UK Vehicle Insurance - The Emergency Treatment Policy Clause


Insurance:

We're looking through a selection of the clauses in a fairly standard UK vehicle insurance policy. In this instance it's the "Emergency Treatment" policy clause which deals with who is responsible for any medical attention needed as the result of a motoring incident.

Current UK laws dictate that you must pay fees to the first medical practitioner to treat you following an accident. This is incorporated in the Road Traffic Act. People have been known to refer to this as a charge for an ambulance. Strictly speaking this is not correct but in practice it is usually the ambulance men that offer the treatment and the account is sent to to you from the N H S hospital that supplied the ambulance and its crew.

You are liable for this payment irrespective of who was to blame for the accident. Your insurer will always pay the bill under this section. Just send the paperwork into them and they will pay it directly to the hospital. Or pay it yourself and ask your insurer to repay you.

It is not impossible that in a hectic insurance environment, the claims staff might overlook the invoice if it was sent in amongst other paperwork. Indeed you could receive a reminder from the hospital that the invoice remains unpaid. Tell the N H S Trust who your insurers are and telephone your claims office. Be firm but please don't be angry.

The insurance company paying this account in itself does not affect your no claims bonus. It is not dealt with as a claim. So, in the unlikely event that your insurers were to pay this and nothing else then your bonus would remain intact. But in an accident where a person is injured, it is highly improbable that there is no other types of claim to be met.

Technically, if somebody else is at fault for the accident you can send the invoice on to their insurance company but you are just asking for unnecessary complications. I would advise you not to bother. It makes no difference to you either way.

Owing to recent changes in the law, hospitals now also charge insurers for treatment given to third party accident victims, with certain limits applied. These are claimed by the hospital in cases where they have judged you to have been negligent and a third party has needed treatment for an injury that you caused. THIS HAS PUSHED UP THE COST OF CLAIMS SETTLEMENTS AND CONSEQUENTLY YOUR PREMIUMS. Some insurance professionals consider that this is a further case of "stealth tax" taxation by the Government.

This article on treatment costs following a road traffic accident was written by Terry Cod. He has several years of experience working as a claims adjuster with a number of UK motor insurance companies. His website www.instant-online-insurance.co.uk offers online Direct Line car insurance with online quotes and secure online payment.


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