Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Speaker 2 (00:02):
If you’ve ever been seriously injured or unwell, you know how scary it can be. You’re both dealing with the ailment while also thinking of your loved ones, and all of those responsibilities, and the bills that keep on piling up. It can be pretty daunting. So what if you were in a serious crash, you’re injured, you have months of recovery, if not years, you have bills due and trying to keep everything just going along. Some might be tempted to take a bit of an early payout from the insurance companies through their CTP, their compulsory third party insurance, but that can also be fraught with danger. Well, some people do, and that is the centerpiece of a new class action. Peter Carter is the director of Carter Capner Law, and I spoke with him about this class action that they’re working on.

Peter Carter (00:51):
Well, we’ve noticed an increase in the enthusiasm of insurers to attract injury claimants to make claims direct through them rather than the usual way, which is through a solicitor. So we’ve looked at the extent of the differential between claims that are settled direct with an insurer compared to those with a solicitor, and it’s a huge difference. So we think that the insurers need to be held to account for their conduct over the last six years.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
So the significantly lower payouts are for those that aren’t going through a solicitor?

Peter Carter (01:27):
The differential is about six or seven times the amount of compensation an insurer will offer without a solicitor compared to what a claim will settle after it’s been properly investigated and a settlement process conducted.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Did you say six or seven times?

Peter Carter (01:45):
Yes, six or seven times. Instead of $5,000, $35,000.

Speaker 2 (01:49):
That’s quite a big difference. For some people, that would be life-changing.

Peter Carter (01:53):
Unfortunately, because insurers get early contact with injury victims, road accident injury victims to arrange rehabilitation, they develop a relationship with the injury victim and can then capitalize on that to low-ball them in the settlement of the claim. It’s really very poor conduct.

Speaker 2 (02:14):
So who are you looking to speak to or who would you like to contact you if they would wish to be part of this claim?

Peter Carter (02:22):
It’s not their CTP, it’s the at-fault driver’s CTP. It’s their insurer, it’s their CTP insurer who’s taking advantage of the innocent injury victim. Now we’re looking for the injury victims over the last six years who’ve settled their road accident injury claim direct with an insurer without the benefit of legal advice and without the benefit usually of a medical specialist to provide an opinion as to how the injuries will affect them in the future.

Speaker 2 (02:51):
So, are there any particular CTP insurers that are on the other side of this class action?

Peter Carter (02:59):
Regrettably, they’re all tarred with the same brush, in my opinion. Suncorp, Allianz, QBE. It really comes down to a cultural thing within the insurance industry in terms of claims managers having direct access to claimants in this type of situation, and low-balling them for the amount of the settlement.

Speaker 2 (03:21):
What do you think about these insurers?

Peter Carter (03:23):
Insurers are in the business of claims denial and claims minimization. And it’s a cultural thing, it goes right down to the claims managers. They think it’s their money. Unfortunately, it’s the road accident injury victims who are paying the price.

Speaker 2 (03:39):
Are there laws being broken here?

Peter Carter (03:42):
The class action will be based on the principles of misleading and deceptive conduct under the Australian consumer law and similar provisions in the ASIC act. As well as, there are standards that CTP insurers are required to observe under the legislation and they include fair treatment of claimants. We don’t think that’s happened.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
Who are you hoping to speak with? Is there any particular criteria that people would need to meet if they were to be part of the class action?

Peter Carter (04:11):
Anyone who has settled a claim direct with a CTP insurer in Queensland over the last six years should provide their details to the CTP class action website so that their situation can be assessed, and so that they’ll have the opportunity to benefit from the proceeds of the class action we’re about to start.

Speaker 2 (04:32):
When it comes to the length of time post-accident that there can be this settlement, is there a 12-month period or should there be that sort of 12 month period, for example?

Peter Carter (04:42):
That’s what medical specialists require to wait for until an assessment of permanent impairment can occur. So, people who have economic difficulties or, for one reason or another, want to get it over with, are doing themselves a disservice, but the claims managers know that and they should be providing them fair advice that medical assessments should occur so everyone knows, and particularly the injury victim knows, how their injury will affect them in the future and that it is likely that the low-ball offer that their claims manager makes will be insufficient, and be well below what they’re fairly entitled to.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
I think many people will find this concerning. Of the people that you’ve already spoken to that have joined this class action or expressed interest, what are some of the things that they’ve said to you when they’ve learnt that maybe they’re entitled to more funds, settlement funds from their insurance settlement?

Peter Carter (05:43):
Well, it is frequently the situation that their injuries don’t go away and that they persist and they’re having mounting difficulties continuing to work, they’re incurring additional private medical expenses, none of which were taken into account of when they reached a direct settlement with any of the CTP insurers.

Speaker 2 (06:04):
Moving ahead with this, does there need to be greater or widened legislation so that people are getting the funds that they are entitled to?

Peter Carter (06:14):
Look, we believe that the legislative regime is sufficient, we just don’t think that the insurers are complying with it, and that’s what we intend to prove in the class action.

Speaker 2 (06:25):
That’s Peter Carter, director of Carter Capner Law. And the Insurance Council of Australia was contacted for comment. Through a written statement, they say, “Customers may claim directly with the at-fault insurer or may seek legal advice and assistance if they wish. Insurers assess claims on their merits and in accordance with the legislation. Customers who are concerned about how their claim has been handled can find information about the complaints process on the MAIC website. Insurers have internal dispute resolution processes, and if customers are not satisfied with the outcome of this process, they are able to raise a dispute with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, a free service that’s available and able to make binding rulings on insurers.”

Speaker 4 (07:12):
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