Injured motorists who don’t have legal representation continue to receive just a fraction of the rehabilitation and damages that are paid to motorists who have lawyered up in the process, writes Travis Schultz.
Queensland motorists who make compulsory third-party (CTP) claims without legal representation continue to be exploited by the insurers, according to the latest data from the Motor Accident Insurance Commission. My recent Right to Information Act request has been processed by the scheme’s governing body, and the numbers don’t lie. Injured motorists who don’t have legal representation continue to receive just a fraction of the rehabilitation and damages that are paid to motorists who have lawyered up in the process.
In the 2024–25 financial year, direct claimants received, on average, only $6,122 worth of rehabilitation compared to $17,604 for those with lawyers. When it comes to total claim payments, unrepresented claimants received an average of $27,267, which compares rather poorly with total claimant payments made to those with lawyers of $162,118. That is quite staggering – despite the representations made by insurers in the sector, claimants with lawyers are receiving almost six times more in total claim payments.
The insurers will say that there can be many reasons for the variation, including the suggestion that claimants tend to self-represent when their claims are smaller; but it begs the question – would the claim be a small one if they were aware of their legal rights?
It’s fair to say that there has, however, been some improvement in the disparity between payments made to represented and unrepresented claimants – in the previous financial year, claimants with lawyers received over eight times more in claims payments than those who went it alone.
What is perhaps most alarming is that the number of claimants being induced to settle claims without legal advice is increasing. Between FY2021–22 and FY24–25, the number of self-represented claimants has increased from 876 to 1,504. It certainly makes this issue one of increasing importance – and one which may very well need a legislative response.
The data from the last four years is tabulated as follows:
A colleague of mine once compared CTP insurers being allowed to deal directly with injured motorists with putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank. Perhaps it’s not an entirely fair analogy, but there is little doubt that the Queensland CTP insurers are having their profits supported by an increasing cohort of unadvised claimants settling their claims too cheaply.
It may not be Dracula in charge of the blood bank, but the data flowing from my recent Right to Information Act request does suggest that the foxes might be in charge of the hen house, or the cats might be looking after the cream!
Travis Schultz is the managing partner of Travis Schultz & Partners.
