Overview
The first quarter of 2021 saw Queensland’s CTP insurance scheme continue to perform well to meet the needs of motorists and people injured in motor vehicle crashes.
From January to March 2021:
- our CTP insurance scheme remained efficient and affordable
- the number of claims lodged each quarter remained lower than before we introduced car crash scammer (‘claim farming’) legislative reforms
- we enhanced our online form for CTP insurance claims following user feedback and saw increased adoption.
In the upcoming quarter, we will:
- retain our strong emphasis on deterring car crash scamming
- continue to examine how digital forms will improve the process of requesting or managing rehabilitation requests, reimbursement requests and treatment plans
- complete our audit of rehabilitation management by licensed CTP insurers.
Explore our graphs below to learn more about our scheme’s performance.
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Affordability
Affordability level
CTP insurance premiums remained consistently affordable to Queensland motorists despite minor changes in underlying economic factors. From 1 January to 31 March 2021, the Class 1 premium ($351.60) was 21.8 per cent of Average Weekly Earnings.
CTP premium breakdown
CTP insurance premiums remained stable against a backdrop of uncertainty surrounding COVID-19.
Insurer market share
The market share of CTP insurers followed a similar trend to its past trajectory with marginal changes.
Number of motorists switching insurers
There has been a general upward trend in switching over the last few years.
Efficiency
The efficiency of a CTP insurance scheme can be judged by how well insurer delivery costs are controlled while maximising the amount paid to benefit of person who was injured. We consider a minimum benchmark for our privately-underwritten scheme is for 60 per cent of CTP insurance premiums to be delivered as claimant benefits. Each year, we measure the prior five-year average of these figures, and our last measurement exceeded the minimum benchmark by five per cent. Delivery costs increased by one per cent due to the influence of COVID-19 lockdowns on estimated insurer profitability. For more information, view the actuarial report on profitability (PDF, 860KB) by Taylor Fry.
Ensuring timely resolution of claims
Our legislation requires insurers to deal with claims as quickly as possible, with insurers determining liability within six months of receiving a compliant claim. MAIC, insurers and lawyers continued to work together this quarter to resolve claims quickly.
of claims met this requirement in the last 12 months.*
Legally-represented claimants – Average claim duration (months)
MAIC is continuing to monitor insurers’ claims management practices including claim durations and stages of settlement. Where variations exist between insurers, we are analysing the data and consulting with insurers to understand the reasons behind it. The duration of a claim can be influenced by injury severity, circumstances around liability, evidence gathering, and claims management approach.
Direct claimants – Average claim duration (months)
People who lodge claims directly with an insurer tend to experience shorter claim durations than people who lodge claims through legal representatives. This may be because people often seek legal assistance when their claim is more complex.
Claims settled before, during or after compulsory conference (CC) by insurer
Some claims involve a compulsory conference, or meeting, held between parties to resolve the claim. When negotiations at a compulsory conference are unsuccessful, claims may progress to court proceedings. Most claims are settled without the parties needing to hold a compulsory conference, some are settled at or within 14 days of compulsory conference and very few claims proceed to court.
Fairness
Total payments by heads of damage for finalised claims
In Queensland, CTP insurance enables people who are injured in vehicle crashes through no fault of their own to claim fair and timely compensation and access rehabilitation. The compensation paid to the person who was injured depends on the extent of their injuries resulting from the vehicle crash and how these injuries affect their work and social functioning. The types of compensation remain consistent each quarter, with the majority of compensation being allocated to economic loss, care and medical, and general damages.
Number of new claims per quarter
The number of claims lodged each quarter has decreased since we introduced car crash scammer (‘claim farming’) legislative reforms in December 2019. COVID-related lockdowns also led to less traffic on the roads and therefore fewer CTP insurance claims.
Proportion of claims added per quarter
When they lodged their claim, most people (77.3%) had engaged Queensland law firms to represent their claim. Some people (21.3%) lodged their claims directly to the CTP insurer, but some of those may later engage a solicitor during the course of their claim.
Number of claims added per quarter by severity
Less claims were added this quarter than the period before car crash scamming reforms were introduced.
Responsiveness
Our scheme responds to meet the needs of a wide range of people of different ages, genders, types of crashes and roles in crashes.
Number of registered vehicles by vehicle class
Overall, the number of vehicles registered in Queensland grew at a steady rate. The number of class 3 vehicles (taxis), class 4 (hire vehicles) and class 26 (booked hire vehicles and limos) is below pre-COVID levels, although vehicles registered as class 4 increased by five per cent between February and March 2021.
Age groups of claimants by gender
Our claims data showed that most claims were lodged by people aged between 26 and 35. The second largest cohort was people aged 36 to 45. Slightly more claims were lodged by females than males.
Claim severity, role and crash details
Most (74.8%) claims involved a minor injury where the person lodging a claim was the driver and they were travelling in the same direction as the other driver/s involved. We continue to support initiatives led by the Department of Transport and Main Roads to reduce distracted driving which can cause these types of collisions.
Queensland crash claims by region
People who experience a crash in metropolitan Queensland are more likely to claim for a lower-severity injury than people who experience in crash in regional Queensland. This may be due to more traffic in metropolitan areas increasing exposure to the risk of a potential crash. Less traffic and higher travelling speeds in regional areas may account for fewer claims but for crashes involving more severe injury.
Injuries by body regions
Over the past three years, more than 78 per cent of claimants experienced spinal injuries (including whiplash). Out of these claimants, 1.2 per cent experienced severe spine injuries. Amongst the nine injured body regions, thorax is most likely to be seriously injured (11.8 per cent), followed by head (9.3 per cent). In addition to the physical injuries shown below, more than 25 per cent of the claimants experienced psychological conditions.
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Number of crashes per time and day of week
Our data revealed that crashes were mostly likely to occur during the day, particularly between 3pm and 6pm on weekdays.
Percentage of serious crashes per time and day of week
Although fewer accidents occurred at night time, the crashes that did occur were more likely to be serious, particularly on weekends.
Want to learn more? Contact our Analytics team.
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