but it would appear that your Solicitor is taking the correct course of action in taking this matter to the courts so that it can be sorted out.

As liability has been admitted, it means you will succeed with your claim. The issue now is one of establishing the appropriate level of damages for the injuries you have sustained and calculating any special damages.

I accepted a settlement figure over 6 weeks ago from insurer via my solicitor for a Road traffic accident. I still havent received payment despite my solicitor saying when i accepted the insurer had 5 – 6 weeks to make payment. My solicitor is now saying it may take longer without giving reasons only that she will continue to chase payment and advises that if i now choose to take the matter to court it can be problematic. The solicitor was appointed by my car insurer who unfortunately is also the other parties insurer. Is this normal?

Whilst the delay is clearly frustrating, you should not be unduly concerned. Whilst the majority of settlements are paid in good time, there are a number of reasons for (and examples of) some settlements being delayed or slower in coming through.

Your Solicitor will chase the defendant accordingly and it is most likely that your settlement will soon arrive.

Hi
i had road accident on 31/05/2017, at first third party denied to accept their fault but eventually they accepted their fault. Third party paid me back my volunteer access which i was charged for my car to be repair. I been to few doctor appointments, on basis of those appointments a medical report has been forwarded to third party by my solicitors. its been 5 months that the third party has not responded and ignoring my solicitors reminders. Now my solicitors are preparing for Litigation. My question is how long will it take more and will the third party respond this time?

It is not possible to state how much longer your claim will take. However, if the 3rd party have failed to respond to date and your Solicitor is now issuing proceedings, it indicates that things will speed up as the 3rd party are likely to not want to mess the courts around.

My car was written off in Nov 2018 and the claim still has not been settled. My insurance company agree it was 3rd party’s fault but the vehicle in question was a company car (ironically a recovery vehicle). I was estimated £750 in costs including travel expenses, excess, time out from work, and injury. I am still waiting on this. I had provided the details of the 3rd party vehicle and photos but did not get all details of the individual driver. I am still waiting for the legal team to respond, last I heard was a month ago saying they will follow it up. Any advice or is this just likely to be a waiting game??

If your claim is up and running, there is often a period of frustration in which you do have to wait. However, it seems that you have been waiting for some time. You should certainly chase your Solicitors up and if needs be, make a formal complaint to them about the lack of updates and apparent delays in resolving your claim.

Could you please advise me how long a defendent insurer has to either accept or deny liability for an accident involving their insured party WITHOUT a CNF being issued by a claimant solicitor.

I was involved in a non-fault accident on 17th June 2019 and the third-party’s insurance company has still not stated it’s position despite being aware of the accident.

For the avoidance of doubt there is no personal injury, just substantial damage to my vehicle which would, I expect, render it an “insurance write-off”.

We can only offer qualified advice on matters relating to personal injury compensation. In your case, you mention that there is no personal injury. If the claim related to personal injury, the defendant insurer would have a period of almost 4 months to ‘investigate’ a claim before they must respond with an admission of or denial of liability.

Six Months ago I had 2 bilateral fractures to my knees the builder and insurance company have both accepted liability all my paperwork has been sent to the insurance company, they have had them for 5 weeks, how long will it take before they make me an offer?

There is no set time frame for an offer of compensation to be forthcoming. It is likely that medical evidence and a medical experts report regarding your injuries and the likely long term consequences of the injuries is provided and then considered before an offer will be made.

I had a non fault accident on the 24/12/18 sustaining severe leg injuries. The driver who caused the accident has had a caution for careless driving set by the PPS. His insurers are claiming they’re still investigating the collision & have not admitted liability. I’ve had no offer of alternative transport & they’re still to send an assessor to inspect my motorcycle. Is this a normal timeframe for this or is my solicitor not doing his job properly on my behalf?

To answer this question, we need to know when your Solicitor submitted your claim. Lets assume that you commenced your claim soon after your accident and returned signed instructions (a signed CFA) to your Solicitor so that the claim could be made to the defendant insurers by mid January 2019. If that was the case, the defendants would have had an initial 21 day period to confirm receipt of the claim and acknowledge that they are the responsible insurer. From then, they would then have a further period of just over 3 months to ‘investigate’ the claim and respond with an admission or denial of liability. This timeframe would therefore usually see you getting a response after around 4 months or so from the date the claim was made. However, sometimes this can take longer and insurers are slow in responding. If this is the case, your Solicitor will issue the insurers with a further deadline to respond. If that deadline is then missed, your Solicitor will consider starting court proceedings to force them to respond.

Thanks for the reply to my enquiry, it has shed a bit of light on the issue. It has been over 4 months & the insurance company in question are still claiming they’re still investigating the collision. Although their customer has been charged with careless driving & causing serious injury due to this. The solicitor dealing with my case has not issued any court proceedings to urge a response.
His reply to this question to me is, these things take time.
I’m also paying for my own physio appointments etc: I was in the belief a solicitor would avail these appointments etc to myself & then claim the cost from the party which caused the accident.

Your Solicitor is right in that there can be matters that do take time and it is not the case that you can simply immediately issue proceedings as there needs to be an allowance for a reasonable delay in processing a claim. Therefore whilst 4 months to you is very stressful and your Solicitor will be aware of this, it is not yet unreasonable in the eyes of a Judge. However, you should discuss with your Solicitor as to when it would be reasonable to ramp up demands for a response.

With regards to physiotherapy/rehabilitation costs, until and unless there is an admission of liability in place from the defendants, your Solicitor is unable to instruct and cover the cost of such therapy.

Thanks again Ian, I found your info & help very useful & informative. I will take these issues up with the solicitor dealing with my claim. All the best, Mick.

We’re pleased that you have found our input to be helpful. Your Solicitor should be able to help you further, but if you need any more advice, support or information, please do not hesitate to let us know!

I accepted an offer from third part insurers and my side expected payment within 4-6 weeks and this hasn’t happened, my side say it’s now gone to their enforcement team. How long can the other side hold of on paying, they made an offer which was accepted but now aren’t paying up?

The most likely issue here is simply one of administrational error on the part of the third party insurers and a slow process. It is highly likely that a robust ‘chasing’ by your Solicitors will get this sorted. Of course, if the defendants continue to be ‘difficult’ your Solicitor will issue proceedings to force payment by court order.

Hello, A few days after my accident the other driver told me he had admitted to his Insurer of ‘Losing Control’ of his car. His Insurer responded with a 50/50 split. I did not accept this offer as I had to have an operation due to the accident and a mini stroke. A year later the other driver submitted an injury claim against me using my Quindell solicitors. Also that my solicitor had a financial arrangement with the defendant insurer. This was found to be a Conflict of Interest by the Ombudsman. After 3 1/2 years the other insurer admitted liability.
My question – Could this commercialised delay by the insurer constitute dishonesty? Thanks

Whether or not the defendant insurer has acted dishonestly is a moot point and would probably have to be considered by an independent Judge with sight of the full facts.

However, there could be a call for your compensation settlement to include interest given the obvious delay caused to your settlement.

Hi I took a settlement offer under the part36 over 6 weeks ago and am now still waiting on the funds they keep telling my solicitor it will be paid in 5-10 days . My personal injury claim has been going on for nearly 7 years now . Is this a normal time to wait for funds after it being a part36 offer? Thanks

Invariably, these matters take longer than they should – not because of the claimant Solicitor, but often due to the slowness of the defendant insurers.

Whilst it is frustrating for you to wait, your Solicitor will apply pressure to them to come up with the settlement.