Mention the words “green slip” to vehicle owners in NSW and most will cringe – not at the commonsense of a third party insurance safety net in place for injured motorists – but mostly at the cost, limited benefits and how the law is currently applied.
In NSW we fork out an average of $640 per vehicle annually, for the five million of them registered in the state.
Only 45 cents in every green slip dollar however actually goes to injured drivers.
The rest goes to insurer profits, scheme costs, legal fees or medical expenses.
After extensive consultations, the NSW government are introducing reforms.
They’re moving toward a hybrid no-fault, defined benefits scheme with common law benefits retained in parallel.
There will be specific benefits for low severity injuries like whiplash and soft tissue injury (cases of these have risen sharply over recent years and are a catalyst for the reform) plus protection for at-fault road users will be extended.
A risk pool is to be created to reduce the burden on high risk vehicles and disparities for point-to-point vehicles (taxis, hire cars and ride-share) will also be addressed.
Motorists ought to see improvements in the time it takes to receive benefits and finalise claims, as well as a change to disproportionate payouts for costs other than benefits.
These benefits will cover loss of earnings and medical expenses for up to five years and attendant care help for everyday tasks for up to two years.
Benefits will be provided without the need for injured parties to prove who was at fault in an accident.
Regardless of fault the reformed scheme’s objective is to increase the proportion of benefits provided to the most seriously injured road users and raise the percentage of total premium going to the injured from 45% to 60% or 70% where injuries are to the whole body.
For those more seriously injured and when another driver is at fault, access to the common law system to seek additional support will be available.
This will include lump-sum compensation for non-economic loss (i.e. pain and suffering) and loss of earning capacity.
Medical and attendant care costs will be paid on an ongoing basis.
Faster resolutions are promised with lump sums only being paid for serious injuries, unlike the current scenario where lump sums are paid for all claims.
Based on recent trends to green slip premiums, if left unreformed there would be $90 increase in the coming year.
This will be reversed with significant reductions for all vehicles anticipated.
While the reforms are to be tabled in parliament, all indicators are looking positive.